Supreme Court Report

Lawyers spar in Supreme Court over constitutional rights in transgender health care case

The lengthy arguments this week in United States v. Skrmetti—a major case about whether a Tennessee law barring certain medical treatments for transgender minors violates the 14th Amendment—were marked by past positions, anticipation of future battles, a historical first and one justice’s curious silence.

Dec 5, 2024 2:15 PM CST

How might conservative groups influence nominations for Supreme Court vacancies during Trump presidency?

After Donald Trump’s defeat this month of Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential election, members of the Federalist Society once again gathered in Washington for the group’s National Lawyers Convention. The mood at the Washington Hilton from Nov. 14-16 was decidedly upbeat.

Nov 21, 2024 8:58 AM CST

Supreme Court’s sleepy-looking docket leaves room for potentially bigger cases to come

The U.S. Supreme Court begins its new term next week poised on the edge of uncertainty. The biggest case of the term may be one that isn’t even on the court’s docket yet.

Oct 3, 2024 12:04 PM CDT

A bookish Supreme Court keeps stacking the shelves

The gift shop on the ground floor of the U.S. Supreme Court building offers all manner of knickknacks and mementos—gavels, paper weights, Christmas ornaments and neckties. But the shop is dominated by books about the court, from children’s picture books to serious biographies and legal tomes.

Sep 19, 2024 1:30 PM CDT

Give Us a Break: Supreme Court’s summer hiatus interrupted by emergency docket cases

Updated: After a blockbuster and contentious term that spilled over into July, U.S. Supreme Court justices were no doubt eager for their summer recess to begin. But at a recent annual judicial conference, Justice Elena Kagan addressed the idea of the court’s summer recess, bemoaning a trend of recent years in which the press of emergency actions encroached on the justices’ relaxation.

Aug 22, 2024 10:34 AM CDT

Supreme Court justices are writing more concurrent opinions to accompany rulings

Some legal observers believe, only partly in jest, that the court is slowly inching back to its seriatim days. The justices seem to be writing a lot of concurrences.

Jul 25, 2024 11:04 AM CDT

Supreme Court still reluctant to allow livestreaming of opinion announcements

Opinion announcements and oral dissents make for high drama at the court. The court has been livestreaming its arguments since May 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic at first led to telephone arguments, and then continuously since the justices returned to the courtroom in the fall of 2021. But it has never offered live or timely access to the audio of opinion announcements.

Jun 20, 2024 3:25 PM CDT

Solicitors general, past and present, reflect on ups and downs of job and arguing before SCOTUS

It isn’t often that a bipartisan group of U.S. solicitors general gather in public to discuss their unique role in the legal system and even gripe a little about the U.S. Supreme Court. But that’s what happened recently in a packed hotel ballroom before the ABA 2024 Litigation Section Annual Conference in Washington, D.C.

May 9, 2024 12:02 PM CDT

Supreme Court will consider whether criminalizing homelessness violates Eighth Amendment

Few doubt that the court’s decision in City of Grants Pass v. Johnson will be consequential for the nation’s homeless population and for those trying to help. “This case is really about whether the Constitution protects unhoused people against punishment when there is no shelter or housing available to them.”

Apr 18, 2024 1:00 PM CDT

Supreme Court revisits abortion debate in case over access to pregnancy-ending drug

Next week, a case about federal regulation of the primary drug used in medication abortions will be taken up by the justices, returning a major issue in the abortion debate to them perhaps sooner than they would have wished.

Mar 21, 2024 10:34 AM CDT

Supreme Court’s internet inexpertise will be put to the test in social media content cases

A pair of cases, NetChoice v. Paxton and Moody v. NetChoice, ask whether states may dictate content-moderation standards or require individualized explanations when social media outlets remove or alter users’ posts.

Feb 22, 2024 1:55 PM CST

Supreme Court will consider overruling landmark Chevron deference decision in a fishy case

On Jan. 17, the U.S. Supreme Court will consider whether they should overrule a landmark 1984 decision often requiring courts to defer to federal agencies’ reasonable interpretations of ambiguous statutes.

Jan 11, 2024 10:33 AM CST

Supreme Court considers whether police officer’s job transfer was sex discrimination under Civil Rights Act

The justices agreed to decide whether Title VII prohibits discrimination in transfer decisions “absent a separate court determination that the transfer decision caused a significant disadvantage.”

Nov 30, 2023 10:29 AM CST

Supreme Court takes on first major gun case since landmark ruling last year softened regulations

On Nov. 7, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in United States v. Rahimi, its first gun case since the landmark New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen decision.

Nov 2, 2023 9:37 AM CDT

Supreme Court opens new term quietly—so far

The court on Oct. 2 starts what might turn out to be “another big term,” but it is opening with a more modest docket. Still, there are big cases on gun rights, social media use by government officials and the scope of the so-called administrative state.

Sep 28, 2023 11:32 AM CDT