Supreme Court Report

No summer break for Supreme Court ethics debate

The drumbeat of news about U.S. Supreme Court ethics has not taken a summer recess, even though the justices themselves have.

Jul 27, 2023 12:20 PM CDT

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson makes her mark during first term on the Supreme Court

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson “has hit the ground running,” says Ralph Richard Banks, a professor at Stanford Law School and faculty director of the Stanford Center for Racial Justice. “She seems to have already found her voice, both literally in oral arguments and in her opinions.”

Jun 29, 2023 10:12 AM CDT

Justice Stevens’ papers let researchers peek into Supreme Court’s inner workings

According to case files in the 741 manuscript boxes full of Justice John Paul Stevens’ papers newly opened to the public this month by the Library of Congress, Stevens had to take some extra strokes to preserve his tentative 7-2 majority in PGA Tour v. Martin and to keep it from being saddled with concurrences.

May 18, 2023 11:04 AM CDT

Supreme Court considers how far employers should go for religious accommodation

In recent years, the U.S. Supreme Court has shown great deference to claims of religious discrimination, and in particular, three justices have suggested that Trans World Airlines Inc. v. Hardison—a 1977 case in which the Supreme Court ruled against an employee seeking a religious accommodation to avoid working on Saturdays, his Sabbath—was wrongly decided.

Apr 13, 2023 10:31 AM CDT

Supreme Court gets the scoop on doggy toy, whiskey parody case

Executives at Jack Daniel’s, whose whiskey was first sold under that name in 1875, have requested that VIP Products stop selling dog chew toys shaped like liquor bottles but with parody names and themes, leading to a major trademark case that the U.S. Supreme Court will take up March 22.

Mar 16, 2023 12:26 PM CDT

Tech giants fear SCOTUS cases could wreak havoc on the internet

A U.S. Supreme Court decision “jettisoning” the protections of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act “would threaten the internet’s core functions,” Google says in a brief.

Feb 16, 2023 11:19 AM CST

Supreme Court will consider ‘huge’ attorney-client privilege case

The issue is whether a communication involving both legal and nonlegal advice is protected by attorney-client privilege when obtaining or providing legal advice is one of the significant purposes for the communication.

Jan 5, 2023 1:47 PM CST

Is designer’s refusal to create website for same-sex wedding free speech or illegal discrimination?

The case of 303 Creative v. Elenis is about whether the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act violates the First Amendment free speech rights of Lorie Smith and her wholly owned design firm.

Dec 1, 2022 3:36 PM CST

Supreme Court will consider future of Indian Child Welfare Act

The Indian Child Welfare Act faces a broad, multipronged legal attack led by the state of Texas, which along with seven individuals sued the federal government challenging various provisions of ICWA as unconstitutional. The most attention-getting is the attack on the law’s preferences for placing Native American children with family members or other tribe members.

Nov 3, 2022 10:33 AM CDT

Supreme Court will consider whether Andy Warhol’s Prince paintings violate copyright law

A copyright case going before the U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 12 encompasses the avant-garde pop art of Andy Warhol, the musical genius and personal vulnerability of the performer Prince and the rarefied worlds of rock photography and glossy magazines.

Oct 6, 2022 11:30 AM CDT

Supreme Court ready to tackle free speech, affirmative action and election law in new term

The U.S. Supreme Court—and those in its orbit—has been going through the usual machinations leading up to a new term in recent weeks: Panels of law professors and practitioners are previewing the big cases of the new term, and a few justices are making public appearances to send one message or another.

Sep 29, 2022 12:36 PM CDT

Justice Amy Coney Barrett hasn’t disappointed conservative supporters—so far

Justice Amy Coney Barrett recently completed her nearly two-term tenure as the U.S. Supreme Court’s junior justice, with new Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson having been sworn in on June 30. Barrett has brought more than just froth and foam to her role on the court. When it comes to her central assignment on the court—deciding cases—Barrett has been a reliable conservative vote.

Aug 18, 2022 9:58 AM CDT

Abortion ruling by Supreme Court sparks closer scrutiny of substantive due process

With the official release of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the public encountered a concurrence by Justice Clarence Thomas suggesting that high court precedents on contraception, same-sex sexual intimacy and same-sex marriage should be reconsidered. Those rights, along with the right of a woman to terminate her pregnancy that the court just struck down, were all based on the principle of substantive due process.

Jun 30, 2022 12:18 PM CDT

Supreme Court nears end of term amid conflict and discord

“What we have now is kind of a perfect storm,” says Stefanie Lindquist, a professor of law and political science at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University. “The court is sort of rattled by all the political instability that we’re all experiencing writ large.”

Jun 23, 2022 10:02 AM CDT

Rare but not unprecedented Supreme Court leak considered ‘staggering’

The leak of a draft majority opinion in a pending case is “staggering,” says law professor Jonathan Peters. “It’s the most significant leak in the Supreme Court’s history, not only because of the draft’s release but also because of the current political moment (charged as it is) and the personal and social consequences of the decision itself.”

May 5, 2022 2:56 PM CDT