U.S. Supreme Court

It’s been more than 10 years since a Black lawyer argued SCOTUS case for US

Lawyers in the U.S. solicitor general's office who argued before the U.S. Supreme Court have been overwhelmingly white and men over the last 12 terms.

Jul 25, 2023 1:04 PM CDT

Death row prisoner treated as ‘guinea pig,’ Sotomayor dissent says

Justice Sonia Sotomayor complained in a dissent early Friday that the U.S. Supreme Court should not allow Alabama to treat a death row inmate as a “guinea pig” to test its lethal injection process.

Jul 25, 2023 8:03 AM CDT

Weekly Briefs: ‘Taco Tuesday’ trademark spat resolved; Trump Organization settles with Michael Cohen

‘Taco Tuesday’ trademark abandoned Taco John’s has agreed to give up its “Taco Tuesday” trademark after Taco Bell sought its cancellation in what it described as a “liberation” campaign. Taco John’s CEO Jim Creel said in a statement “paying millions of dollars to lawyers to defend our mark just doesn’t…

Jul 21, 2023 2:35 PM CDT

Conservative nonprofits funded $1.8M campaign to support Thomas on 25th SCOTUS anniversary

Leonard Leo, a former executive vice president for the conservative Federalist Society, is a “behind-the-scenes” benefactor for conservative U.S. Supreme Court justices, supporting them during confirmation battles and again after they take the bench, according to the Washington Post.

Jul 21, 2023 11:27 AM CDT

With only Democratic votes, Supreme Court ethics bill advances to Senate

A bill requiring the U.S. Supreme Court to adopt a code of ethics and send complaints to an investigative panel of lower-court judges won Senate Judiciary Committee approval Thursday.

Jul 20, 2023 3:02 PM CDT

GOP senator informs BigLaw firms how to advise clients on race-based hiring

Republican U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas has dispatched a letter to 51 BigLaw firms advising them to warn their clients of the risks of “race-based hiring quotas and benchmarks.”

Jul 20, 2023 1:05 PM CDT

In new admissions cycle, law schools are trying to avoid ‘litigation bait’ with race-neutral plans

After last month’s U.S. Supreme Court opinion that found race-conscious university admissions decisions to be unconstitutional, the clock is ticking for law schools determining what to do when the new applications cycle begins in September.

Jul 20, 2023 10:30 AM CDT

Why Trump could be charged with a civil rights violation in Jan. 6 investigation

A possible charge in the special counsel’s investigation of former President Donald Trump is a violation of a civil rights statute that has been used in the past to prosecute vote fraud.

Jul 20, 2023 9:52 AM CDT

Which judges are on GOP presidential candidate’s SCOTUS short list?

Republican 2024 presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is taking a cue from former President Donald Trump by releasing a short list of judges he would consider for appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Jul 19, 2023 12:26 PM CDT

Service in Texas AG’s office doesn’t protect top assistant from ethics complaint, appeals court says

The Texas Court of Appeals has revived an ethics complaint filed against the top assistant for suspended Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is facing his own ethics troubles.

Jul 18, 2023 3:30 PM CDT

Companies must end racial preferences or face accountability ‘sooner rather than later,’ 13 state AGs say

Attorneys general from 13 states are warning Fortune 100 companies that a U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down race-conscious admissions programs at universities also implicates corporate diversity programs.

Jul 18, 2023 8:11 AM CDT

Dershowitz vows to take $12,200 sanction in voting suit to Supreme Court if necessary

Retired Harvard Law School professor Alan Dershowitz must pay up to $12,220 as a sanction in a tossed lawsuit that sought to ban the use of voting machines in Arizona in 2022.

Jul 17, 2023 3:20 PM CDT

Is Biden’s latest plan to cancel student debt vulnerable to legal challenges?

President Joe Biden’s latest plan to cancel some student debt is based on a different law than the one before the Supreme Court, when it struck down a program in June. But some conservative commentators say the new plan remains vulnerable to legal attacks.

Jul 17, 2023 11:50 AM CDT

Judge who won’t marry same-sex couples cites Supreme Court ruling for Christian web designer

A Texas justice of the peace who refuses to marry same-sex couples is citing the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 30 decision protecting a web designer who won’t create websites for same-sex weddings.

Jul 17, 2023 8:53 AM CDT

Chemerinsky: Supreme Court once again moves the law significantly to the right

In the last days of the October Term 2022, the court, in a series of 6-3 decisions, moved the law significantly to the right. But unlike the prior term, there also were some significant surprises from the conservative court.

Jul 13, 2023 1:45 PM CDT