U.S. Supreme Court

Weekly Briefs: New ethics rule considered in Virginia; name partner launches new firm

Virginia proposes ban on agreements limiting ethics complaints A proposed ethics rule in Virginia would ban lawyers from making agreements with clients or former clients that limit their right to pursue disciplinary complaints. The Virginia State Bar is seeking public comment on the proposal, which would be added to Rule…

May 26, 2023 10:48 AM CDT

Supreme Court decision in wetlands case will impair flood control, affect water quality, Kavanaugh warns

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday in its bid to classify an Idaho property as protected wetlands.

May 25, 2023 1:06 PM CDT

SCOTUS rules for grandmother in tax foreclosure takings fight; Jackson again pairs with Gorsuch

Updated: The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a 94-year-old woman could pursue a claim that a tax foreclosure sale violated her rights under the Fifth Amendment’s takings clause.

May 25, 2023 11:29 AM CDT

Chief justice says he’s committed to making sure SCOTUS adheres to highest conduct standards

Updated: Chief Justice John Roberts said Tuesday evening he is committed to making sure that the U.S. Supreme Court adheres to the highest conduct standards.

May 24, 2023 12:54 PM CDT

Silver Gavel Awards go to works featuring Emmett Till, Roe v. Wade

This year’s recipients of the Silver Gavel Awards for Media and the Arts delve into a multitude of pressing and prominent legal issues, including abortion rights, affirmative action and modern-day slavery.

May 24, 2023 12:30 PM CDT

Gorsuch’s Title 42 statement is ‘a remarkable jeremiad against COVID mitigation policies,’ law prof says

Justice Neil Gorsuch issued a lengthy statement criticizing “rule by indefinite emergency edict” Thursday, when the U.S. Supreme Court issued an order related to a COVID-19-pandemic-era immigration policy.

May 22, 2023 2:40 PM CDT

Breyer shares views on treatment of female classmates at Harvard during law school talk

In a discussion at the George Washington University Law School on Tuesday, retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer admitted that he did not fully appreciate how challenging sexism was for his female classmates at Harvard Law School in the early 1960s.

May 19, 2023 12:17 PM CDT

SCOTUS sidesteps Section 230 case after absolving Twitter of liability for terror attack

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday declined to address a long-standing provision that protects technology companies from being held liable for third-party content posted on their platforms after ruling in a related case that Twitter had not aided and abetted a terror attack.

May 19, 2023 8:35 AM CDT

Kagan, Sotomayor write dueling opinions in SCOTUS fair-use ruling against Andy Warhol Foundation

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan complained in a dissent Thursday that a majority ruling by liberal colleague Justice Sonia Sotomayor had adopted a “posture of indifference” and left “in shambles” part of a fair-use test used in copyright cases.

May 18, 2023 11:32 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

‘I don’t understand this theme that FDA can do no wrong,’ says 5th Circuit judge on mifepristone approval

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at New Orleans on Wednesday appears ready to restrict approval of the abortion medication mifepristone.

May 18, 2023 9:30 AM CDT

Supreme Court allows enforcement of laws banning sales of assault-style weapons

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected an emergency request to block bans on sales of assault-style weapons and large-capacity magazines while legal challenges continue in lower courts.

May 17, 2023 2:00 PM CDT

‘The Shadow Docket’ shines light on an increasingly uncommunicative Supreme Court

In The Shadow Docket: How the Supreme Court Uses Stealth Rulings to Amass Power and Undermine the Republic, University of Texas law professor Stephen Vladeck argues that the U.S. Supreme Court is expanding its powers at the expense of the rule of law and public transparency.

May 17, 2023 8:40 AM CDT

So far this term, Supreme Court opinions aren’t splitting strictly along ideological lines

None of the U.S. Supreme Court decisions issued so far this term has split strictly along ideological lines, even with two decisions decided by 5-4 votes and three by 6-3 votes, according to the Empirical SCOTUS blog.

May 16, 2023 2:12 PM CDT

States seeking greater reach for their abortion laws may turn to Supreme Court’s pig-welfare decision

A U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding a pig-welfare law could be seized upon by states looking to expand the reach of their abortion regulations.

May 15, 2023 2:35 PM CDT