The (non-)partisan puzzle in the conversion therapy case
Please note that SCOTUS Outside Opinions constitute the views of outside contributors and do not reflect the official opinions of SCOTUSblog. In Chiles v. Salazar, the Supreme…
What cases might the court grant next?
Empirical SCOTUS is a recurring series by Adam Feldman that looks at Supreme Court data, primarily in the form of opinions and oral arguments, to provide insights into the…
SCOTUStoday: Sotomayor apologizes to Kavanaugh; Jackson criticizes her conservative colleagues
As we’ve previously noted, we here at SCOTUSblog read a lot of legal news each week. Still, some headlines are hard to forget, including this one: The Supreme Court could […] The…
Justice Sotomayor apologizes for “inappropriate” remarks about Justice Kavanaugh
Just over one week after lobbing pointed personal criticism at Justice Brett Kavanaugh for his concurring opinion in a decision by the Supreme Court that lifted restrictions on…
“Universal” pre-K causes court to re-re-reconsider major religious precedent
The Relist Watch column examines cert petitions that the Supreme Court has “relisted” for its upcoming conference. A short explanation of relists is available here. Since our last…
Court to contemplate SEC’s use of disgorgement in securities enforcement
Next week’s argument in Sripetch v SEC presents yet another chapter in the court’s sustained examination of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s use of certain remedies in its…
Just who are “the people”?
The Second Amendment states that “[a] well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be […] The…
Last arguments of the term: huge cases for the Fourth Amendment and immigration
ScotusCrim is a recurring series by Rory Little focusing on intersections between the Supreme Court and criminal law. It’s always a wonder to me how some of the most important […]…
Why does the government keep showing up at the Supreme Court uninvited?
When the justices meet for their private conference on Friday, April 17, they will consider a petition for review filed by a Catholic preschool in Colorado, challenging its…
Justices to consider when federal courts may review state-court decisions
The justices on Monday will hear argument in T.M. v. University of Maryland Medical System Corporation about the circumstances in which lower federal courts may review state-court…
SCOTUStoday for Wednesday, April 15
First “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” now “The View.” Hosts Alyssa Farah Griffin and Sunny Hostin shared their SCOTUSblog fandom during Sarah Isgur’s appearance on the show…
SCOTUStoday for Tuesday, April 14
Happy publication day to SCOTUSblog’s own Sarah Isgur. Her new book Last Branch Standing offers “[a] myth-busting glimpse into the inner workings of the Supreme Court.” The post…
Justices to hear argument on right to jury trial in FCC proceedings
The Seventh Amendment guarantees a right to a jury trial in “suits at common law” – that is, lawsuits seeking legal remedies, such as money, rather than a remedy (known […] The…
How to restore the Supreme Court’s legitimacy
Please note that the following does not reflect the official opinions of SCOTUSblog. The Supreme Court is losing legitimacy – the only superpower it has. It’s under attack from…
Birthright citizenship: oral argument highlights
Over the last two months, we have laid out in detail our ideas about the key issues in the birthright citizenship case, Trump v. Barbara. Today, we compare our arguments […] The…
SCOTUStoday for Monday, April 13
Yesterday marked 81 years since the inauguration of President Harry Truman, who went on to select four Supreme Court justices while he was in office. Will President Donald Trump…
Announcement of opinions for Friday, April 17
We will be live blogging as the court potentially releases opinions in one or more argued cases from the current term. Click here for a list of FAQs about opinion […] The post…
How the justices decide … which cases to decide: an explainer
One of the more frequent questions we get here at SCOTUSblog is how the court decides which cases to review on the merits – that is, to have additional briefing […] The post How…
Supreme Court declines to block lower court ruling in election dispute on political speech
Updated on April 9 at 11:41 a.m. The Supreme Court on Thursday declined to block Ohio officials from removing Sam Ronan, who was running as a Republican for the state’s […] The…
SCOTUStoday: Sotomayor criticizes Kavanaugh
Curious about how Supreme Court justices spend their spare time? Justice Sonia Sotomayor revealed on Tuesday that she likes reading … recent books from her colleagues. She “said…
A Supreme Court status report
In early January, as the country eagerly awaited a tariffs ruling that – as it turned out – was still more than a month away, Supreme Court watchers raised concerns […] The post A…
Supreme Court summarily closes the courthouse doors again
Civil Rights and Wrongs is a recurring series by Daniel Harawa covering criminal justice and civil rights cases before the court. I have written before about the Supreme Court’s…
SCOTUStoday for Tuesday, April 7
President Donald Trump is not done complaining about the Supreme Court’s tariffs ruling. Keep reading to learn more about his latest message for the justices. The post SCOTUStoday…
What oral arguments and opinion authorships can actually tell us
Empirical SCOTUS is a recurring series by Adam Feldman that looks at Supreme Court data, primarily in the form of opinions and oral arguments, to provide insights into the…
Conversion therapy and professional speech
Courtly Observations is a recurring series by Erwin Chemerinsky that focuses on what the Supreme Court’s decisions will mean for the law, for lawyers and lower courts, and for…
Legislative history lives on – in secret
Clear Statements is a recurring series by Abbe R. Gluck on civil litigation and the modern regulatory and statutory state. Rumors of the textualist triumph over legislative…
SCOTUStoday for Wednesday, April 8
Yesterday marked four years since Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was confirmed to the Supreme Court, paving the way for her to become the first Black woman to serve as a […] The…
The 14th Amendment’s citizenship clause is not trapped in amber: a reflection on oral argument
While I have written multiple posts for SCOTUSblog on birthright citizenship, a substantial part of my practice is litigating Second Amendment claims. In light of that experience,…
Court allows Steve Bannon to move forward on dismissal of criminal charges against him
The Supreme Court on Monday morning added one new case, involving challenges to veterans’ benefit laws, to its docket for the 2026-27 term. The justices also sent the case of […]…
An actual alternative to originalism
Justice, Democracy, and Law is a recurring series by Edward B. Foley that focuses on election law and the relationship of law and democracy. “Original public meaning” has become…
The who, what, and where of gun control
A Second Opinion is a recurring series by Haley Proctor on the Second Amendment and constitutional litigation. My previous column examined what it means for a gun control measure…
Law, memoir, and the mystery of Justice Anthony Kennedy’s writing
The Supreme Court justice memoir, so lucrative for its authors, tends to be a less than illuminating genre. Justice Neil Gorsuch’s A Republic, If You Can Keep It reiterated the…
SCOTUStoday for Friday, April 10
On April 10, 1869, Congress passed legislation increasing the number of Supreme Court justices from seven to nine, where it’s remained since. The post SCOTUStoday for Friday,…
The sports stars, hip-hop artists, and celebrity magicians playing a role in pending Supreme Court petitions
During oral argument in January on an Idaho law barring transgender athletes from competing in girls’ and women’s sports, Justice Sonia Sotomayor briefly reflected on the…