The US supreme court is turning the constitution into a suicide pact The constitution is being used to destroy the very democratic governance that it was designed to protect The Guardian - US · Jul 6, 2022
Supreme Court Gives Biden Administration a (Temporary?) Win on Immigration with Final Decision of Term Chief Justice Roberts final opinion of the term rejects the statutory challenge to the Biden Administration's rescission of the "Remain in Mexico" policy. Reason · Jun 30, 2022
Recent Episodes of Divided Argument Divided Argument, my podcast about the Supreme Court with Dan Epps, has been in high season this month, as the Court has released the majority of its important opinions. Here are the episodes from this month so far: SMUGLER: We discuss the Bivens decision in Egbert v. Boule and the… Reason · Jun 29, 2022
The Limits of Bruen The Constitutionality of "Shall Issue" Regimes After Bruen. Reason · Jun 27, 2022
On Justice Thomas, Dobbs, Precedent, and Substantive Due Process In his Dobbs concurrence, the senior associate justice reiterates his outlying views on precedent and his belief that all substantive due process decisions were "demonstrably erroneous." Reason · Jun 26, 2022
Justice Kavanaugh on the Right to Travel to Get an Abortion This is a tremendously important question, as Ilya's and my posts noted in May. Justice Kavanaugh's concurrence in Dobbs today expressly noted: [A]s I see it, some of the other abortion-related legal questions raised by today's decision are not especially difficult as a constitutional matter. For example, may a State… Reason · Jun 24, 2022
How Should Courts Evaluate Gun Regulations After Bruen? There's much to be said and debated about the N.Y. State Rifle & Pistol Ass'n v. Bruen opinions, and who got it right. But for now, I want to turn to the practical question: What does Bruen mean for gun laws going forward? Here is my very tentative summary of… Reason · Jun 23, 2022
Supreme Court Decides Major Chevron Case Without Citing Chevron American Hospital Association v. Becerra is another indication that lower courts are too quick to give agencies Chevron deference. Reason · Jun 15, 2022
What's Wrong With That Footnote? It's Only Seven Words Long! Chief Justice Roberts refuses to join a wee little footnote in a Justice Barrett opinion. Reason · Jun 15, 2022
Barrett v. Gorsuch -- Continued Justice Gorsuch has dissented from two-thirds of Justice Barrett's majority opinions this term. Reason · Jun 15, 2022
Kavanaugh's Paradox For more than a month, protestors have demonstrated outside of Justice Kavanaugh's house. The purpose of these gatherings is clear: to pressure the Justice to change his vote in Dobbs. On Tuesday, Nicholas John Roske traveled to Justice Kavanaugh's house with the same purpose. But instead of wearing a pussy… Reason · Jun 9, 2022
Press Coverage on the Assassination Attempt of Justice Kavanaugh The New York Times lists sixteen news stories above the attempted murder of a Justice. Reason · Jun 8, 2022
So Long As Dobbs Remains Undecided, The Lives of the Justices Are At Risk The Dobbs 5 should immediately issue an unsigned per curiam order, with an opinion to follow, even over the Chief Justice's objection. Reason · Jun 8, 2022
More SCOTUS Leaks To Politico: Alito's Majority Still Holds Five, And No Other Draft Opinions Have Been Circulated Yet These leaks from a "conservative" look designed to quell controversy. Reason · May 11, 2022
Reason · May 9, 2022 Abortion and the Free Exercise Clause What if a doctor feels a religious obligation to perform abortions, (e.g., because he believes doing so is necessary for him to be the Good Samaritan, by removing a threat to his patient's mental health)?
Reason · May 2, 2022 Boston Can't Exclude Christian Flag from City Hall Flagpole When It Allows Many Other Groups to Fly Flags So the Supreme Court held this morning, though it made clear that a city could pick and choose which flags it flies, if it makes clear that the flags are its own speech.
Reason · Apr 26, 2022 Don't Push A Pencil Through Lemon, Slice It In Half! Will the Supreme Court finally overrule the Lemon test?
Tribune News Service · Apr 13, 2022 Rekha Basu: Chuck Grassley had a chance to restore bipartisan confidence. He passed I feel stupid for having dared to hope Sen. Chuck Grassley would make the leap to vote for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson getting on the Supreme Court. Thankfully, she made it through without the support of Iowa's senior senator. But the victory could have been sweeter, the moment more memorable,…
Reason · Mar 29, 2022 Tradition and Compelling Interests in Religion Cases Justice Kavanaugh argues for historical practice as a check on judicial intuition
Reason · Mar 25, 2022 Supreme Court Issues Stay, Favoring Navy, in Navy Seals COVID Vaccination Religious Exemption Case In today's Austin v. U.S. Navy Seals 1–26, the Supreme Court stayed "[t]he district court's January 3, 2022 order, insofar as it precludes the Navy from considering respondents' vaccination status in making deployment, assignment, and other operational decisions … pending disposition of the appeal in the United States Court of…
Reason · Mar 24, 2022 Justice Kavanaugh on Strict Scrutiny In many areas of constitutional law, the Court allows a constitutional right to be overcome when a restriction passes "strict scrutiny"—i.e. (to oversimplify slightly), when the government can show that restricting the right is the "least restrictive means" of serving a "compelling government interest." In some fields, such as free…
The Guardian - US · Mar 10, 2022 Why dissent by conservative justices in voting rights cases is alarming Democrats won two major victories, but a dissenting opinion from three of the court’s conservative justices set off alarm bells
Reason · Feb 8, 2022 Throwing Shade At The Shadow Docket In The Alabama Redistricting Cases Merrill v. Milligan is the most important shadow docket entry since John Does 1-3 v. Mills
Reason · Jan 20, 2022 SCOTUS GDRs Trump v. Thompson: Grant, Dictumize, and Retreat The Supreme Court summarily deems the "central question" of the D.C. Circuit's opinion as "nonbinding dicta" to avoid hamstringing some future, more worthwhile, president.