Did you miss your Supreme Court news this week? Let our Weekly Roundup help. (To stay on top of the latest Supreme Court happenings, follow ISCOTUS on Twitter.) The Supreme Court released its final decisions of the 2015 term on Monday. The most closely watched was Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, the Court’s most significant … Continue reading Weekly Roundup—July 2, 2016
An assessment of the Supreme Court’s most recent abortion decision by ISCOTUS Director Christopher W. Schmidt In his opinion for the Court in Monday’s Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, Justice Breyer had two goals: to write a bland opinion and to rewrite abortion law. Breyer’s opinion conscientiously avoids engaging with the most controversial elements of … Continue reading How Justice Breyer Rewrote Abortion Law in Whole Woman’s Health
Did you miss your Supreme Court news this week? Let our Weekly Roundup help. (To stay on top of the latest Supreme Court happenings, follow ISCOTUS on Twitter.) Ten down, three to go. The Court released ten of its thirteen remaining opinions of the term. On Monday, the Court discussed labor, the Fourth Amendment, patents, … Continue reading Weekly Roundup—June 24, 2016
Guest Post by Vinay Harpalani, Associate Professor of Law, Savannah Law School Thursday’s decision in Fisher v. Texas II came down exactly 13 years to the day after the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2003 ruling in Grutter v. Bollinger—which created the basic legal framework for affirmative action in university admissions. And more than eight years after Abigail … Continue reading The Fishing Expedition is Over: Victory for Affirmative Action in Fisher v. Texas
The line on Justice Kennedy is that he’s tough to predict. Ever since Justice O’Connor’s retirement, he’s been the Supreme Court’s swing vote, and the swing of the swing vote introduces an element of suspense to many of the most contentious Supreme Court cases. His vote, to a greater extent than any of his colleagues, … Continue reading The Unpredictable Justice Kennedy
Did you miss your Supreme Court news this week? Let our Weekly Roundup help. (To stay on top of the latest Supreme Court happenings, follow ISCOTUS on Twitter.) All together (for) now! The Supreme Court handed down six opinions this week, all but one unanimous. The justices held in Puerto Rico v. Franklin California Tax-Free … Continue reading Weekly Roundup—June 18, 2016
The Supreme Court punted yesterday in the latest Affordable Care Act contraception mandate case, Zubik v. Burwell. As was evident during oral arguments in March, on this case the justices fell into a predictable 4-4 liberal-conservative divide. The breakdown was the same one that was on display in the last contraception mandate case, Hobby Lobby … Continue reading In Praise of the Punt
The big surprise from Monday’s Supreme Court decision in Evenwel v. Abbott was not how the Court ruled, but that it was unanimous in doing so. The case involved the way to measure population in applying the Court’s longstanding “one person one vote” standard when drawing voter districts. The basic question: should voting districts be … Continue reading What Happened in Evenwel?
After ten years without asking a question at oral argument, Justice Clarence Thomas broke his silence. His question came last week in Voisine v. United States, a case that considered whether a domestic assault conviction qualifies as a federal “misdemeanor crime of domestic violence,” which in many states leads to a ban on firearms possession. … Continue reading Justice Thomas Asks a Question!
Today we hear oral arguments in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, the Supreme Court’s most significant abortion rights case since Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992). At issue is a Texas law that requires abortion providers to comply with the same health regulations that apply to ambulatory surgical centers and that requires doctors performing abortions to … Continue reading Abortion Back at the Supreme Court—What to Read