The biggest news this week was the Supreme Court’s decision to hear the travel ban cases while partially staying the lower court injunctions. The Court had before it two petitions for certiorari filed by the government — one from the Fourth Circuit and one from the Ninth Circuit, which had both upheld lower courts’ injunctions … Continue reading Week of June 26, 2017 at the Court – End of Term
After announcing five opinions on Monday (discussed here), the Supreme Court issued three more on Thursday and another three on Friday. This coming Monday, June 26, is the last announcement day currently scheduled, and there are six cases still to be decided. And it is possible (although not overwhelmingly likely at this point) that the … Continue reading Weekly Roundup – June 23, 2017
The Supreme Court hit the ground running this week, handing down five opinions, one per curiam, and releasing its order list from its June 15 conference. Matal v. Tam (previously named Lee v. Tam) stems from a challenge by an Asian-American band wishing to trademark their band name, “The Slants,” with the U.S. Patent and … Continue reading This Week at the Court – Week of June 19, 2017
On Monday, Justice Gorsuch announced his first opinion as a Justice of the Supreme Court in Henson v. Santander Consumer USA, Inc.,, was the first of four opinions the Court announced from the bench. In Henson, the plaintiffs alleged that Santander had violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) in its communications with individuals … Continue reading This Week at the Court – Week of June 12, 2017
On Monday, the Court summarily affirmed a finding of liability in yet another voting rights case from North Carolina, issued four opinions, and granted certiorari in one case. In North Carolina v. Covington, the Court summarily affirmed a three-judge district court’s holding that the state legislative map was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. (Only two weeks … Continue reading This Week at the Court – June 5, 2017
On Thursday evening, in the case now captioned Trump v. International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP), the Trump Administration formally asked the Supreme Court to review the Fourth Circuit’s decision upholding a Maryland District Court’s preliminary injunction of President Trump’s second travel ban Executive Order. The government also asked the Court to stay the preliminary injunction … Continue reading Weekly Roundup – June 2, 2017
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court issued three opinions and announced that will hear a case involving voter registration next Term. In one of the three opinions the Court issued on Tuesday, County of Los Angeles v. Mendez, the Court held, in a unanimous (8-0) opinion by Justice Alito that an officer’s reasonable use of force … Continue reading This Week at the Court – Week of May 29, 2017
On Monday, in Cooper v. Harris, the Supreme Court upheld a lower court decision to strike down two North Carolina congressional districts as unconstitutional racial gerrymanders. Since the opinion’s release, the case has continued to garner attention. Linda Greenhouse of the New York Times argues that Cooper highlights the Court’s role “as a forum for … Continue reading Weekly Roundup – May 25, 2017
On Monday, the Supreme Court issued three opinions and its Order List from last week’s Conference. The most newsworthy of the decided cases, Cooper v. Harris, involved a challenge to two congressional districts in North Carolina. The plaintiffs alleged that the districts were an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. The three-judge district court agreed, and the case … Continue reading The Week of May 22, 2017 at the Court
On Monday, the Supreme Court issued its Order List from last week’s Conference and also issued opinions in three cases. Perhaps the biggest news of the day was the Court’s denial of certiorari in North Carolina v. North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP. The North Carolina case involved a challenge to the state’s particularly … Continue reading This Week at the Court – May 15, 2017