The U.S. Supreme Court on March 25 heard two regulatory appeals centering on which courts should have authority to try lawsuits that challenge Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) actions. The court first heard EPA v. Calumet Shreveport Refining, followed by a … Continue reading Supreme Court weighs states’, refineries’ appeals against EPA

A federal appeals court on March 25 temporarily put on hold a lower court order that blocked efforts led by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to downsize the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The U.S. Court of Appeals … Continue reading Fourth Circuit temporarily allows DOGE to continue dismantling USAID

The Supreme Court on March 24 grappled with a much-litigated racial gerrymandering case from Louisiana involving two consolidated cases: Louisiana v. Callais and Robinson v. Callais. Gerrymandering refers to the manipulation of electoral district boundaries to benefit a particular party … Continue reading Supreme Court grapples with Louisiana Voting Rights Act case

The U.S. Supreme Court on March 24 declined to hear businessman Steve Wynn’s lawsuit that sought to roll back protections for journalists in defamation lawsuits. The court denied the petition in Wynn v. The Associated Press (AP) in an unsigned … Continue reading Supreme Court won’t hear Steve Wynn’s appeal to roll back journalist protections

The U.S. Supreme Court decided on March 24 not to hear a challenge to its controversial 20-year-old ruling upholding eminent domain powers to confiscate private property for private economic development. The court denied the petition in Bowers Development LLC v. … Continue reading Supreme Court won’t hear challenge to 20-year-old eminent domain ruling

The Supreme Court on March 21 unanimously overturned former Chicago alderman Patrick Daley Thompson’s conviction for making false statements to financial regulators. Thompson is related to two former Chicago mayors. He is the grandson of Richard J. Daley, who was … Continue reading Supreme Court votes 9–0 to overturn convictions of former Chicago alderman

A book by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett about what it’s like to serve on the nation’s highest court will be published in September. After being nominated by President Donald Trump in his first term, Barrett, now 53, … Continue reading Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s memoir to offer insight into Supreme Court and Constitution

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7–2 on March 21 that crimes committed through inaction can nonetheless be violent, rejecting an alleged mobster’s argument he was innocent because he did not use physical force. In oral arguments on Nov. 12, 2024, … Continue reading Supreme Court rules in mob case that crimes of violence may be committed through inaction

The Kansas Legislature gave final approval on March 19 to place a question on the August 2026 ballot that would allow voters to elect members of the state’s supreme court. The state House passed the bill authorizing the proposed amendment … Continue reading Kansans will vote next year on electing the state supreme court

Louisiana executed Jessie Hoffman on March 18, hours after the U.S. Supreme Court voted 5–4 to deny his request to halt the state’s first execution using nitrogen gas, which he argued would violate his Buddhist beliefs. Hoffman, 46, was pronounced … Continue reading Louisiana carries out first execution in 15 years after Supreme Court appeal fails

The Trump administration dropped the federal government’s appeal of a preliminary injunction that blocked the government from extending gender identity discrimination protections to the education sector. The appeal had been initiated by the Biden administration, which left office on Jan. … Continue reading Trump admin drops Biden-era appeal that sought gender-identity protection in schools

The U.S. Supreme Court on March 14 denied Alpine Securities Corporation’s emergency request to stop a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) enforcement action aiming to bar it from the securities business. The company is arguing that FINRA, a self-regulating organization … Continue reading Supreme Court won’t halt disciplinary proceeding against securities firm

The Justice Department on March 14 dropped Biden-era lawsuits challenging state laws in Oklahoma and Iowa that empowered those states to detain and apply consequences to illegal immigrants. Despite the federal government’s new actions, the Oklahoma and Iowa laws remain … Continue reading Justice Department drops lawsuits against Oklahoma, Iowa immigration laws

The U.S. Supreme Court this week revived a lawsuit about a valuable French impressionist painting confiscated by the Nazis from a Jewish woman whose American descendant wishes to reclaim it. The issue was whether “Saint-Honoré Street, Afternoon, Rain Effect,” an … Continue reading Supreme Court revives lawsuit over Nazi-looted painting

The U.S. Supreme Court declined on March 10 to take up the case of a veteran firefighter whose employment was terminated after he attended a leadership conference at a church. The decision to deny the petition in Hittle v. City … Continue reading Supreme Court won’t hear former fire chief’s religious discrimination appeal

The U.S. Supreme Court on March 10 turned away a lawsuit brought by Republican attorneys general in 19 states seeking to halt lawsuits filed by five Democrat-led states against major energy companies. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented from … Continue reading Supreme Court won’t hear 19 states’ bid to block Democrat-led states’ energy lawsuits

The U.S. Supreme Court decided on March 10 to hear a First Amendment challenge to a Colorado law that prohibits counseling for minors that aims to turn patients away from same-sex attraction. The petition in Chiles v. Salazar was granted … Continue reading Supreme Court will hear challenge to Colorado ban on ‘conversion therapy’ for youth

The U.S. Supreme Court considered on March 5 whether the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) may authorize a private company to store spent nuclear fuel at a Texas site. In the case, the court ordered two similar lawsuits—NRC v. Texas and … Continue reading Supreme Court hears dispute over nuclear waste storage in Texas oil field

The U.S. Supreme Court on March 3 left in place a Utah Supreme Court ruling that overturned the death sentence of Douglas Lovell, who was convicted of murdering a woman expected to testify against him. The Utah Supreme Court left … Continue reading Supreme Court won’t consider re-imposing death sentence in Utah murder case

The Trump administration on March 5 dropped a lawsuit filed by the Biden administration that sought to permit Idaho physicians to perform emergency abortions. Idaho’s Defense of Life Act forbids abortions except when “necessary to prevent the death of the … Continue reading Trump administration drops high-profile Idaho abortion case