The Supreme Court refused on July 22 to rehear a lawsuit that was filed against three justices because they rejected a previous lawsuit aimed at lawmakers who certified the 2020 election victory of President Joe Biden. In a rare move, … Continue reading 3 Supreme Court justices recuse 2nd time in case accusing them of wrongly rejecting 2020 election lawsuit
San Francisco will invoke the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling from last month that weakened federal regulators’ power in its upcoming case challenging federal wastewater discharge regulations, according to a brief that the city filed with the high court on July … Continue reading San Francisco invokes Supreme Court’s bureaucracy-weakening ruling in lawsuit against EPA
A pro-life sidewalk counseling organization asked the Supreme Court last week to invalidate a Carbondale, Illinois, law that forbids protests and outreach within a so-called bubble zone outside abortion clinics. The group, Coalition Life, argues that the 2023 law violates sidewalk counselors’ First Amendment right to approach women near abortion facilities to advise them of alternatives to abortion. Similar laws exist in other states such as New Hampshire and Montana. The petition in Coalition Life v. City of Carbondale was docketed by the nation’s highest court on July 18. The local disorderly conduct ordinance being challenged makes it illegal—within 100 … Continue reading Pro-life group asks Supreme Court to strike down Illinois city’s abortion counseling restrictions
A schoolchild and her mother asked a federal appeals court this week to decide whether a child should have been punished for making what their lawyers call an innocuous drawing that arose out of a history lesson in class. The … Continue reading California family appeals ruling punishing 1st grader for school drawing
The U.S. Supreme Court announced on July 17 that it will formally consider on Sept. 30 whether to hear an appeal related to Mexico’s ongoing $10 billion lawsuit against U.S. gun manufacturers. The court stated that it will consider the … Continue reading US Supreme Court to consider whether to allow Mexico’s lawsuit against US gun makers to proceed
West Virginia filed an appeal on July 16 with the U.S. Supreme Court to defend the state’s law that prevents male athletes from playing on school sports teams designated for females. The state’s Save Women’s Sports Act, enacted in 2021, … Continue reading West Virginia asks Supreme Court to lift stay on transgender sports ban
A federal district court threw out a police officer’s lawsuit against prominent Black Lives Matter activist DeRay Mckesson last week. The dismissal came after the Supreme Court on April 15 rejected Mr. Mckesson’s request to review the case. The court … Continue reading After Supreme Court rulings, lower court dismisses suit against BLM activist
The Supreme Court said on July 11 that it will formally consider on Sept. 30 whether to hear Jan. 6 defendant Russell Dean Alford’s appeal of a 2022 conviction. Mr. Alford, of Hokes Bluff, Alabama, argues that he shouldn’t have … Continue reading Supreme Court will consider Jan. 6 defendant’s appeal on Sept. 30
Lawyers for the District of Columbia asked a federal district court on July 11 to put a challenge to the capital city’s ban on so-called assault weapons on hold temporarily. They argued in newly filed papers in the case of … Continue reading DC government requests pause in lawsuit against its ban on AR-15 rifles
Legal experts told a panel on July 10 that two recent Supreme Court decisions on presidential immunity and bureaucratic power will generate a great deal of work for lawyers and judges. Panelists speaking at a Heritage Foundation event in Washington … Continue reading Supreme Court’s decisions on presidential immunity, agency authority mean more work for lawyers, judges, panel says
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on July 8 that last week’s Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity put “a crown on Donald Trump’s head.” The lawmaker said he is preparing legislation aimed at lessening the decision’s impact on … Continue reading Schumer says bill to address presidential immunity ruling forthcoming
The Supreme Court denied commentator Rogan O’Handley’s bid last week to appeal a lower court’s decision dismissing his lawsuit that claimed California pressured Twitter to censor his election-related posts. Mr. O’Handley’s account on Twitter, now called X, had been suspended … Continue reading Supreme Court won’t hear online commentator’s censorship suit against California
The Supreme Court last week overturned an appeals court ruling that shielded Republican state legislators in North Dakota from having to comply with subpoenas in a voting rights lawsuit. The new decision quashes a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit that put state lawmakers’ legislative privilege against being subpoenaed on an equal footing with that of federal lawmakers. The circuit court previously held that legislative privilege is needed so public servants can do their jobs without worrying about personal liability or constant litigation and that precedent holds that state lawmakers are entitled to the same … Continue reading Supreme Court rejects lower court ruling shielding state lawmakers from subpoenas
The Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether three offenders dubbed the “Scarecrow Bandits,” whose crimes predate a Trump-era criminal justice reform law, should benefit from the law’s lower mandatory minimum sentences. The nickname for the individuals originated with FBI … Continue reading Supreme Court will hear dispute over First Step Act sentence reductions
Mexico urged the U.S. Supreme Court this week to let its $10 billion lawsuit against U.S. gun manufacturers for allegedly flooding that country with firearms proceed in the lower courts. Although some gun control activists welcome Mexico’s lawsuit, gun rights … Continue reading Mexico asks US Supreme Court to allow its $10 billion lawsuit against US gun makers
The Supreme Court decided this week to review how a 60-day deadline works for illegal immigrants who miss the deadline to leave the country after agreeing to self-deportation. The legal issue in the immigration law appeal is whether such a … Continue reading Supreme Court to weigh the importance of filing deadlines in self-deportation cases
The Supreme Court decided on July 2 to send the cases of two Jan. 6 defendants back to lower courts after ruling this past week that the federal government was wrong to use an accounting law to charge Jan. 6 … Continue reading Supreme Court sends two Jan. 6 cases back for reconsideration
The Supreme Court declined on July 2 to take up the case of a Texas teenager who wanted to revive his unsuccessful lawsuit that accused social media platform Snapchat of failing to protect its young users from sexual predators. The Supreme Court did not provide reasons for its decision. The petitioner was not identified by name in court documents because he was a minor when the lawsuit was initiated. Lower courts threw out the case, finding that Section 230 of the federal Communications Decency Act barred lawsuits against internet companies for liability for users’ content. The case is John Doe … Continue reading Supreme Court declines Snapchat case about alleged teen sex abuse
The Supreme Court declined on July 2 to take up several Second Amendment-based challenges to an Illinois law that prohibits so-called assault weapons such as the popular AR-15 rifle. The ruling means that the Illinois law will remain on the … Continue reading Supreme Court won’t hear challenge to Illinois ban on ‘assault weapons,’ other gun appeals
The Supreme Court on July 1 sent legal challenges to laws in Florida and Texas that regulate how social media platforms moderate content back to lower courts, finding that they failed to carry out proper analyses of the two cases. … Continue reading Supreme Court punts on Florida and Texas social media laws, sends cases back to lower courts