NEW: The Texas abortion law is back in the Supreme Court’s hands. The Department of Justice just filed an emergency request to reinstate a lower-court injunction against SB 8. supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/21/2…
Crux of the petition: Texas's law is blatantly unconstitutional under existing law and is irreparably harming Texans seeking to terminate their pregnancies. 
The DOJ (appropriately) takes the 5th circuit to task for its unreasoned and excessively sloppy opinion staying the injunction.
More on the crucial procedural distinction between the DOJ's challenge to SB 8 and abortion clinics' request (which SCOTUS denied on Sept. 1st): individuals can't sue a state directly, but the federal govt can.
UPDATE: Justice Alito has called on Texas to file a response to the DOJ's emergency application by this Thursday 10/21 at 5pm.
The DOJ's reply brief will be due a day or two later, setting up a possible order from the Court over the weekend or very early next week.
The DOJ's reply brief will be due a day or two later, setting up a possible order from the Court over the weekend or very early next week.
DOJ suggests an alternative: SCOTUS could move SB 8 off its shadow docket and onto its regular merits docket, where US v. Texas could be fully considered via oral argument and a precedential decision.
With this alternative, DOJ suggests that SCOTUS grants the emergency request to re-instate the injunction (and block the abortion law) while it fully considers the matter.
.@steve_vladeck has tweeted that the optimal course would be to grant the DOJ's stay request, grant cert and consider the TX law alongside the MS law coming to the Court in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Org on 12/1
Correction: the brief is due at noon on Thursday, not at 5 PM.
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
