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Independent news and analysis on the U.S. Supreme Court. Left Twitter 4/20/23. Follow us on TikTok! 🎙: SCOTUStalk. 📸: scotus_blog.
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Dec 6, 2022 4 tweets 2 min read
TODAY AT SCOTUS: It's a day of fraud at the Supreme Court.

The justices will hear two oral arguments -- both involving alleged fraud in two very different contexts. First: U.S. ex rel. Polansky v. Executive Health Resources. If a whistleblower sues on the government's behalf under the False Claims Act, how much authority does the government have to dismiss the lawsuit later on? @JakeElberg explains why that matters: scotusblog.com/2022/12/whistl…
Dec 5, 2022 4 tweets 2 min read
TODAY AT SCOTUS: At 9:30 a.m. EST, the court will issue orders on pending petitions. Starting at 10, the justices will hear two oral arguments. One's on a clash between anti-discrimination laws and free speech for businesses. The other's on a technical question of bankruptcy law. First: The case of a Colorado web designer who opposes gay marriage and doesn't want to design wedding websites for same-sex couples. But a state law says businesses can't discriminate against LGBTQ people. Does the law violate the designer's free speech? scotusblog.com/2022/12/colora…
Nov 28, 2022 4 tweets 2 min read
Today at SCOTUS: The justices return to the bench for oral arguments in a pair of public-corruption cases, both stemming from scandals in New York politics that arose during Andrew Cuomo's time as governor. In both cases, the defendants are claiming prosecutorial overreach. First, in Percoco v. United States, a former Cuomo aide was convicted of taking a bribe to facilitate state approval for a real estate project, even though the aide had no official role in government at the time. Does that stretch the federal bribery law? scotusblog.com/2022/11/former…
Nov 8, 2022 4 tweets 2 min read
Today at SCOTUS: Two oral arguments about where and how people can bring a lawsuit. In one case, a worker is trying to sue his company because he was exposed to asbestos. In the second, a woman wants to sue a nursing home over its treatment of her deceased husband. First is Mallory v. Norfolk Southern Railway, a case about the power of state courts to hear lawsuits against companies that operate there. It pits originalist arguments against pro-business interests -- so it could scramble the court's typical alignment. scotusblog.com/2022/11/origin…
Nov 1, 2022 4 tweets 2 min read
Today at SCOTUS: The justices will hear a pair of cases from prisoners who are challenging their convictions or sentences. Both cases will affect the scope of post-conviction relief for similarly situated people. First up: Jones v. Hendrix. Marcus Jones was convicted of violating the federal felon-in-possession law. Later, the Supreme Court narrowed the scope of that law. Do the habeas corpus statutes allow him to challenge his conviction now? Noam Biale explains: scotusblog.com/2022/10/on-the…
Oct 31, 2022 4 tweets 2 min read
Today at SCOTUS: Will affirmative action remain legal under the 14th Amendment and federal civil rights law? The court will hear arguments on that question in a pair of challenges to the admissions policies at UNC & Harvard. @AHoweBlogger has our preview: scotusblog.com/2022/10/in-cas… For further reading on the affirmative-action cases, here's our guide to the nearly 100 amicus briefs that were filed: scotusblog.com/2022/10/a-guid…

And here's our symposium in which a diverse group of experts and advocates weighed in on the issues at stake: scotusblog.com/category/speci…
Oct 12, 2022 4 tweets 2 min read
Today at SCOTUS: A copyright dispute over an Andy Warhol portrait of Prince, and overtime pay for an offshore oil-rig worker. Those issues are before the justices for the final argument day of the court's October session. First, Andy Warhol Foundation v. Goldsmith. In the 1980s, Warhol created a series of silkscreen prints based on a photo of Prince. One of those prints is now the subject of a copyright case that could refine the meaning of "fair use." Ronald Mann explains: scotusblog.com/2022/10/justic…
Oct 3, 2022 4 tweets 2 min read
Today at SCOTUS: It's the opening day of the 2022-23 term. At 9:30 a.m. EDT, the court will issue orders, which may include cert grants from last week's "long conference." Then, at 10, the court will hear two arguments as Ketanji Brown Jackson takes the bench for the first time. The first case is Sackett v. EPA, which will test the limits of the EPA's authority to regulate wetlands under the Clean Water Act. @AHoweBlogger explains how an Idaho couple's attempt to built a house near a lake turned into a major environmental case: scotusblog.com/2022/09/epas-a…
Sep 14, 2022 5 tweets 2 min read
JUST IN: By a 5-4 vote, the Supreme Court DENIES Yeshiva University's emergency request to intervene now in a dispute over whether the university must recognize an LGBTQ student group. Roberts and Kavanaugh join with Sotomayor, Kagan, and Jackson. supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf… screenshot of first page of... The Supreme Court's decision means that a lower-court ruling, which ordered Yeshiva to recognize a Pride Alliance, can take effect for now. But that is not the end of the matter, as both the majority and the dissent seem to recognize.
Sep 13, 2022 4 tweets 1 min read
Two justices worked for Kenneth Starr early in their careers. John Roberts was his deputy when Starr was solicitor general during the George H.W. Bush administration. Brett Kavanaugh clerked for Starr on the D.C. Circuit and was on Starr's team for the Clinton investigation. Chief Justice Roberts has released the following statement on Starr's death: "I was saddened to learn of Ken Starr’s passing. I wo
Jul 1, 2022 6 tweets 3 min read
The Supreme Court's just-ended term was marked by a historic decline in unanimous outcomes and a surge of 6-3 decisions along ideological lines. Those are among the findings in our 2021-22 Stat Pack, which we just posted: scotusblog.com/wp-content/upl….
Here are some of our findings: Just 29% of the court's decisions were unanimous, the lowest rate of unanimity in the two+ decades that we've been tracking SCOTUS stats.

And among the 19 cases that were decided in 6-3 votes, the justices were fully polarized in 14 of them.
Apr 26, 2022 4 tweets 2 min read
Today at SCOTUS: The penultimate argument day of the term. Starting at 10 a.m. EDT, the justices will hear two cases -- one on a controversial Trump-era immigration policy (and whether Biden can end it); the other on a death-row prisoner's effort to develop new evidence. In Biden v. Texas, the court will review Biden's attempts to rescind a Trump policy that requires people seeking asylum at the southern border to remain in Mexico while they await hearings in U.S. immigration court. Here's @AHoweBlogger's preview: scotusblog.com/2022/04/one-of…
Apr 25, 2022 4 tweets 2 min read
Today at SCOTUS: It's the final argument week of the term. At 9:30 a.m. EDT, we expect orders on pending petitions. Then, at 10, oral arguments in two cases: one from a football coach who wants to pray; the other from a death row prisoner challenging his method of execution. In Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, the justices will hear a dispute about prayer in public school. It's at the confluence of three different First Amendment rights. But as @AHoweBlogger explains, the two sides don't even agree on the basic facts. scotusblog.com/2022/04/in-the…
Apr 19, 2022 4 tweets 2 min read
Today at SCOTUS: A pair of oral arguments, both involving different types of legal errors and how courts can (or should) correct them. In George v. McDonough, the VA denied a veteran's claim for disability benefits. That denial was based on a regulatory interpretation that was later deemed invalid. Can the veteran now go back and challenge the denial? @ASKrishnakumar explains: scotusblog.com/2022/04/justic…
Apr 18, 2022 4 tweets 2 min read
Today at SCOTUS: Orders on pending petitions at 9:30 a.m. EDT, and then the justices return to the bench for the start of their final two-week argument session of the 2021-22 term. They'll hear two cases today: one on workers' compensation, the other on bankruptcy fees. First up: U.S. v. Washington, the federal government's challenge to a state workers' comp law for federal contract workers tasked with cleaning up nuclear waste at a site where the government developed one of the first atomic bombs. @ProfMikeDuff explains: scotusblog.com/2022/04/at-a-v…
Mar 22, 2022 12 tweets 3 min read
The Senate Judiciary Committee is back in session this morning for day 2 of Ketanji Brown Jackson's nomination hearings. After yesterday's opening statements, today is the first chance for senators to publicly ask Jackson questions and hear her responses. If you missed day 1, check our our special episode of SCOTUStalk -- a 20-minute digest of the critical moments from yesterday's hearing without any of the fluff.
scotusblog.com/2022/03/the-ja…
Mar 21, 2022 33 tweets 5 min read
The Senate hearings for Ketanji Brown Jackson have begun. Dick Durbin, chair of the Judiciary Committee, introduces Jackson and highlights the historic nature of her nomination. "You are living witness to the fact that, in America, all is possible."

(photo by @katieleebarlow) Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, spends much of his introduction attacking Democrats for their views on the Constitution and their conduct opposing Trump's SCOTUS nominees. He also complains that some documents from Jackson's time at the Sentencing Commission haven't been turned over.
Mar 21, 2022 5 tweets 2 min read
Today at SCOTUS: As Ketanji Brown Jackson appears for day 1 of her Senate hearings, the justices begin a busy week across the street.

At 9:30 a.m. EDT, the court will issue orders on pending petitions. At 10, two oral arguments: one on arbitration, one on legal intervention. First up, in Morgan v. Sundance, Inc., the court will hear a lawsuit from Taco Bell workers who allege that a franchise owner violated wage & hour laws. Can the franchise owner move the dispute out of court and into arbitration? @CharlotteGarden explains: scotusblog.com/2022/03/is-tur…
Mar 1, 2022 4 tweets 1 min read
Today at SCOTUS: Two oral arguments in health care cases, starting at 10 a.m. EST. First up: If the government prosecutes a doctor for improperly prescribing controlled substances, is it a valid defense for the doctor to argue that she subjectively believed she was prescribing for legitimate medical purposes? scotusblog.com/2022/02/amid-o…
Feb 22, 2022 4 tweets 2 min read
Today at SCOTUS: The justices return to the bench after their February recess. The court will issue orders on pending petitions at 9:30 a.m. EST, followed by oral arguments starting at 10 in two cases involving Native American sovereignty. First up, in Ysleta del Sur Puelbo v. Texas, the court will hear a long-running dispute over whether a federal law allows Texas to prohibit certain types of gambling that tribes want to offer on reservations located in Texas. scotusblog.com/2022/02/justic…
Feb 3, 2022 4 tweets 2 min read
Who will Biden nominate to replace Stephen Breyer? Don't miss our series of longform profiles from @AHoweBlogger on the likely frontrunners.

Thread. ⬇️ J. Michelle Childs: the outsider from South Carolina.

A veteran federal trial judge who also has experience in state government, Childs would bring educational diversity and a beyond-the-beltway perspective to the court. scotusblog.com/2022/02/profil…