Supreme Court

The morning read for Friday, December 22

Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court. Here’s the Friday morning read:

Whether in 2000 or 2024, There’s No Upside for Supreme Court in Deciding Elections (Jess Bravin, The Wall Street Journal)
The Supreme Court Should at a Minimum Ask Jack Smith to Brief the Question of the Constitutionality of his Appointment (Steven Calabresi, The Volokh Conspiracy)
New Trump Cases Shadowed by Rocky Relationship with Supreme

… Read the rest

Supreme Court

Court won’t hear Trump immunity dispute now

The Supreme Court on Friday rejected a request from Special Counsel Jack Smith to decide, without waiting for a federal appeals court to weigh in, whether former President Donald Trump can be tried on criminal charges that he conspired to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Smith had asked the justices to act quickly to resolve the dispute over Trump’s immunity during the 2023-24 term, but the justices turned him down, in a brief unsigned order issued on … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Smith urges “immediate review” of Trump’s immunity claims

Special Counsel Jack Smith rejected as “misguided” the suggestion by lawyers for former President Donald Trump that the Supreme Court should wait to decide whether Trump can be tried on charges that he conspired to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Emphasizing that the charges against Trump “are of the utmost gravity,” Smith contended that the “public interest in a prompt resolution of this case favors an immediate, definitive decision by this Court.”

In a 10-page reply brief … Read the rest

Supreme Court

A Washington send-off for Sandra Day O’Connor

The late Justice Sandra Day O’Connor was celebrated at a memorial service Tuesday as an American pioneer whose mantra when facing legal decisions and life challenges was “get it done.”

“Sandra Day O’Connor, the daughter of the American west, was a pioneer in her own right, breaking down the barriers in the political world and the nation’s conscience,” President Joe Biden said during a two-hour service at Washington National Cathedral. “To her, the Supreme Court was the bedrock, the … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Justices won’t block Illinois ban on assault-style weapons

The Supreme Court on Thursday afternoon declined to temporarily block an Illinois law that bans the purchase, sale, possession, and manufacture of assault-style weapons. In a brief unsigned order, without any explanation, the justices denied a request to intervene after two lower courts rejected requests to put the law on hold. There were no recorded dissents from Thursday’s order.

The law at the center of the case is known as the Protect Illinois Communities Act (as well as a … Read the rest

Supreme Court

The morning read for Friday, December 15

Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court. Here’s the Friday morning read:

Inside the exclusive world of Supreme Court clerks driving America’s legal controversies (Joan Biskupic, CNN)
What Sandra Day O’Connor Got Wrong (Linda Greenhouse, The New York Times)
Is Compelled Decryption Heading to the Supreme Court? (Orin Kerr, The Volokh Conspiracy)
Behind the Scenes at the Dismantling of Roe v. Wade (Jodi Kantor & Adam

… Read the rest

Supreme Court

Court to weigh in on scope of law used in Jan. 6 prosecutions

Two days after Special Counsel Jack Smith asked the justices to decide quickly whether former President Donald Trump can face criminal charges for conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 elections, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a case that could affect the charges against Trump even if the court ultimately rules that he is not immune from prosecution. The justices on Wednesday agreed to weigh in on the use of a federal law – also at issue … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Justice Sandra Day O’Connor protected us from the extremes

This tribute is part of a series on the life and work of the late Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. Marci A. Hamilton is Professor of Practice in Political Science and Fox Pavilion Leadership Senior Non-Resident Fellow in the Program for Research on Religion, University of Pennsylvania.

We could use a Justice Sandra Day O’Connor on the United States Supreme Court right now. Her judgment and common sense protected the country from the extremes that have polarized this striving democracy. That polarization … Read the rest