Supreme Court

Term limits, transparency, and other proposed Supreme Court fixes

Gabe Roth, the executive director of Fix the Court, discusses the Biden court commission’s final report and why he believes term limits are the superior court reform.

If you have questions about the court, the justices, or an upcoming case, please email us at scotustalk@scotusblog.com. We may answer your question on a future episode of SCOTUStalk.

(Music by Keys of Moon Music via Soundcloud)

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The post Term limits, transparency, and other proposed Supreme … Read the rest

Supreme Court

The Penobscot River and claims against military subcontractors

This week we highlight cert petitions that ask the Supreme Court to consider, among other things, whether the Penobscot Nation has regulatory authority over the Penobscot River or only over certain islands in the river, and how broadly to construe the combatant-services exception to the Federal Tort Claims Act.

Control over the Penobscot River in Maine

In Penobscot Nation v. Frey and United States v. Frey, two cases ask the Supreme Court to review an en banc decision … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Trump asks justices to block the release of documents related to Jan. 6 riot

This article was updated on Dec. 23 at 9:40 p.m.

Former President Donald Trump came to the Supreme Court on Thursday, asking the justices to block the release of White House records to the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The committee is seeking documents that would show Trump’s communications and activities in the lead-up to the riot.

Trump argues that as a former president he has the power to keep the documents secret, … Read the rest

Supreme Court

The morning read for Tuesday, Dec. 21

Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court. To suggest a piece for us to consider, email us at roundup@scotusblog.com.

Here’s the Tuesday morning read:

Challenges mount at high court over OSHA vaccine-or-test mandate (Kelsey Reichmann, Courthouse News Service)
University of North Carolina and civil rights advocates ask Supreme Court to sidestep affirmative action challenge (Joan Biskupic, CNN)
The Supreme Court opened the door to legal vigilantism in

… Read the rest

Supreme Court

Justices field emergency requests on federal vaccine policies for workplaces, health care facilities

As the COVID-19 pandemic enters its third year and the omicron variant causes a spike in cases, challenges to efforts by policymakers to respond to the pandemic continue to arrive at the Supreme Court.

On Friday night, within hours of a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit that reinstated the Biden administration’s vaccine-or-test mandate for large employers, several of the plaintiffs challenging the rule came to the court, asking the justices to stay the … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Climate change and immigration policies headline February argument calendar

In an argument calendar released on Friday afternoon, the Supreme Court announced that it will hear oral arguments in seven cases over five days. The justices will tackle a wide range of issues, from the Environmental Protection Authority’s power to regulate greenhouse gases to an effort by a group of states to defend a controversial Trump-era immigration policy known as the “public charge” rule after the Biden administration declined to do so.

The justices will hear oral argument on … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Justices will take up cases on arbitration, locomotives, and Congress’ war powers

The Supreme Court on Wednesday morning granted three more cases from the justices’ private conference last week. The announcement that the justices will take on issues relating to arbitration, trains, and congressional power followed two other sets of orders from the Dec. 10 conference, but the decision to grant a second tranche of petitions from that conference followed similar moves in late 2020 and 2019, allowing the justices to add more cases to their docket for the second half … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Court rejects religious challenge to New York’s vaccine mandate for health care workers

The Supreme Court on Monday turned down two requests to block New York’s vaccine mandate for health care workers. Two groups of health care workers are challenging the mandate, arguing that it violates their constitutional right to freely exercise their religion. But over the public dissents of three conservative justices, the court denied the workers’ requests to put the mandate on hold while litigation continues.

The dispute centers on a regulation issued by New York’s state health department that … Read the rest