Supreme Court

Greenhouse gases and “major questions”: Justices to hear argument on EPA’s power to tackle climate change

Three days after President Joe Biden named Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as his nominee to succeed the retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, Breyer and his colleagues will return to the bench on Monday morning to hear oral argument in a case involving the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to regulate greenhouse gases. Although the case hinges on a highly technical provision of the Clean Air Act, it nonetheless has the potential to be one of the most consequential cases in a … Read the rest

Supreme Court

What senators are saying: Tracking reactions to Jackson’s nomination

After President Joe Biden’s nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, attention now turns to the Senate’s advice-and-consent process. It takes a simple majority in the Senate to confirm a nominee to the court. The chamber is split 50-50, with Vice President Kamala Harris able to cast the decisive vote in the event of a tie.

Here’s how senators from both parties reacted to the nomination on Friday.

Key Democrats

Two moderate Democrats – Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Joe … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Announcement of opinions for Thursday, Feb. 24

On Thursday, Feb. 24, we will be live blogging as the court releases opinions in one or more argued cases from the current term.

The post Announcement of opinions for Thursday, Feb. 24 appeared first on SCOTUSblog.

SCOTUSblog… Read the rest

Supreme Court

Court will assess double-jeopardy claim with implications for tribal sovereignty

Crimes against indigenous women are the subject of increasing public concern and awareness. Government officials – tribal, federal, and state – have established initiatives to address the disturbingly disproportionate rates of violent crimes perpetrated against indigenous women. The tools these governments have at their disposal are often limited by a criminal justice system and jurisdictional framework in Indian Country that is complex and historically unresponsive to the needs of Indian people. Because federal statutes and court decisions have limited … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Sovereign immunity and defective indictments

This week we highlight cert petitions that ask the Supreme Court to consider, among other things, whether Turkey is immune from suit from protesters injured by security forces at its ambassador’s residence, and whether a defective indictment for a federal gun crime was harmless or structural error.

Turkey claims immunity over May 2017 security altercation with protesters

Republic of Turkey v. Usoyan raises a question under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act in a case following a violent clash … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Breyer speaks about his approach to judging and the value of diverse experience

Sitting at the edge of his seat on stage at the Law Library of Congress Thursday afternoon, soon-to-be-retired Justice Stephen Breyer was exuberant and humble as ever about his work on the court. Jeffrey Minear, the counselor to Chief Justice John Roberts, spoke with Breyer about his tenure — and his books — for an annual lecture sponsored by the Supreme Court Fellows Program.

Minear began by asking about changes to the court since Breyer clerked for Justice Arthur … Read the rest

Supreme Court

The morning read for Tuesday, Feb. 15

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:

‘Law is king’: Amy Coney Barrett discusses constitutional interpretation, life on Supreme Court in return to Notre Dame (Ryan Peters, The Observer)
Ketanji Brown Jackson, a judge who defies stereotypes, is on Biden’s SCOTUS list (Nina Totenberg, NPR)
Labor issues complicate Judge J.

… Read the rest

Supreme Court

Big banks and raisin referenda

This week we highlight cert petitions that ask the Supreme Court to consider, among other things, whether Washington state’s surtax on banks violates the dormant commerce clause when 150 of 153 affected institutions are out of state and whether “one person, one vote” means that California’s statutory scheme allowing raisin cooperatives to vote as a bloc in referenda violates the Constitution.

Big banks challenge a Washington state surtax on Washington-based bank income

Washington Bankers Association v. Washington raises a … Read the rest