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Supreme Court

Wisconsin parents challenge school support plan for transgender students

The Relist Watch column examines cert petitions that the Supreme Court has “relisted” for its upcoming conference. A short explanation of relists is available here.

The Supreme Court continues to whittle down its backlog of relisted cases. At the last conference, the court disposed of four. It noted probable jurisdiction (the arcane term for when the court decides to review one of the few types of cases over which it has mandatory appellate jurisdiction) in a case involving … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Justices to hear challenge to regulation of unserialized ‘ghost guns’

The Supreme Court will hear oral argument next week in a challenge to a 2022 federal rule that seeks to regulate “ghost guns” – firearms without serial numbers that, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives says, almost anyone can quickly assemble with parts that they purchase, often in a kit online or through the mail. Serial numbers are used by law enforcement to track guns used in crime.

Defending the rule, the ATF argues that it is … Read the rest

Civil Law

In a Batson Challenge, what Prosecutor Says is Everything or is It?

Before getting started on the blog entry for the week, I did finish Over Ruled. What is clear from reading the book, is that Justice Gorsuch clearly believes that the administrative state had gotten too big and that sufficient guardrails for the administrative state do not exist. Also, from reading that book, it is pretty clear to me that he would think Loper Bright overruled Kisor v. Wilkie. So, administrative regulations he will uphold will have to have a very … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Justices set aside university free speech challenge

Amid the debate over free speech on university campuses, the justices on Monday set aside a decision by a federal appeals court in a case involving whether so-called “bias-response team policies” – procedures created by universities to solicit, track, and investigate reports of bias – chill students’ speech.

The order in Speech First v. Sands was part of a list of orders from the court’s private conference last week.

Over a dissent by Justice Clarence Thomas that was joined … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Justices turn away West Point admissions challenge

On Friday afternoon, the justices declined to temporarily block the U.S. Military Academy from considering race in its admissions process. In an unsigned order, the justices turned down a request from the same group that spearheaded challenges to the use of affirmative action in admissions at Harvard and the University of North Carolina, and which now argues that West Point’s use of race violates the Constitution.

Friday’s order also included a relatively unusual statement that provided a possible glimpse … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Washington residents challenge state’s effort to tax long-term capital gains

The Petitions of the Week column highlights a selection of cert petitions recently filed in the Supreme Court. A list of all petitions we’re watching is available here.

The Constitution constrains states from excessively burdening out-of-state commerce – a doctrine known as the dormant commerce clause, because it is implicit in the grant of power to Congress to regulate interstate commerce. Five years ago, a divided Supreme Court held in South Dakota v. Wayfair that, under the doctrine, … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Landlords challenge New York’s longstanding rent-stabilization regime

The Petitions of the Week column highlights a selection of cert petitions recently filed in the Supreme Court. A list of all petitions we’re watching is available here.

Rents in New York City are among the highest in the country and rising. According to a report from brokerage firm Douglas Elliman, median rents in Manhattan reached a record high in May of $ 4,395 per month. Meanwhile, only a handful of residential units in the city are rent-controlled, … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Colorado man’s First Amendment challenge will test the scope of protection for threatening speech

There is no dispute that the Facebook messages Billy Raymond Counterman sent to local Colorado musician Coles Whalen made her feel afraid. For years, Counterman sent increasingly menacing messages in which he suggested that he had seen Whalen – who is identified only by her initials in court documents, but who has discussed the case on her website – while driving and made comments such as “Die” and “Fuck off permanently.” Whalen told a family member that she was

… Read the rest