Judicial Branch Updates FY 2024 Funding Request, But Remains Concerned About Budget Shortfall

The Judicial Branch updated its FY 2024 funding request to Congress by nearly $ 184 million as part of the regular budget process. But it continued to voice concerns about proposed appropriation levels that are too low to preserve federal courts’ ability “to administer justice effectively and efficiently.” 
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Court turns down request for relief in Arizona leadership’s voting law dispute

Court turns down request for relief in Arizona leadership’s voting law dispute

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The Supreme Court on Monday afternoon denied a request from the leaders of the Arizona legislature to put on hold an order that would require them to be deposed about the legislature’s enactment of voting laws that make it more difficult to register to vote. In a brief unsigned order without any noted dissents, the justices turned down an emergency filing from Ben Toma, the speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives, and Warren Petersen, the president of the … Read the rest

Court denies Alabama’s request to use voting map with only one majority-Black district

Court denies Alabama’s request to use voting map with only one majority-Black district

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The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected Alabama’s request to allow it to use a congressional map in the 2024 elections that a lower court had concluded likely violates the Voting Rights Act. The brief unsigned order, from which there were no public dissents, came less than four months after a divided Supreme Court agreed that the 2021 iteration of the map violated federal law by weakening the collective voting power of Black voters in the state.

Tuesday’s order from … Read the rest

Justices request federal government’s views on Texas and Florida social-media laws

Justices request federal government’s views on Texas and Florida social-media laws

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The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Biden administration for its views on a pair of controversial social-media laws enacted in Texas and Florida. Passed in response to beliefs that social-media platforms were censoring their users, particularly those expressing conservative political views, both states’ laws seek to regulate the content-moderation policies of social-media companies like Facebook and Twitter.

The justices asked the solicitor general to weigh in on NetChoice v. Paxton (a pending petition on the Texas law) and … Read the rest

Court denies Trump’s request to intervene in Mar-a-Lago documents case

Court denies Trump’s request to intervene in Mar-a-Lago documents case

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The Supreme Court on Thursday afternoon rejected a request from former President Donald Trump to allow a special master to review about 100 documents, marked as classified, that the FBI seized from Trump’s home. The ruling came in an unsigned one-sentence order; there were no dissents recorded.

The documents at the center of the dispute were among the 11,000 documents seized by the FBI in an Aug. 8 search of Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s resort in Palm Beach, Florida. In September, … Read the rest

In Maryland prison-assault case, a request to clarify an important procedural question

In Maryland prison-assault case, a request to clarify an important procedural question

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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.

Defendants appealing a case in federal court have to follow a series of rules to keep a specific issue alive and eligible for review. This week, we highlight cert petitions that ask the court to consider, among other things, whether a prison official appealing a jury verdict against him can … Read the rest

Judges Request Funding to Address Cybersecurity, Courthouse Safety, Growing Workload

Two federal judges testified that a Judiciary budget of $ 8.6 billion is needed to keep pace with inflation and to pay for important new investments in courthouse security, IT modernization, and cybersecurity. They also requested staffing to address workload increases caused by issues outside the Judiciary’s control.
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