Supreme Court

William Hennessy, Jr., prolific courtroom sketch artist, dies at 67

William Hennessy, Jr., a classically trained artist and SCOTUSblog contributor who chronicled oral arguments at the Supreme Court and legal proceedings around the country for decades, died on Tuesday. Scott McFarlane, a CBS News correspondent who profiled Hennessy last year, reported on X on an announcement made by Hennessy’s family. Hennessy was 67 on Tuesday.

Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar defending the Biden administration’s opposition to an Idaho abortion restriction in April. (William Hennessy)

Hennessy, who had a degree from … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Court turns down challenges to school admissions, gender support plans, and gun licensing

The Supreme Court on Monday morning declined to take up several hot-button issues, including a challenge by parents to a school district’s plan to provide support for transgender and non-binary students, a dispute over the admissions policy used during the 2021-22 school year for three of Boston’s elite public high schools, and the case of a Hawaii man prosecuted for carrying a handgun without a license.

The announcement came in a list of orders released from the justices’ private … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Justices take up disputes over terrorism damages suits and habeas filings

The Supreme Court on Friday afternoon agreed to decide whether a 2019 law that seeks to give U.S. courts the power to hear claims by victims of terrorism against the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority violates the Fifth Amendment’s guarantee of fair treatment.

Fuld v. Palestine Liberation Organization and United States v. Palestine Liberation Organization, which will be argued together in the spring, were two of the three petitions for review that the justices granted after … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Personal jurisdiction, habeas, and a possible replacement case

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 is continuing to work through its relisted cases. Last month it granted the petitions filed by the federal government and by a group of schools and libraries seeking to challenge the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit invalidating a system of subsidies for rural and … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Former Roberts clerk appointed to argue deportation case

The Supreme Court on Tuesday appointed a former clerk to Chief Justice John Roberts to defend a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit in an immigration case after the Biden administration declined to do so.

The announcement that the court had appointed Stephen Hammer, an associate in the Dallas office of Gibson Dunn, to brief and argue in support of the 4th Circuit’s decision in Riley v. Garland came in a short unsigned order … Read the rest

Supreme Court

The morning read for Friday, Nov. 29

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

The Supreme Court will hear arguments over Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors (Mark Sherman & Geoff Mulvihill, The Associated Press)
Supreme Court hosts government power struggle over flavored vapes (Kelsey Reichmann, Courthouse News Service)
The Supreme Court restrained Trump last time. Will it do so again? (Justin Jouvenal and Ann E. Marimow, The Washington Post)

… Read the rest

Supreme Court

Supreme Court to hear dispute over FDA rejection of flavored vapes

The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on Monday in a dispute over the Food and Drug Administration’s rejection of two companies’ applications to sell flavored liquids for use in e-cigarettes. A federal appeals court in Louisiana set aside the FDA’s orders denying applications by Triton Distribution and Vapetasia, complaining that the agency had sent those companies and other makers of e-cigarette products “on a wild goose chase.”

The stakes in the case are high: Medical groups, including the … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Supreme Court to consider IRS’s claim on pre-bankruptcy tax payments

When someone makes a payment to a creditor shortly before filing for bankruptcy, the Bankruptcy Code requires the creditor to return the funds. But whether those same obligations apply to the Internal Revenue Service is less clear. On Monday, the justices will consider whether the IRS is protected by sovereign immuinity from the requirement to return funds from insolvent debtors that private creditors face.

The case, United States v. Miller, involves Section 544(b) of the Bankruptcy Code, which … Read the rest