Divided court authorizes Alabama execution, but state is unable to carry it out before midnight deadline

Divided court authorizes Alabama execution, but state is unable to carry it out before midnight deadline

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The Supreme Court on Thursday night cleared the way for Alabama to carry out a lethal injection of an inmate who argued that he had the right to be executed by nitrogen hypoxia, a method that supporters say is more humane. In an unsigned order that divided the justices 5-4, the court lifted an order by a federal judge that would have required the state to use nitrogen hypoxia to execute Alan Eugene Miller. But the state called off … Read the rest

Supreme Court Fellowship Program Resumes with 4 New Fellows

Four new U.S. Supreme Court Fellows are set to begin their 2022-2023 fellowships in September. They are the first to experience the program in-person in nearly two years; the COVID-19 pandemic forced the 2020-2021 class to work virtually and led to a decision to pause the program the following year.
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Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac shareholders return to the court after Collins

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac shareholders return to the court after <em>Collins</em>

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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.

Under the Fifth Amendment, “private property” cannot be “taken for public use” by the government “without just compensation.” This week, we highlight cert petitions that ask the court to consider, among other things, whether the federal government’s decision to essentially nationalize the country’s largest federal backed mortgage-securities companies in the … Read the rest

Louisiana inmate returns to the court after 18-year delay in resentencing

Louisiana inmate returns to the court after 18-year delay in resentencing

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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.

Anyone charged with a crime has the right to a “speedy … trial” under the Sixth Amendment. If convicted, do they also have the right to a speedy sentence? The court held four years ago in Betterman v. Montana that the Constitution bars excessive sentencing delays, but under the due … Read the rest

Court will hear affirmative-action challenges separately, allowing Jackson to participate in UNC case

Court will hear affirmative-action challenges separately, allowing Jackson to participate in UNC case

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The Supreme Court announced on Friday that it will consider two challenges to the role of race in college admissions separately, rather than – as it had originally planned – together. That news, which came in a brief order from the court, was not unexpected: It allows Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the court’s newest justice, to participate in one of the cases, involving the consideration of race in the University of North Carolina’s undergraduate admissions process, while recusing herself … Read the rest

Divided court declines to reinstate Biden’s immigration guidelines, sets case for argument this fall

Divided court declines to reinstate Biden’s immigration guidelines, sets case for argument this fall

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The Supreme Court will again weigh the executive branch’s authority to set immigration policy as some red states claim that the Biden administration’s enforcement decisions are too lax. The justices on Thursday agreed to take up a challenge by Texas and Louisiana to a new federal policy that prioritizes certain groups of unauthorized immigrants for arrest and deportation. The justices will hear the case in late November without waiting for a federal appeals court to weigh in.

The justices … Read the rest

With Justice Breyer’s retirement, the court loses a pragmatist (and some laughs)

With Justice Breyer’s retirement, the court loses a pragmatist (and some laughs)

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Justice Stephen Breyer retired on June 30 after 28 years on the court. This article is the final entry in a symposium on his jurisprudence.

Anastasia Boden is a senior attorney and Elizabeth Slattery is a senior legal fellow at Pacific Legal Foundation, a nonprofit legal organization that defends Americans’ liberties when threatened by government overreach and abuse. They also host Dissed, a podcast about the Supreme Court.

Perhaps one of the worst accusations that can be thrown at … Read the rest