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Supreme Court

What to do with the abortion case on the Supreme Court’s docket?

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 will observe St. Patrick’s Day this year by meeting in conference to discuss which of the 184 petitions and applications for resolution that day should be granted favorable consideration. Only one of those cases is newly relisted: Chapman v. Doe. Jane Doe, then an unemancipated 17-year-old, went to Missouri … Read the rest

Supreme Court

The Shakespeare docket: Breyer hears argument on tricks, trysts, and defamation

Presiding over the Corte Suprema di Cassazione on Monday night, Justice Stephen Breyer took the bench for his last case as a 16th century judge before his planned retirement this summer. The spring mock trial at the Shakespeare Theatre Company, “A Hero Defamed? Much Ado About Margaret,” brought before his court a challenge between maid and mistress.

The plaintiff, Hero, was the governor’s daughter on a seaside city in Sicily, and she was engaged to marry the young soldier … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Five-justice majority restores Trump-era policy on water pollution, provoking more criticism of emergency docket

A divided Supreme Court on Wednesday reinstated a Trump-era environmental policy that makes it harder for states to block projects that may cause water pollution. The unsigned and unexplained decision prompted Chief Justice John Roberts to join the court’s three liberal justices in criticizing the majority’s use of the emergency docket.

The court’s decision “renders the Court’s emergency docket not for emergencies at all,” Justice Elena Kagan wrote in dissent. “The docket becomes only another place for merits determinations … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Alabama’s redistricting on the shadow docket

Amy Howe is joined by Professor Ciara Torres-Spelliscy, of Stetson Law, to discuss the court’s decision earlier this week to reinstate Alabama’s voting map, which a lower court ruled dilutes Black votes.

SCOTUStalk is launching a new Q&A feature. Send us your questions about the justices, how the Supreme Court works, or a case that’s pending before the court. We may answer your question on future episodes. You can email your questions to scotustalk@scotusblog.com or leave a voicemail at

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Supreme Court

Justices add four new cases to their docket, including Bivens case, but won’t reconsider Bivens itself

Fifty years ago, in Bivens v. Six Unknown Federal Narcotics Agents, the Supreme Court ruled that a private individual could sue an FBI agent for violating his Fourth Amendment rights, even when there was not a specific law authorizing a claim for damages. In the nine years after Bivens, the court recognized Bivens claims for damages for violations of the Fifth and Eighth Amendments, but in 2017 it stressed that “expanding the Bivens remedy is now a … Read the rest