US Supreme Court retains Trump-era Title 42 deportation policy
In a 5-4 vote the US Supreme Court Tuesday allowed Title 42, a Trump-era deportation policy, to remain in effect. With the decision, the court put on hold a lower federal judge’s decision that would have ended the Title 42 policy last week. The court stated that this ruling does not preclude the federal government [...]
Recent concerns about leaks of US Supreme Court decisions and Justice Clarence Thomas’s refusal to recuse himself in a case that might involve connections to his wife, Virginia Thomas, have spurred calls for a code of ethics for US Supreme Court justices. Although the Judicial Conference of the United States promulgated a Code of Conduct [...]
US Supreme Court considers 'independent state legislature' theory in elections case
The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments Wednesday in Moore v. Harper, a case concerning the “independent state legislature” theory in redistricting cases. The case concerns North Carolina’s congressional district map, created by the Republican-controlled legislature last year. North Carolina’s Supreme Court struck down the map as an unconstitutional gerrymander, and Republican lawmakers appealed to [...]
US Supreme Court allows Jan. 6 committee access to phone records of Arizona Republican official
The US Supreme Court Monday denied an application for stay and injunction, allowing the US House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack on the Capitol to obtain the phone and text records of Arizona Republican Party Chair Kelli Ward. Ward filed an emergency application for a stay and injunction on October 24, after a [...]
US Supreme Court hears arguments in cases challenging the Indian Child Welfare Act
The US Supreme Court Wednesday heard oral arguments in consolidated cases challenging the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). The case before the court, Haaland v. Brackeen, includes challenges from non-Native adoptive parents seeking to adopt a Native child over objections from the Native community. The court heard arguments on three issues in the case. The [...]
Marisa Wright is a US National Correspondent for JURIST, and a 2L at Harvard Law School. The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Monday morning in two cases challenging the validity of race-conscious affirmative action programs in college admission. Through their questions to the parties, the justices signaled how they may ultimately vote in [...]
The US Supreme Court Tuesday heard oral arguments in Merrill v. Milligan to determine whether Alabama’s 2021 redistricting plan for the US House of Representatives violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA). The lawsuit first arose back in November 2021 when Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed the congressional plan allowing one majority Black [...]
The US Supreme Court Thurday ruled 5-4 that Alabama may carry out the death sentence of inmate Alan Miller through lethal injection rather than Miller’s requested method of nitrogen hypoxia. The Supreme Court lifted a lower court order that would have required Alabama to use nitrogen hypoxia instead of the lethal injection. Justices Sonia Sotomayor, [...]
Pakistan's Chief Justice Undermines Supreme Court Credibility
Imagine a system under which the U.S. Supreme Court hears cases as panels consisting of three to five Justices rather than as a full court of nine. Suppose that the Chief Justice makes a five-Justice panel consisting of himself, Justice Samuel Alito, Justice Clarence Thomas, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, and Justice Elena Kagan to hear abortion [...]
US Supreme Court blocks Biden administration policy to limit deportation
The US Supreme Court has temporarily blocked a Biden administration immigration policy. In a 5-4 order, the Supreme Court Thursday denied the Biden administration’s application to reinstate an immigration memorandum that would stop deportation unless the non-citizen is a threat to national security, public safety or border security. Justices Amy Coney Barrett, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan [...]
