US Supreme Court
Why Trump’s move to gut the Endangered Species Act likely won’t hold up in court
If Congress didn’t believe habitat destruction and degradation constitute ‘harm’ under the statute, why would it require permits and plans to offset habitat loss?
When can a power company take your land for data center infrastructure?
Courts have long let utilities seize private property to build transmission lines. Does that hold if the power flows to a single data center?
Justice Jackson’s birthright citizenship opinion includes Black Americans in the story of the nation’s search for equality
Jackson’s concurrence traces the 14th Amendment to work done by people ‘beyond Congress’ and Black Americans who ‘helped galvanize the push for full equality.’
‘In the end the court did its job’ – a former federal judge reviews a Supreme Court term full of momentous decisions
A former federal judge analyzes key Supreme Court decisions this term, reflects on growing judicial invective evident in its opinions, and judiciously gives praise for some great writing.
Military voters were at the heart of the Supreme Court’s mail‑in ballot decision
Mail-in voting was created during the Civil War so soldiers could vote. That legacy helped shape how the Supreme Court ruled more than 160 years later.
Political parties can now spend unlimited money supporting candidates, after Supreme Court overturns decades of precedent
A huge amount of money flows into campaigns in the United States. For 20 years, the Supreme Court has been loosening rules for who can contribute and how much. It just loosened the rules again.
In rebuke to Trump, Supreme Court upholds birthright citizenship, emphasizing the promise of equality in the Declaration of Independence
Pointing to the citizenship clause of the 14th Amendment, the high court ruled that all babies born in the United States ‘are citizens by birth.’
Supreme Court rules against trans girls participating in single‑sex sports, but leaves open larger questions of trans rights
The Supreme Court’s rulings on Little v. Hecox and West Virginia v. B.P.J. focused on transgender students participating on sports teams, but likely has broader implications.
Supreme Court rules your cellphone location data is protected by the Fourth Amendment
Geofencing warrants, which round up the location data of everyone in a specific place at a specific time, are now legally subject to Fourth Amendment protections.
Supreme Court ruling in Trump v. Slaughter turbocharges presidential power
The high court’s ruling effectively endorses the unitary executive theory, greatly expanding the power of the president.