SCOTUS

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Glossip Has Unusual Ally in SCOTUS Fight

Both he and Oklahoma are pushing for new trial, citing prosecutorial misconduct

(Newser) - Glossip v. Oklahoma, a highly watched case before the Supreme Court, isn't quite what its name suggests. Oklahoma death row inmate Richard Glossip is pushing for a new trial, arguing the one that resulted in his murder conviction and death sentence was rife with errors. But Oklahoma is of...

SCOTUS Sides With GOP on Challenged SC Voting Map

6-3 opinion found Republican-controlled state legislature did nothing wrong during redistricting

(Newser) - The Supreme Court on Thursday preserved a Republican-held South Carolina congressional district, rejecting a lower-court ruling that said the district discriminated against Black voters. The court's conservative majority said in a 6-3 decision that the Republican-controlled state legislature did nothing wrong during redistricting when it strengthened Rep. Nancy Mace'...

Trump's Immunity Case Gets Underway Today

In one scenario, he could be handed 'a get-out-of-jail-free card'

(Newser) - Supreme Court justices will hear oral arguments Thursday about whether former presidents are immune from criminal prosecution in a case that "could affect both Donald Trump's legal and political fates," per the BBC . Trump's lawyers claim a 1982 court decision that decided presidents are immune from...

An 1873 Law May Be New Front in Abortion Fight
An 1873 Law May Be New
Front in Abortion Fight
the rundown
Mar 29, 2024 9:24 AM CDT

An 1873 Law May Be New Front in Abortion Fight

Comstock Act, banning the mailing of 'obscene' materials, hasn't been applied in nearly a century

(Newser) - A century and a half ago, before women had the right to vote, a federal law was enacted banning the mailing of "obscene, lewd, [or] lascivious" materials, including abortion drugs. Though never fully repealed, the 1873 Comstock Act hasn't been applied in nearly a century and some experts...

SCOTUS Says Texas Can Start Arresting Migrants

Divided court allows law to take effect while legal battle plays out

(Newser) - A divided Supreme Court on Tuesday lifted a stay on a Texas law that gives police broad powers to arrest migrants suspected of crossing the US-Mexico border illegally while a legal battle over immigration authority plays out. The Biden administration is suing to strike down the measure, arguing it's...

With Trump Case, SCOTUS Steps 'Into Freshly Fallen Snow'

It will consider whether the 14th Amendment prevents Trump from holding office

(Newser) - Of all the Donald Trump-related court moments of recent months, Thursday's will be among the most consequential, and certainly the most historic. As the New Republic puts it: The Supreme Court is "stepping out into freshly fallen snow." It will be the first time a case about...

Supreme Court Will Take on Abortion Pill, Trump Cases

Court could set limits on mifepristone, undo Capitol riot charges against hundreds, including Trump

(Newser) - The Supreme Court agreed on Wednesday to take up a dispute over a medication used in the most common method of abortion in the United States, in what the AP reports is its first abortion case since it overturned Roe v. Wade last year. Also Wednesday, the court agreed to...

Kavanaugh: SCOTUS Ethics Changes Are on the Way

He predicts 'concrete steps' in the near future

(Newser) - Public confidence in the Supreme Court is at a 50-year-low, but Justice Brett Kavanaugh says change is on the way. When asked about "perceived ethical issues" at a judicial conference Thursday, Kavanaugh said the court is "continuing to work on those issues," as Chief Justice John Robert...

SCOTUS Decision a Win for 'Freedom to Wear Pants'

Court leaves in place a ruling against charter school's skirts-only dress code for girls

(Newser) - The Supreme Court has declined to hear a case involving a North Carolina charter school's dress code, leaving in a place a lower court's ruling that girls at Charter Day School can choose to wear pants instead of skirts. Parents of Charter Day students challenged the skirts-only dress...

Protesters Interrupt Supreme Court Arguments

That hasn't happened since 2015

(Newser) - Protesters opposed to the Supreme Court's decision overturning abortion rights briefly interrupted arguments at the court Wednesday and urged women to vote in next week's elections. It was the first courtroom disruption since the court’s decision in June that stripped away women’s constitutional protections for abortion...

The Big Questions SCOTUS Asked in Big Abortion Case

Fate of Roe v. Wade is in their hands, with decision likely in June

(Newser) - It's one of the biggest days for abortion rights in 50 years. On Wednesday, the most conservative Supreme Court in decades took up the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health, which centers on a Mississippi law that prohibits abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy, which violates Roe....

2 SCOTUS Justices Open to Challenge to Abortion Law

Brett Kavanaugh appears concerned about loophole

(Newser) - It looks like the Supreme Court will hear a challenge to the Texas’s restrictive new abortion law . The court’s three more liberal justices, Elena Kagan, Stephen Breyer, and Sonia Sotomayor, have already called the law unconstitutional, the Washington Post reports. It went into effect after a 5-4 Supreme...

Supreme Court Changes Format to Correct Slight to Female Justices

They were being interrupted more than their male colleagues

(Newser) - The Supreme Court is only days into its new term, but there's already been a marked change. As CNN reports, "even in contentious cases, the justices haven't cut each other off—something that often occurred in past terms." That's the result of a change to...

SCOTUS Seems to Lean Toward Death for Tsarnaev

The court heard oral arguments Wednesday

(Newser) - The Supreme Court sounded ready Wednesday to reinstate the death penalty for convicted Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. In more than 90 minutes of arguments, the court's six conservative justices seemed likely to embrace the Biden administration's argument that a federal appeals court mistakenly threw out Tsarnaev's...

One City May Punish Texas For Abortion Rule

Portland, Oregon city council will vote on ending trade and travel with the state

(Newser) - While the full impact of the SCOTUS ruling that protects a Texas law banning most abortions remains unclear, one large US city wants to cut ties with the state. Per Oregon Public Broadcasting , the City of Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler said Friday that Portland City Council will vote this week...

Ruling Shields Texas Clinics From Abortion Suits, for Now

Judge handed down temporary restraining order Friday

(Newser) - A state judge has shielded, for now, Texas abortion clinics from lawsuits by an anti-abortion group under a new state abortion law in a narrow ruling handed down Friday. Per the AP , the temporary restraining order Friday by state District Judge Maya Guerra Gamble in Austin in response to the...

Republicans and Democrats Agree on This

They view the Supreme Court evenly, and not especially well

(Newser) - Just 49% of Americans approve of the performance of the Supreme Court, down from 58%—a 10-year high— a year ago . That's according to a Gallup poll conducted from July 6 to 21 and released Wednesday. It brings the court's first approval rating below 50% since 2017, per...

Stephen Breyer Names 2 Factors in Retirement Decision

'Health' and 'the court,' says justice, who tells CNN he still hasn't made up his mind on what to do

(Newser) - The Supreme Court session has ended, but Justice Stephen Breyer still doesn't know when he'll retire. The top liberal justice who will turn 83 in August tells CNN that he has yet to make a decision but acknowledges two issues are on his mind: "Primarily, of course,...

Supreme Court Dials Back Police Entry Without Warrant

Dissenters say the ruling gives 'no guidance at all'

(Newser) - Adding to the country's ongoing discussion of the extent of police powers, the Supreme Court on Wednesday put limits on when police officers pursuing a fleeing suspect can enter a home without a warrant. The high court ruled that when officers are pursuing someone suspected of a misdemeanor, a...

SCOTUS Sides With Religious Groups Over COVID Restrictions

High court rules against New York coronavirus restrictions

(Newser) - As coronavirus cases surge again nationwide the Supreme Court late Wednesday temporarily barred New York from enforcing certain attendance limits at houses of worship in areas designated as hard hit by the virus, the AP reports. The court’s action could push New York to reevaluate those restrictions. But the...

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