Supreme Court Revives Modified Voter-Verification System Weeks Before Midterms
A 6-3 stay order holds that IIRIRA's 'notwithstanding' clauses likely override the Privacy Act and Social Security Act to allow SSA data sharing with DHS.
Supreme Court of the United States
Justices Reaffirm Deferential Review of BIA Persecution Rulings, Siding With First Circuit
A unanimous Supreme Court holds that substantial-evidence review, not de novo review, governs whether undisputed facts amount to persecution under the INA, resolving a circuit split and reaffirming Elias-Zacarias.
SCOTUS Revives Parental-Notification Injunction Against California Schools, Vacates Ninth Circuit Stay
In a per curiam order, the Court found parents likely to prevail on free exercise and due process claims against policies that withhold student gender-transition information without child consent, drawing a sharp dissent over the emergency docket's use.
Supreme Court: NJ Transit Is Not an Arm of the State, Resolving Sovereign-Immunity Split
A unanimous ruling in Galette v. New Jersey Transit Corp. narrows the federal arm-of-the-state test to corporate form and formal liability for judgments, siding with New York over Pennsylvania and exposing quasi-public authorities with hundreds of millions in annual revenue to out-of-state suits.
Supreme Court Revives Bagram Bombing Suit, Rejects Blanket Battlefield-Preemption Shield for Contractors
The Court held that Boyle v. United Technologies does not immunize contractors from state tort claims when the military neither ordered nor authorized the challenged conduct, reversing the Fourth Circuit and reopening a wounded soldier's negligence suit against Fluor Corp.
High Court Revives Counselor's Challenge To Colo. Conversion-Therapy Ban
The U.S. Supreme Court said Colorado's law regulating conversion therapy for minors likely targets protected speech when applied to a licensed counselor's talk therapy.
Supreme Court Reverses D.C. Court In Police Stop Case
The justices said a D.C. appeals court improperly parsed the facts of an early-morning car stop rather than considering the full circumstances supporting reasonable suspicion.
Supreme Court Rejects Automatic Tolling For Absconding Supervisees
The justices reversed the Ninth Circuit and held that federal supervised release does not automatically extend when a defendant absconds.
Supreme Court Sends Evidence Rule 801 Amendment To Congress
The justices adopted an amendment to the federal hearsay rule that is slated to take effect Dec. 1, 2026, absent congressional action.
Justices Seek SG Views In Drug, Defense Cases, Send 3 Matters Back
The U.S. Supreme Court asked the solicitor general to weigh in on two pending petitions and sent three cases back to federal appeals courts in a wide-ranging order list.
Jackson Faults High Court Filing Bar For Indigent Prisoner
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented from a Supreme Court order barring an Indiana prisoner from future noncriminal in forma pauperis petitions, warning that the court's frequent-filer sanction is being applied too broadly to incarcerated litigants.
Justices Reverse 4th Circ. In AEDPA Brady Habeas Fight
The U.S. Supreme Court said the Fourth Circuit failed to give proper AEDPA deference to a Maryland appellate ruling that rejected a convicted man's Brady materiality claim.
Justices Dissent As High Court Skips Prisoner Fee-Splitting Fight
Justice Sonia Sotomayor said the court should have taken up whether indigent prisoners suing together must each pay a full federal filing fee.
Gorsuch Flags Jury-Rights Issue In Supervised Release Case
The justice dissented from the Supreme Court's refusal to hear a case asking when supervised-release violations can add prison time beyond the statutory maximum for the original crime.
Justices Deny Louisiana Brady Case Despite Sotomayor Dissent
Justice Sotomayor, joined by Justice Jackson, said the Supreme Court should have taken up James Skinner's case because his codefendant won relief over overlapping Brady evidence.
Justices Send Grande Copyright Fight Back To 5th Circ.
The Supreme Court ordered the Fifth Circuit to reconsider Grande Communications' dispute with UMG Recordings in light of the justices' Cox Communications ruling, while also issuing several other grant-vacate-remand orders.
High Court Revives D.C. Juvenile Case In Police Stop Ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court said a D.C. appellate court wrongly parsed reasonable suspicion factor by factor when it tossed a juvenile adjudication tied to a late-night vehicle stop.
Justices Take Up DOL Power To Order H-2A Worker Remedies
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to review whether the Department of Labor can adjudicate monetary-remedy proceedings against employers accused of violating employment terms for H-2A and corresponding domestic workers.
Sotomayor Flags DOJ Error After High Court Denies Sentencing Case
The U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari after Michael Lairy received relief from a prison term Justice Sonia Sotomayor said exceeded the lawful maximum by five years.
Justices Fault 11th Circ. For Using Later DNA Evidence In Death Row Habeas Case
The U.S. Supreme Court vacated an Eleventh Circuit decision against Florida death row prisoner Gary Whitton, saying the appeals court relied on DNA evidence the trial jury never heard when assessing the effect of allegedly false informant testimony.
Sotomayor Flags Batson Prejudice Split In Cert Denial
Justice Sonia Sotomayor said Mississippi's rule for proving prejudice from counsel's mishandling of a Batson challenge is likely wrong, but the case was not a proper vehicle for review.
Alito Dissents As Justices Pass On School Speech, Capital Cases
The Supreme Court declined to hear two disputes that Justice Samuel Alito said warranted review, including a student-speech fight over anti-abortion club flyers and an Alabama capital case involving a prosecutor's closing argument.
Gorsuch Urges High Court To Revisit Civil Jury Rights
Justice Neil Gorsuch said the Supreme Court should soon reconsider a century-old precedent holding that the Seventh Amendment civil jury trial right does not bind the states.
Supreme Court Grants Cert In 3 Cases, Defers Mootness Fight
The justices added three cases to their merits docket while putting off a mootness request in Little v. Hecox until oral argument.
Gorsuch, Thomas Dissent As Justices Decline Tribal Power Case
The U.S. Supreme Court denied review in a case asking it to reconsider United States v. Kagama, drawing a dissent from Justice Neil Gorsuch that attacked federal Indian-law plenary power doctrine.
Justices Split Over High Court's Refusal To Review New Orleans Jail Order
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to review a challenge to a New Orleans jail-construction order, prompting a dissent that said lower courts misapplied the Prison Litigation Reform Act.
Supreme Court Says State Emergency Immunity Can't Bar Federal Claims
The justices reversed a Louisiana appellate ruling that applied a state public-health emergency immunity statute to defeat federal claims against a physical therapy provider.
Justices Take Up Mississippi Jury-Strikes Waiver Fight
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to review whether the Mississippi Supreme Court unreasonably found that a petitioner waived his chance to rebut prosecutors’ race-neutral explanations for peremptory strikes against four Black jurors.
Justices Grant Review In Cisco, FCC And Other Cases
The U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in several matters, including a Cisco case limited to two questions and consolidated FCC-related petitions set for one hour of argument.
Supreme Court Grants Review In Monsanto FIFRA Case, 3 Others
The justices agreed to hear four cases, including a Monsanto dispute over whether federal pesticide law preempts a label-based failure-to-warn claim when EPA has not required the warning.
Justice Alito Temporarily Pauses Fifth Circuit Order In GenBioPro Case
The administrative stay remains in place until May 11 while a response to GenBioPro's application is due May 7.
Alito Temporarily Freezes 5th Circ. Order In Danco Dispute
Justice Samuel Alito issued an administrative stay of a Fifth Circuit order while the Supreme Court awaits a response to Danco Laboratories' application.
Justices Reject Recall Bid, Tap Amicus In Sentencing Case
The U.S. Supreme Court denied a recall motion in two pending Callais matters and appointed a Washington lawyer to argue a sentencing-guidelines deference issue in Beaird v. United States.
Roberts Pauses D.C. Circuit Mandate In Herridge Case
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. stayed a D.C. Circuit mandate involving Catherine Herridge while the Supreme Court considers a stay application.
Justices Set 80 Minutes For Argument In Trump Cases
The U.S. Supreme Court partly granted a request for divided argument and expanded time while denying an amici bid to take part.
Supreme Court Seeks Briefing In Trump-Illinois Emergency Fight
The justices asked the parties to address how a disputed statutory phrase affects 10 U.S.C. § 12406(3) before acting on a stay request.
Sotomayor Halts 2nd Circ. Mandate In Marcos Creditors Dispute
Justice Sonia Sotomayor recalled and stayed a Second Circuit mandate while the Supreme Court considers an application from a class representative for judgment creditors of the Ferdinand Marcos estate.
Justice Jackson Temporarily Pauses SNAP Funding Orders
The emergency order gives the First Circuit time to rule on the government’s bid to stay Rhode Island federal court directives requiring full November SNAP funding.
Sotomayor Lifts Stay In Marcos Judgment Creditors Funds Fight
Justice Sonia Sotomayor denied a stay request after the government said disputed funds would remain in the United States while any certiorari petition is pending.
Supreme Court Denies Government Stay Bid In Immigration Judges Fight
The justices said the government had not yet shown irreparable harm, but left room for a renewed request if discovery begins before a forthcoming certiorari petition is resolved.
Alito Pauses Third Circuit Orders In Post-Gazette NLRB Fight
Justice Samuel Alito issued an administrative stay of two Third Circuit orders while the Supreme Court awaits a response to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's application.
Gorsuch Says High Court Should Revisit Civil Jury Right Against States
The Supreme Court denied review in a Humboldt County case, but Justice Gorsuch said the justices should soon reconsider precedent refusing to apply the Seventh Amendment civil jury right to the states.
Supreme Court Denies Stay In Alabama Nitrogen Execution Fight
The justices declined to stop Anthony Boyd's execution by nitrogen hypoxia, over a three-justice dissent saying the method risks minutes of conscious suffocation.
Gorsuch, Thomas Dissent As High Court Leaves Tribal Power Precedent Intact
The justices declined to revisit United States v. Kagama, drawing a dissent that said the precedent's theory of federal plenary power over tribal affairs lacks a constitutional foundation.
Supreme Court Lets Texas Use New Congressional Map In 2026
The justices stayed a lower-court order blocking Texas’ mid-decade redistricting plan, splitting over whether the state’s new map reflected partisan line-drawing or unconstitutional racial gerrymandering.
Supreme Court Lets Texas Use New House Map For 2026
The justices stayed a lower-court injunction blocking Texas' congressional redistricting plan, saying the state was likely to show serious errors in the racial-gerrymandering ruling.
Sotomayor Says Judges May Define Reasonable Doubt
The justice concurred in denying certiorari but said a district court was wrong to think federal judges are barred from explaining the criminal burden of proof.
Supreme Court Revives Bost Challenge To Illinois Mail-Ballot Rule
The justices held that candidates have standing to challenge vote-counting rules in their own elections, sending Rep. Michael Bost's challenge to Illinois' post-election mail-ballot receipt deadline back to the lower courts.
Supreme Court Limits Dual Firearm Convictions In Fatal Crime Cases
The justices said one act that violates both 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) and § 924(j) can support only one conviction absent clear congressional authorization.
Justices Put Reasonable-Time Limit On Void-Judgment Motions
The Supreme Court held that Rule 60's reasonable-time deadline applies even when a litigant argues a judgment is void.
Justices Say MVRA Restitution Is Criminal Punishment
The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously revived an ex post facto challenge to a federal restitution order, holding that Mandatory Victims Restitution Act restitution counts as criminal punishment.
Supreme Court Reverses Fourth Circuit In Brady Habeas Fight
The justices said AEDPA required deference to a Maryland court's finding that an undisclosed forensic report was not material to Charles Brandon Martin's conviction.
Supreme Court Stays NY Redistricting Order In Staten Island Seat Fight
The justices paused a New York trial-court order requiring a new congressional district while state appeals proceed, drawing sharp disagreement over race, jurisdiction and election timing.
Justices Let Street Preacher Pursue Brandon Speech Suit
The U.S. Supreme Court said Heck v. Humphrey does not bar a Section 1983 suit seeking only prospective relief from future enforcement of a city ordinance.
Justices Restore Vermont Officer’s Immunity In Protest Arrest Force Suit
The U.S. Supreme Court reversed the Second Circuit and held a Vermont police sergeant was entitled to qualified immunity in a Fourth Amendment suit over his use of a rear wristlock during a state capitol sit-in.
High Court Won't Revisit Reed DNA Testing Fight
Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, dissented from the Supreme Court's refusal to take up Rodney Reed's latest bid for DNA testing in his Texas death-penalty case.
Supreme Court Reverses $1B Cox Copyright Loss
The justices said an internet provider is not contributorily liable for users' infringement merely because it kept providing service after receiving infringement notices.
Sotomayor Says High Court Should Have Taken Louisiana Brady Case
Justice Sotomayor, joined by Justice Jackson, said the Supreme Court should have reviewed James Skinner's bid for the same Brady relief his codefendant previously won.
High Court Lets Chevron Keep Louisiana Coastal Suit In Federal Court
The justices said Chevron plausibly tied challenged World War II crude-oil production to federal aviation-gasoline refining duties, vacating a Fifth Circuit remand ruling.
High Court Reverses D.C. Ruling On Police Stop Suspicion
The justices said a D.C. officer had reasonable suspicion to stop a juvenile driver after a late-night suspicious-vehicle call, two passengers fled and the car began backing out with a door open.
Sotomayor Says Hague Review Split Merits High Court Attention Despite Cert Denial
The justice said the standard for reviewing whether a child is well settled under the Hague Convention has divided federal appeals courts, but changed circumstances made the case a poor vehicle for review.
High Court Says Enbridge Removed Line 5 Suit Too Late
The Supreme Court held that the 30-day deadline for removing civil cases to federal court cannot be equitably tolled, sending Michigan's Line 5 lawsuit against Enbridge back to state court.
Justices Let Truck Crash Suit Against Freight Broker Proceed
The U.S. Supreme Court said the FAAAA's motor-vehicle safety exception saves a negligent-hiring claim against C.H. Robinson from federal preemption.
Supreme Court Pauses 5th Circ. Mifepristone Order
The U.S. Supreme Court stayed a Fifth Circuit order that had suspended 2023 FDA mifepristone dispensing changes, drawing dissents from Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito over emergency relief for the drug's manufacturers.
Sotomayor Notes DOJ Error After Inmate Freed From Excess Sentence
The justice concurred in denying certiorari after the government said it had mistakenly fought Michael Lairy's challenge to a prison term five years above the statutory maximum.
Justices Revive Havana Docks' Helms-Burton Suits Against Cruise Lines
The Supreme Court said cruise lines may face Title III liability for using Havana port docks confiscated after the Cuban Revolution, even though Havana Docks' concession would have expired before the cruises at issue.
Supreme Court Narrows Compassionate Release For Stacked Gun Sentences
The justices held 6-3 that prisoners cannot use Congress' nonretroactive reduction of Section 924(c) firearm-stacking penalties as an extraordinary and compelling reason for compassionate release.
Justices Fault 11th Circ. Use Of Later DNA In Death Row Habeas Case
The U.S. Supreme Court vacated an Eleventh Circuit habeas ruling for relying on post-trial DNA evidence when judging whether disputed jailhouse-informant testimony influenced a Florida murder jury.
Supreme Court Rejects Amarin Skinny-Label Patent Suit Against Hikma
The justices unanimously held that Amarin did not plausibly allege Hikma actively encouraged infringement of Vascepa cardiovascular-use patents.
Justices Say SEC Needn't Show Investor Loss For Disgorgement
The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously affirmed the Ninth Circuit, holding that the SEC may obtain disgorgement without first proving investors suffered pecuniary losses.
Supreme Court Says FIFRA Shields Monsanto From Roundup Warning Verdict
The justices held that federal pesticide law preempts a Missouri failure-to-warn claim seeking a cancer warning on Roundup's EPA-approved label.
High Court Says Border Metering Doesn't Trigger Asylum Processing Before Entry
The U.S. Supreme Court held that asylum seekers stopped in Mexico have not 'arrived in the United States' under key immigration statutes until they cross the border.
High Court Denies Texas Death Row Cert Despite State’s Remand Bid
Justice Sotomayor, joined by Justices Kagan and Jackson, dissented from the Supreme Court’s refusal to take up Victor Saldaño’s bid for review of his intellectual-disability claim.
Supreme Court Lets Stand Vaccine Mandate Title VII Loss As Gorsuch Dissent Warns On State-Law Defense
Justice Neil Gorsuch, joined by Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, said the court should have reviewed whether state law can automatically create an undue-hardship defense to religious-accommodation claims under Title VII.
Justices Thomas, Gorsuch Dissent As High Court Rejects Dershowitz Defamation Case
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Alan Dershowitz's defamation fight with Cable News Network, Inc., but two justices said the case was a vehicle to revisit the actual-malice standard for public figures.
Sotomayor Flags Waiver Issue As Justices Deny Cert In Gun Case
Justice Sotomayor urged lower courts to weigh the Supreme Court's recent waiver reasoning before enforcing appeal or collateral-review waivers against defendants challenging their convictions.