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☆ Supreme Court set to hear Google case that could impact free speech online
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

John Roberts, chief justice of the US Supreme Court, from left, Elena Kagan, associate justice of the US Supreme Court, Brett Kavanaugh, associate justice of the US Supreme Court, Amy Coney Barrett, associate justice of the US Supreme Court, and Ketanji Brown Jackson, associate justice of the US Supreme Court, ahead of a State of the Union address at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023. The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments Tuesday in a potentially groundbreaking case with the potential to alter the force of a key law the tech industry says has been critical to keeping the internet an open place that fosters free speech. That case is known as Gonzalez v. Google, brought by the family of an American who died in a 2015 terrorist attack in Paris. Now that shield is at stake as the petitioners argue it should not apply where Google actively promotes user-generated content, such as through its recommendation algorithms. The Supreme Court will also hear a separate tech case Wednesday that could have implications for how platforms promote and remove speech on their sites.

☆ Trump's political ascent was fueled by Southern Republicans. Now they're his main 2024 opponents
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

REUTERS/Randall HillIn the pivotal 2016 South Carolina primary, Trump won the contest — beating Bush, Rubio, and Cruz in their own Southern backyard. AP Photo/Richard Drew, FileTrump is no longer a Washington outsiderIn 2016, Trump was a novelty to many Republican voters. And in recent months, DeSantis has increasingly eclipsed Trump as the top presidential choice among GOP primary voters. Haley and Scott could potentially be competitors to win the 2024 GOP presidential nomination. By the time the Florida GOP primary was held, Jeb Bush had already suspended his campaign, humbled by his fourth-place showing in South Carolina.

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday belatedly issued the first ruling of its nine-month term that started in October, more than a month behind its normal schedule. Conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote the court's first opinion, with the justices ruling unanimously against Navy veteran Adolfo Arellano in a technical dispute over disability benefits. The court dismissed a second case concerning the scope of attorney-client privilege without issuing a written ruling. With the court term running from October to June, the first opinions are usually released in November or December. Adam Feldman, who tracks Supreme Court statistics, found that this term is the first since 1917 that the court had not released a ruling by the beginning of December.

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear an evangelical Christian mail carrier's employment discrimination claim in a case that could force employers to do more to accommodate the religious practices of their workers. Postal Service could have granted his request that he be spared Sunday shifts based on his religious belief that it is a day of worship and rest. Based on his request for an accommodation, his managers arranged for other postal workers to deliver packages on Sundays until July 2018. Upon resigning, he sued the Postal Service for failing to accommodate his request. In the earlier ruling, the court said that employers are not required to make accommodation if it would impose even a minimal burden.

☆ Justice Jackson working on a memoir, titled ‘Lovely One’
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson is working on a memoir. Jackson, the first Black woman appointed to the court, is calling the book “Lovely One.”“Mine has been an unlikely journey,” Jackson said in a statement released Thursday by Random House. This memoir marries the public record of my life with what is less known. Jackson joined the court last year after President Joe Biden named her to succeed the retiring Stephen Breyer. Justice Amy Coney Barrett has a deal with the Penguin Random House imprint Sentinel.

The new House GOP majority returns to elect a speaker after failing on three votes Tuesday. ... Nancy Pelosi reacts to GOP dysfunction: “As one who loves this institution, I think it’s a sad day.” ... And President Biden appears with Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell to tout the bipartisan infrastructure law. Andy Beshear) all appear at an event in Kentucky promoting a bridge improvement from the bipartisan infrastructure law. 16: How many years Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has served as Senate GOP leader, making him the longest-serving Senate leader ever, per NBC News’ Frank Thorp. Eyes on 2024: DeSantis takes office amid GOP chaosAs the GOP descended into chaos on Capitol Hill Tuesday, Florida GOP Gov.

Sotomayor, who has dissented in major cases including the abortion decision as the court's 6-3 conservative majority has become increasingly assertive, described herself as "shell-shocked" and "deeply sad" after that term ended in June. The court's current term, which began in October, could be just as consequential as its previous one. In October, conservative Justice Samuel Alito, who authored the Dobbs opinion, warned against questioning the court's integrity. At Wednesday's conference, Chemerinsky noted that he had never before seen his law students so discouraged about the Supreme Court. Sotomayor, appointed to the court by Democratic former President Barack Obama in 2009, expressed optimism that the direction of the court will change in the future.

☆ Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dominated oral arguments and challenged conservative thinking in her first months on the Supreme Court, observers say
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( Oma Seddiq | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson has sat on the Supreme Court for a little more than two months. The Supreme Court of the United States on Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022 in Washington, DC. Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court during a formal group photograph at the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. on Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. Some court observers say oral arguments can potentially be an opportunity for justices to sway their colleagues' thinking – though that doesn't happen often. During the three hours of oral arguments, Jackson frequently threw cold water on the idea.

In their appeal to the Supreme Court, the Republicans argued that North Carolina's top court usurped their authority by throwing out the map. In that context - a fight over counting ballots in Florida - Rehnquist said the U.S. Constitution limits the authority of state courts. "This court has never second-guessed state court interpretations of their own constitution," said Katyal. Thomas Wolf, an attorney at New York University School of Law's Brennan Center for Justice, said if the Supreme Court gives itself too much leeway to intervene in state court disputes, it risks appearing politically motivated and lawless. The Supreme Court's ruling is due by the end of June.

On its face, Moore v. Harper, the case being considered by the Supreme Court on Wednesday, deals with whether the North Carolina Supreme Court acted within its rights last year. In 2021, the state's highest court overturned the congressional redistricting maps drawn by the GOP-controlled state Legislature for being gerrymandered along partisan lines. The Independent State Legislature doctrine could open the door to giving state legislators the power to decide, for example, which presidential candidate will receive their state’s Electoral College votes. With the Supreme Court potentially lending their imprimatur to ISL this spring, each state legislative election could put the integrity of our democracy at risk. For those of us who believe in democracy, that means only one thing: We cannot rest on our laurels.

☆ Supreme Court justices grapple with a Republican challenge that could upend how elections are run: 'This is a theory with big consequences'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Oma Seddiq | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The Supreme Court heard three hours of oral arguments on a GOP-led challenge from North Carolina. Barrett said adopting the North Carolina Republicans' approach would mean judges would have "notoriously difficult lines to draw." The state supreme court ruled that the map was a partisan gerrymander that favored Republicans, deeming it a violation of the state constitution. Alito noted that in some places, like North Carolina, state supreme court judges are elected by voters. The Supreme Court is expected to hand down its decision in the case by June.

REUTERS/Lucy NicholsonWASHINGTON, Nov 29 (Reuters) - U.S. Supreme Court justices on Tuesday struggled over a bid by President Joe Biden's administration to implement guidelines - challenged by two conservative-leaning states - shifting immigration enforcement toward countering public safety threats. The justices voted 5-4 vote in July not to block Tipton's ruling halting the guidelines, announced last year by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. When the Supreme Court also declined to stay Tipton's ruling, conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined liberal justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson in dissent. Prelogar called the states' claims of indirect harms insufficient to allow them to sue and urged the Supreme Court to limit the ability of states more generally to challenge federal policies in court. Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston and Andrew Chung in Washington; Editing by Will DunhamOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The court on a 5-4 vote declined in July to put U.S. District Judge Drew Tipton's ruling hold. On Tuesday, some of the conservative justices who were in the majority in that decision signaled that they were likely to rule against the administration again. Republican state attorneys general in Texas and Louisiana sued to block the guidelines after Republican-led legal challenges successfully thwarted other Biden administration attempts to ease enforcement. When the Supreme Court declined to stay Tipton's ruling, conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined liberal justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson in dissent. Prelogar called those indirect harms insufficient and urged the Supreme Court to limit the ability of states more generally to challenge federal policies.

WASHINGTON, Nov 29 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday is set to consider whether President Joe Biden's administration can implement guidelines - challenged by two conservative-leaning states - shifting immigration enforcement toward public safety threats in a case testing executive branch power to set enforcement priorities. Biden campaigned on a more humane approach to immigration but has been faced with large numbers of migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. Republican state attorneys general in Texas and Louisiana sued to block the guidelines after Republican-led legal challenges successfully thwarted other Biden administration attempts to ease enforcement. Circuit Court of Appeals in July declined to put that ruling on hold, Biden's administration turned to the Supreme Court. The administration also told the justices that the guidelines do not violate federal immigration law and that the mandatory language of those statutes does not supersede the longstanding principle of law enforcement discretion.

☆ Trump rips the Supreme Court as 'nothing more than a political body' after they ruled against him, even though he appointed 3 justices of the conservative majority
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

"Why would anybody be surprised that the Supreme Court has ruled against me, they always do! "The Supreme Court has lost its honor, prestige, and standing, & has become nothing more than a political body, with our Country paying the price." In follow-up posts, Trump rehashed complaints over the court's handling of the 2020 election and referenced reports of leaked opinions. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court dismissed Trump's bid to block his tax returns from being released to Congress. In his one term as president, Trump appointed three justices — Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett — cementing the court's 6-3 conservative majority likely for years to come.

☆ Trump blasts Supreme Court over tax return ruling after a tough day in 3 other courts
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Former President Donald Trump stands on the 18th green during the Pro-Am tournament before the LIV Golf series at Trump National Doral, Oct. 27, 2022. "Why would anybody be surprised that the Supreme Court has ruled against me, they always do!" Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social account. "The Supreme Court has lost its honor, prestige, and standing, & has become nothing more than a political body, with our Country paying the price." Trump also noted that the Supreme Court previously had refused to take cases that sought to reverse his 2020 presidential election loss to President Joe Biden.

☆ Biden's administration just asked the Supreme Court to reinstate its student-loan forgiveness plan to 'avoid prolonging this uncertainty for the millions of affected borrowers'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | Oma Seddiq | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Biden administration on Friday asked the Supreme Court to revive its student-debt relief plan. It comes after a lower federal court ruled on Monday to keep the relief paused. The Biden administration also told the Supreme Court that the appeal can be considered a formal petition for a full briefing on the dispute "to avoid prolonging this uncertainty for the millions of affected borrowers," Prelogar wrote. Since Biden announced the one-time debt cancellation in August, a number of conservative lawsuits have attempted to block the debt relief. Given the lower courts' rulings blocking the relief, it's unclear how the Supreme Court will intervene.

☆ Biden will ask the Supreme Court to allow his student-loan forgiveness plan to move forward after lower courts blocked the relief
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The 8th Circuit Court blocked Biden's student-debt relief from moving forward on Monday. On Thursday, the Justice Department said it's planning to ask the Supreme Court to reverse that decision. It also appealed another ruling from a Texas judge who declared the debt relief illegal. On Thursday, Politico first reported that the Justice Department is planning to ask the Supreme Court to allow Biden's debt relief plan to move forward. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett has already dismissed two requests from different conservative lawsuits that were seeking to block Biden's debt relief, but it's unclear how the Court will rule on the lawsuits Biden's administration is challenging given the lower courts' decisions to block the debt cancellation.

☆ Dianne Feinstein could be third in line to the presidency as Senate president pro tempore. She appears unaware that she's already declined the job.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Dianne Feinstein's office has said the 89-year-old doesn't want to be president pro tempore of the Senate. That would put her third in line to the presidency, behind the vice president and House Speaker. Feinstein — who will also be the chamber's oldest currently-serving member come January — issued a statement to the Washington Post last month saying that she's not interested in running for and serving as president pro tempore of the Senate. "This is about the Senate pro tem position," he said. With Feinstein no longer in contention for the president pro tempore post, Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington would be next in line in terms of seniority, having taken office just two months after Feinstein in January 1993.

☆ Amy Coney Barrett joked about abortion rights protesters to a room of right-wing lawyers
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

While there, she joked that the applause she received was nicer than hearing pro-choice protesters. Barrett's vote solidified the majority that overturned Roe v Wade and limited abortion rights. As the most recent appointee to the nation's highest court, Barrett's vote solidified the conservative court majority that overturned Roe v Wade and limited abortion rights across the nation. Trump-nominated Barrett was also the only woman on the court to vote to roll back the protections offered by Roe. Representatives for the Supreme Court did not immediately return Insider's requests for comment.

☆ The fate of Biden's student-loan forgiveness rests in the federal courts after neither party looks likely to gain a significant majority in the midterms
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

That means that the fate of President Joe Biden's student-loan forgiveness doesn't lie in the hands of lawmakers, but rather, the federal courts. "We are disappointed in the decision of the Texas court to block loan relief moving forward. Amidst efforts to block our debt relief program, we are not standing down," he added. The department also aims to roll out improvements to targeted loan forgiveness programs, like Public Service Loan Forgiveness, by next summer. "It must use all of its tools to fight to ensure that borrowers receive the debt relief they need."

WASHINGTON — Justice Samuel Alito, who authored the Supreme Court ruling that upended abortion rights, was given a boisterous standing ovation Thursday at an event hosted by the Federalist Society, an influential conservative legal group. Alito, in brief remarks at the organization's 40th-anniversary gala near the Supreme Court, praised the influence the society has had on the legal landscape, with its members now spread throughout the federal judiciary. Barrett made brief remarks praising the society, saying she had "benefited immensely" from her association with it, and she got her own standing ovation when she took the stage. Leo got yet another standing ovation Thursday. Over the years, chapters were formed at law schools across the country, where students and conservatives would debate the law, thereby helping to connect people and expose them to conservative legal theories.

WASHINGTON, Nov 10 (Reuters) - U.S. Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Amy Coney Barrett received standing ovations from members of the conservative Federalist Society on Thursday at its first annual convention since the court overturned a nationwide right to abortion. The loudest applause at the event in Washington, D.C. may have been not for the justices but for Alito's opinion in the June ruling. Other conservative members of the court backed the ruling. The conservative justices have been the subject of protests over their rulings, particularly after the abortion decision earlier this year. Leonard Leo, a long-time conservative legal activist, while serving as a Federalist Society executive helped compile a list of potential U.S. Supreme Court nominees that former President Donald Trump drew from during his tenure.

Among the provisions being challenged is one that gives a preference to Native Americans seeking to foster or adopt Native American children, which those challenging the law say discriminates on the basis of race. The challengers are led by Chad and Jennifer Brackeen — a white evangelical Christian couple who sought to adopt a Native American boy — as well as the states of Texas, Indiana and Louisiana. Tribes have also warned that a ruling striking down provisions of the law on racial discrimination grounds would threaten centuries of law that treat Native American tribes as distinct entities. Both sides appealed to the Supreme Court after the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. The Supreme Court has been closely divided in two major recent cases on Native American issues.

☆ Republican Sen. Mike Lee faces off against independent Evan McMullin in the Utah Senate race
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Utah GOP Sen. Mike Lee is running for a 3rd term against independent candidate Evan McMullin. In the Senate, Lee serves on the Judiciary Committee, the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, the Joint Economic Committee, and the Special Committee on Aging. Utah independent Senate candidate Evan McMullin. Republicans have won every presidential race in the state since 1968, often with landslide margins, and the last Democrat to win a Senate race in the state was Frank Moss in 1970. In the 2020 presidential election, Trump defeated now-President Joe Biden in Utah by 20 points (58%-38%), a significant drop from Romney's sweeping victory (73%-25%) over Obama in 2012.

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