SCOTUStoday for Wednesday, October 8

Chief Justice Melville Fuller, who served from 1888-1910, took the judicial oath on this day in 1888. To mark the occasion, consider shaking someone’s hand. Fuller instituted the practice of having the justices shake hands before taking the bench and before private conferences “as a reminder that differences of opinion […]

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Are judges good historians?

A Second Opinion is a recurring series by Haley Proctor on the Second Amendment and constitutional litigation. Three years ago in New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n v. Bruen, the Supreme Court announced a two-step test for Second Amendment challenges. A court must first ask whether the Second Amendment’s […]

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Justices side against Google

The Supreme Court on Monday declined to temporarily block a district court order requiring changes to the Google Play app store based on its violation of antitrust law. Citing security concerns, Google had asked the justices to allow it to maintain its current Play store policies for app-related purchases. The […]

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The Trump docket

Courtly Observations is a recurring series by Erwin Chemerinsky that focuses on what the Supreme Court’s decisions will mean for the law, for lawyers and lower courts, and for people’s lives. As the Supreme Court has begun its new term, which by law starts on the first Monday in October, there […]

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Orders without reasons

Immigration Matters is a recurring series by César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández that analyzes the court’s immigration docket, highlighting emerging legal questions about new policy and enforcement practices. As the Supreme Court uses its emergency docket more frequently in disputes over high-profile policies, tension over the effect of decisions issued from […]

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SCOTUStoday for Tuesday, October 7

Want to make people laugh? Try citing a page number. That’s how Justice Elena Kagan sparked the first burst of laughter of the 2025-26 term as she spoke with attorney Stuart Banner about drawing a line between “matters going to trial strategy and matters going to trial testimony” when determining […]

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The court opens for business despite a federal shutdown

Just as the Supreme Court tends to stay open when a two-inch snowfall in Washington terrorizes the snowflakes of the federal Office of Personnel Management and closes the executive branch, the budget impasse that has shut down much of the federal government has not kept the court from opening its […]

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