Category Archives: Supreme Court

“Rulings and Remarks Tell Divided Story of an 8-Member Supreme Court”

May 30, 2016, 5:50 pmSupreme CourtRick Hasen

Smart Adam Liptak column: The court seems to have split into two camps, with the four justices at its ideological center working diligently to deliver unified opinions. The remaining members of the court seem less committed to that project. The… Continue reading

Penn Law Review Special Issue on Campaign Finance

May 26, 2016, 2:10 pmcampaign finance, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Introduction: On the forty-year anniversary of Buckley v. Valeo, and in the midst of a presidential election campaign, the University of Pennsylvania Law Review Online is pleased to present this Special Issue on Campaign Finance, in collaboration with Demos.… Continue reading

Few Voters See Supreme Court Nominations as One of Two Most Important Issues Coming Into Presidential Election

May 26, 2016, 1:27 pmSupreme CourtRick Hasen

New YouGov poll. Republicans slightly more likely to see this as major issue: See also this earlier poll I linked to of California voter attitudes.

Why There’s Not More Pressure to Confirm Merrick Garland to #SCOTUS, in Two Charts

May 25, 2016, 1:49 pmSupreme CourtRick Hasen

Via NBC News, look at the priorities of Democrats vs. Republicans:

“Sometimes ‘People’ = ‘Legislature'”

May 25, 2016, 8:26 amlegislation and legislatures, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Seth Barrett Tillman: This is a response to Professors Saikrishna Bangalore Prakash & John Yoo, People ≠ Legislature, 39 Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy 341 (2016) (noted on this blog here). Professors Prakash and Yoo’s… Continue reading

“Judge Merrick Garland and the rise of super-PACs”

May 24, 2016, 6:58 amcampaign finance, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Steve Weissman in The Hill: As the White House pursues its public campaign to persuade the Senate to consider Garland’s nomination, it should ask him to explain to senators and the public why he joined the SpeechNow opinion and what… Continue reading

Judge Sri Srinivasan on 3-Judge Court Considering Major Soft Money Challenge

May 23, 2016, 8:22 pmcampaign finance, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Bloomberg BNA: A three-judge federal district court considering a challenge to rules restricting “soft money” contributions to political parties will hold a June 24 hearing to consider whether to go ahead with the case (Republican Party of La. v. … Continue reading

Va Redistricting Case Roundup

May 23, 2016, 7:46 pmredistricting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

SCOTUSBlog: he Court also ruled today in Wittman v. Personhuballah, finding that the members of Congress who intervened to defend Virginia’s congressional redistricting plan do not have standing to appeal. Coverage comes from Lyle Denniston for this blog,… Continue reading

“If Citizens United Falls, Will Progressives Notice?”

May 23, 2016, 7:42 amcampaign finance, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Brad Smith in the Atlantic: Notable, however, was that the Supreme Court’s progressive wing dissented not merely from the judgment, but from the grant of certiorari itself, because there was no “significant possibility of reconsideration” of Citizens United by the… Continue reading

Breaking: Unanimous Supreme Court Dismisses Va. Racial Gerrymandering Case on Standing Grounds, Making No New Voting Law

May 23, 2016, 7:15 amredistricting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

The Supreme Court has decided Wittman v. Personhuballah, ruling against members of Congress on standing grounds. The lower court found that the congressional plan was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander, and the members of Congress challenged this holding. In a… Continue reading

Supreme Court Grants Right to File WI John Doe Cert Petition Under Seal with Redacted Public Copies

May 23, 2016, 6:36 amcampaign finance, chicanery, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

The court’s order is here (Chisholm). ELB readers know I posted a redacted copy of the cert. petition a few weeks ago.

“Liberals are dangerously wrong about Citizen’s United: Money is speech”

May 20, 2016, 7:54 amcampaign finance, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

John McGinnis LAT oped.

“McDonnell Case Already Impacting Other Ethics Cases”

May 19, 2016, 6:52 pmchicanery, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Bloomberg BNA: The Supreme Court hasn’t yet ruled in the case of former Virginia Gov. Robert McDonnell (R), but the case already is having an impact on the corruption prosecutions of other former top officials. Two former top state… Continue reading