Category Archives: Supreme Court

In Florida Social Media Case, Florida’s Lawyer Defends, Without Recognizing It, an Equalizing Interest in Requiring Platforms to Carry Speech They Don’t Want

February 27, 2024, 7:58 amcheap speech, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

I thought this exchange in the transcript of the Moody case was particularly telling (I’ve bolded the response that I think shows an interest in imposing an equality floor): JUSTICE KAVANAUGH: Can I — can I ask you about a… Continue reading

“Supreme Court Seems Wary of State Laws Regulating Social Media Platforms”

February 26, 2024, 5:35 pmcheap speech, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Adam Liptak for the NYT: The Supreme Court seemed skeptical on Monday of laws in Florida and Texas that bar major social media companies from making editorial judgments about which messages to allow. The laws were enacted in an effort… Continue reading

“Supreme Court to Decide How the First Amendment Applies to Social Media”

February 25, 2024, 7:50 amcheap speech, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Adam Liptak for the NYT: The most important First Amendment cases of the internet era, to be heard by the Supreme Court on Monday, may turn on a single question: Do platforms like Facebook, YouTube, TikTok and X most closely… Continue reading

I Spoke to Dahlia Lithwick’s “Amicus” Podcast at Slate About My New Book, “A Real Right to Vote” (And Other Stuff!)

February 24, 2024, 7:22 amReal Right to Vote, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

You can listen to this great conversation here: A Series of Lawsuits That We Call an Election How to fix the laws, and the gaps in the law, that are breaking American democracy. Dahlia Lithwick is drinking from the… Continue reading

My New One at Slate: “The Biggest Supreme Court Case That Nobody Seems to Be Talking About”

February 23, 2024, 7:34 amcheap speech, election subversion risk, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

I have written this piece for Slate. It begins: On Monday, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in a pair of cases out of Texas and Florida that could force major social media platforms to carry posts from Donald Trump… Continue reading

Some Idle Speculation About What the Supreme Court Will Do About Trump’s Request to Put His Election Subversion Case on Hold on Immunity Grounds;It’s Potentially Good News for a Trial This Spring/Summer

February 22, 2024, 6:42 pmelection subversion risk, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

As ELB readers know, Donald Trump’s federal district court trial in DC on election subversion charges, that was scheduled for March, has been put on hold as Trump has pursued an “interlocutory” appeal (that is, an appeal in the middle… Continue reading

Travis Crum: “Justice Alito Embraces a Retrogression Standard”

February 22, 2024, 6:19 pmSupreme Court, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

The following is a guest post from Travis Crum: Earlier this week, the Supreme Court denied cert in Coalition for TJ v. Fairfax County School Board, an important case about intentional discrimination and what facially neutral policies to… Continue reading

ELB Podcast 5:6: Rick Hasen and Erwin Chemerinsky: A Real Right to Vote

February 20, 2024, 2:00 pmELB Podcast, Real Right to Vote, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

New ELB Podcast: Why doesn’t the U.S. Constitution contain an affirmative right to vote? Can constitutional reform promote political equality, defuse the voting wars, and thwart election subversion? How can we get a constitutional right to vote, if we can’t… Continue reading

Justice Alito Sings a Different Tune About Disparate Impact as a Test of Race Discrimination: Compare What He Said under the Voting Rights Act With His Views About Preventing School Admissions Policies Promoting Diversity

February 20, 2024, 8:29 amSupreme CourtRick Hasen

Compare what Justice Alito wrote about using disparate impact in the Voting Rights Act context in the Brnovich case with what he wrote today dissenting from denial of cert in Coalition of TJ.

In Trump Immunity Case at SCOTUS, Alabama and 21 States Ask for Stay Because of “Speculation,” “True or Not” That Trump Election Subversion Prosecution “was Calculated to Silence or Imprison President Biden’s Political Rival”

February 16, 2024, 3:32 pmchicanery, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Shameless: The sudden urgency has invited public speculation that this case has an improper purpose—to influence the 2024 election. Amici States represent millions of Americans, many of whom worry that the timing of this prosecution was calculated to silence or… Continue reading

ELB Book Corner: Ann Southworth: “Some Implications”

February 16, 2024, 7:00 amcampaign finance, ELB Book Corner, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

I am pleased to welcome Ann Southworth to the ELB Book Corner, author of the new book, Big Money Unleashed: The Campaign to Deregulate Election Spending (Chicago). The discount code for ELB readers is BIGMONEY2023. This is the final… Continue reading

Special Counsel Urges Supreme Court to Reject Trump Stay Request to Delay “Election Subversion” Trial on Immunity Grounds, Especially Because It Involves Election Subversion

February 15, 2024, 7:46 amelection subversion risk, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

This footnote in Jack Smith’s filing is particularly interesting and important: A sufficient basis for resolving this case would be that, whatever the rule in other contexts not presented here, no immunity attaches to a President’s commission of federal crimes… Continue reading

Gerard Magliocca: “The Electoral Count Reform Act and Section 3”

February 15, 2024, 7:11 amSupreme CourtRick Hasen

The following is a guest post from Gerard Magliocca: During oral argument in Trump v. Anderson, many Supreme Court Justices expressed serious reservations about permitting states to enforce Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment against a presidential candidate. These… Continue reading