Category Archives: Supreme Court

Danforth, Luttig Amicus Brief in SCOTUS Trump Immunity Case Warns of Dangers to Democracy If President Has Immunity to Steal the Next Election

April 4, 2024, 1:45 pmelection subversion risk, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

From the Introduction: Presidential immunity, under any label, should never be so broad as to embolden an outgoing President’s violations of federal criminal statutes as part of efforts that would prevent what Article II mandates—the vesting of the authority… Continue reading

“In Electoral Disputes, State Justices Are Less Reliable GOP Allies than the U.S. Supreme Court—That’s the ‘Problem’ the Independent State Legislature Claim Hopes to Solve”

April 4, 2024, 8:20 amlegislation and legislatures, political polarization, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Rebecca L. Brown, Lee Epstein, and Michael J. Nelson have this new article in the Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. Here is the abstract: Scholars have identified serious drawbacks to the independent state… Continue reading

“Transforming Constitutional Doctrine Through Mandatory Appeals from Three-Judge District Courts: The Warren and Burger Courts and Their Contemporary Lessons”

April 1, 2024, 1:28 pmSupreme CourtRick Hasen

Michael Solimine, who knows more about the use of 3-judge courts in election cases than anyone I know, has posted this draft on SSRN (forthcoming U Pitt. L. Rev.). Here is the abstract: Judicial interpretations of the Equal Protection and… Continue reading

“The ‘Bounds’ of Moore: Pluralism and State Judicial Review”

April 1, 2024, 12:04 pmlegislation and legislatures, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Leah Litman and Kate Shaw have written this essay for the Yale Law Journal Forum. Here is the abstract: In Moore v. Harper, the Supreme Court rejected a maximalist version of the “independent state legislature theory” (ISLT), invoking state judicial… Continue reading

“South Carolina latest state to use congressional map deemed illegal”

March 28, 2024, 8:05 pmredistricting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Patrick Marley for WaPo: In a scenario that has played out in three states in recent years, a federal court ruled Thursday that time had run out to draw a new congressional district in South Carolina and that the state… Continue reading

Amid SCOTUS’s Continued Silence, Federal District Court in South Carolina Racial Gerrymandering Case Will Allow Congressional Election to Go Forward Under District It Held Illegal

March 28, 2024, 7:28 amSupreme Court, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

Here is the order: The present circumstances make it plainly impractical for the Court to adopt a remedial plan for Congressional District No. 1 in advance of the military and overseas absentee ballot deadline of April 27, 2024 mandated under… Continue reading

Very Strong Brief from Plaintiffs in South Carolina Racial Gerrymandering Case Opposing Getting Last Minute SCOTUS Intervention

March 26, 2024, 7:44 amSupreme CourtRick Hasen

You can find it here. Still amazed that the state of South Carolina tried to rely on Purcell here.

“South Carolina Republicans ask justices to let district ruled a racial gerrymander go forward”

March 21, 2024, 11:47 amredistricting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Amy Howe for SCOTUSBlog: Telling the justices that if they do not intervene they will create “confusion and uncertainty over this year’s elections,” a group of Republican lawmakers from South Carolina came to the Supreme Court this week, asking the… Continue reading

“Supreme Court Voices Skepticism Over Social-Media Censorship Claims Against Government”

March 18, 2024, 7:08 pmSupreme CourtRick Hasen

WSJ: The Supreme Court seemed likely Monday to reject a bid by GOP-led states to restrict the federal government from urging social-media companies to remove allegedly misleading posts or disinformation on their platforms, unless there is a threat of official… Continue reading

“Supreme Court rejects appeal by former New Mexico county commissioner banned for Jan. 6 insurrection”

March 18, 2024, 7:36 amelection subversion risk, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

AP: The Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal from a former New Mexico county commissioner who was kicked out of office over his participation in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Former Otero County commissioner Couy … Continue reading

Must-read NYT Deep Dive that Helps Explain SCOTUS Argument Monday in Murthy v. Missouri: “How Trump’s Allies Are Winning the War Over Disinformation”

March 17, 2024, 12:04 pmcheap speech, chicanery, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

It’s a complex story because concern about government jawboning is real but the mendacious attack on those who fought disinformation in the 2020 election is having major reverberations for 2024. Jim Rutenberg and Steven Lee Myers lay it all out:… Continue reading

“Why the Supreme Court Should Clear the Way for a Pre-Election Trump Trial”

March 11, 2024, 10:05 amSupreme CourtRick Hasen

Kate Shaw in the NYT: In other words, in the Jan. 6 case brought by the special counsel Jack Smith, as important as what the court decides is when it decides. Slow-walking the case would be tantamount to a ruling… Continue reading

“Supreme Court’s Delay Creates Uncertainty for South Carolina Election”

March 8, 2024, 4:15 pmredistricting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Jimmy Hoover for National Law Journal: New candidates are throwing their hats in the ring in Republican Rep. Nancy Mace’s South Carolina congressional district despite a court ruling last year striking down the GOP drawn map as an unconstitutional “racial… Continue reading

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