Category Archives: Supreme Court

“A Reprieve for Democracy: Reading Allen v. Milligan on the Sixtieth Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act”

April 7, 2025, 9:43 amSupreme Court, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

Deuel Ross has written this fascinating article for the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review. Here is the abstract: Voting is an act of faith. Faith that your vote will matter. Faith that your vote will make a difference.… Continue reading

The Yale Journal Has Just Published My New Feature Article: “The Stagnation, Retrogression, and Potential Pro-Voter Transformation of U.S. Election Law”

March 31, 2025, 7:38 amelection subversion risk, Supreme Court, The Voting Wars, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

I am delighted that the Yale Law Journal has published my new Feature, The Stagnation, Retrogression, and Potential Pro-Voter Transformation of U.S. Election Law, 134 Yale L.J. 1673 (2025). I consider this among the most important work I’ve… Continue reading

“US Supreme Court turns away casino mogul Wynn’s bid to challenge NY Times v. Sullivan defamation rule”

March 25, 2025, 7:29 amFirst Amendment theory, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

John Kruzel for Reuters: The U.S. Supreme Court turned away on Monday a bid by casino mogul Steve Wynn to roll back defamation protections established in its landmark 1964 ruling in the case New York Times v. Sullivan – a… Continue reading

Travis Crum: Callais Oral Argument Recap

March 24, 2025, 2:52 pmSupreme Court, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

The following is a post from Travis Crum: Here’s a recap of today’s oral argument in Louisiana v. Callais. At the outset, a short summary of what Callais is about. Callais is an old-school, 1990s-style Shaw challenge. The Callais… Continue reading

My New Draft: “Bush v. Gore’s Ironic Legacy”

March 24, 2025, 7:57 amBush v. Gore reflections, legislation and legislatures, Real Right to Vote, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

I have written this draft for a symposium issue of the Florida State University Law Review on 25 Years after Bush v. Gore. Here is the abstract: The Supreme Court framed its holding in its 2000 case, Bush v. Gore,… Continue reading

Travis Crum: The Consequences of Overturning Shaw and the Continuing Relevance of Section 2

March 24, 2025, 7:23 amSupreme Court, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

The following is a guest post from Travis Crum: Over the weekend, Rick Pildes published a response to my post—which built on a recent essay—calling on the Supreme Court to overturn Shaw’s racial gerrymandering cause of action in Louisiana … Continue reading

Oral argument preview in Louisiana v. Callais

March 23, 2025, 7:00 amredistricting, Supreme CourtDerek Muller

Here’s SCOTUSblog on Louisiana v. Callais (consolidated with Robinson v. Louisiana), an appeal from a three-judge panel on a racial gerrymandering claim. Argument will take place 10 am ET Monday, March 24. Some oral argument previews: CBS News The Center … Continue reading

Crum: “Questioning Shaw in Callais”

March 21, 2025, 6:58 amredistricting, Supreme CourtDerek Muller

The following is a guest post from Professor Travis Crum: On Monday, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Louisiana v. Callais, a Shaw challenge to Louisiana’s congressional redistricting plan. This is the first time the Court will… Continue reading

“Aftershocks of Supreme Court’s Immunity Ruling Echo in New Trump Cases”

March 10, 2025, 7:59 amSupreme CourtRick Hasen

Adam Liptak for the NYT: The first case cited as precedent in the first Supreme Court brief filed by lawyers for President Trump since he took office this year was Trump v. United States, the July decision that gave… Continue reading

Morgan Kousser: “A New Coverage Scheme for Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act”

March 6, 2025, 6:42 amSupreme Court, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

The great Morgan Kousser has written this article for ELJ. Here is the abstract: Ever since the coverage scheme for Section 5, the preclearance section of the Voting Rights Act, was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in the… Continue reading

“Can the Media’s Right to Pursue the Powerful Survive Trump’s Second Term?”

March 3, 2025, 1:27 pmauthoritarian threats in US, First Amendment theory, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

David Enrich in NYT Magazine.

“Government Workers Cannot Be Fired for Their Political Views”

February 15, 2025, 2:35 pmSupreme CourtRick Hasen

John Langford and Erica Newland in The Atlantic: Political-patronage systems promote corruption at the expense of effective governance, and Americans grew dissatisfied with the cronyism and moblike rule that flowed from the spoils system. Following decades of effort to enact… Continue reading

“Elections, Courts, and Democratic Crisis: Constitutional Structure and the 2020 Election Cases”

February 13, 2025, 1:08 pmSupreme CourtRick Hasen

Manoj Mate has posted this draft on SSRN (forthcoming, University of Chicago Legal Forum). Here is the abstract: This essay analyzes how the U.S. constitutional order responds to democratic crisis, by examining how the Supreme Court adjudicated cases related to… Continue reading

Must-Read Bloomberg Law Deep Dive: “Voting Rights Claims Plunge in Wake of Supreme Court Decision”

February 12, 2025, 7:15 amSupreme Court, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

I’ve been waiting to see the results of this study, and it’s consistent with my own research and what I’ve written for my upcoming Yale Law Journal Feature about how Brnovich killed Section 2 vote denial cases: After the Supreme… Continue reading