Category Archives: Supreme Court

It appears the Supreme Court will retain jurisdiction over Moore v. Harper, but it’s not a sure thing

March 20, 2023, 3:49 pmSupreme CourtDerek Muller

Earlier this month, I highlighted the confusion around the jurisdictional issue in Moore v. Harper now that the North Carolina Supreme Court granted rehearing in Harper II and is reconsidering the holding in Harper I (i.e., the case the Court… Continue reading

United States Solicitor General, State Respondents in Moore v. Harper Case Suggest Supreme Court Dismiss the Case as Improvidently Granted; Common Cause and Legislative Petitioners Want to Court to Keep Independent State Legislature Case Going [Updated]

March 20, 2023, 10:51 amSupreme CourtRick Hasen

So far, no brief yet from the state legislative respondents. Here are the other briefs: Mar 20 2023Supplemental letter brief of United States submitted.Main DocumentMar 20 2023Supplemental letter brief of Common Cause submitted.Main DocumentMar 20 2023Supplemental… Continue reading

Two federal courts have recently found that states have no sovereign immunity under the Elections Clause

March 9, 2023, 8:01 amElections Clause, Supreme Court, Voting Rights ActDerek Muller

To continue my sovereign immunity discussion from yesterday, a federal court last year found that Congress did not abrogate state sovereign immunity under the Voting Rights Act. Congress must do so with “unmistakable clarity” when enforcing the Reconstruction Amendments,… Continue reading

“Confusion Shrouds High Court Election Case With 2024 on Horizon”

March 7, 2023, 7:15 amlegislation and legislatures, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Kimberly Strawbridge Robinson for Bloomberg Law: The US Supreme Court’s surprise decision to seek additional briefing in a North Carolina voting case could push an open question on the role of state officials in setting federal election rules into 2024.… Continue reading

“Final judgment,” not mootness, at issue in latest Moore v. Harper twist

March 2, 2023, 2:47 pmElections Clause, Supreme CourtDerek Muller

Rick H. links to the Supreme Court’s order in Moore v. Harper requesting more briefing. According to the Supreme Court’s docket, no party has raised the fact of the rehearing scheduled in the North Carolina Supreme Court, which has… Continue reading

“How a Supreme Court justice’s paragraph put the Voting Rights Act in more danger”

February 26, 2023, 8:23 pmSupreme Court, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

Hansi Lo Wang for NPR: The roots of the next potential U.S. Supreme Court showdown that could further weaken the Voting Rights Act’s protections against racial discrimination can be traced to a handful of sentences by Justice Neil Gorsuch.… Continue reading

“Mississippi Racial Gerrymandering Case Dismissed in U.S. Supreme Court”

February 22, 2023, 7:57 amSupreme Court, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

Mississippi Free Press: The U.S. Supreme Court today declined to hear Buck v. Reeves, a case alleging that the state’s congressional maps are racially gerrymandered. The decision affirms that Mississippi is no longer required to get federal preclearance for… Continue reading

#ELB20th: Ellen Katz: Don’t Change A Thing?

February 21, 2023, 7:43 am#ELB20th, Supreme Court, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

The following is a guest post from Ellen Katz, part of the #ELB20th Anniversary retrospective: Don’t Change A Thing? I found myself humming this early 80s INXS song shortly after receiving Rick’s kind invitation to post something marking the… Continue reading

Why Haven’t the Parties in Moore v. Harper (At Least Publicly) Alerted the Supreme Court That The Case May Be Mooted by the North Carolina Supreme Court?

February 16, 2023, 2:38 pmredistricting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

With news today that the Supreme Court cancelled oral argument in the Title 42 case on immigration after the Biden DOJ informed the Court that the Title 42 policy will end in a few months with the end of the… Continue reading

#ELB20th: 20 Years of the Election Law Blog, and 20 Years of American Democracy’s Slow (and Faster) Deterioration: A Call for Vigilance and Resilience

February 15, 2023, 6:47 am#ELB20th, Supreme Court, theoryRick Hasen

Twenty years ago this month, I began the Election Law Blog. It was a continuation of sorts of news and commentary that I had been sharing with election law professors, first via a listserv Dan Lowenstein and I created that… Continue reading

North Carolina Supreme Court Schedules March 14 Oral Argument in Rehearing in Harper, the Partisan Gerrymandering Case that Could Moot Moore v. Harper (the Independent State Legislature Case) at SCOTUS

February 10, 2023, 10:09 amlegislation and legislatures, redistricting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Here is the order. That gives plenty of time for the North Carolina Supreme Court to do what I expect, which is to reverse the earlier holding that partisan gerrymandering violates the North Carolina constitution, before the Supreme Court… Continue reading

My New Paper: “Nonprofit Law as the Tool to Kill What Remains of Campaign Finance Law: Reluctant Lessons from Ellen Aprill”

February 9, 2023, 11:52 amcampaign finance, Supreme Court, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

I have written this draft for a festschrift symposium issue of the Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review honoring my dear friend, Loyola Law School professor Ellen Aprill. Here is the abstract: This brief Essay was prepared for a… Continue reading

A practical reason for the North Carolina Supreme Court to expedite rehearing of its partisan gerrymandering decision

February 6, 2023, 10:35 amlegislation and legislatures, Supreme CourtDerek Muller

I appreciate Rick H.’s perspective on the issue of potential mootness in Moore v. Harper. Indeed, I think if the North Carolina Supreme Court reverses its partisan gerrymandering decision, it’s hard to think that even a malleable doctrine like “capable… Continue reading

My New one @Slate: “Unfortunately, the Biggest Election Case of the Supreme Court Term Could Be Moot”

February 6, 2023, 7:36 amlegislation and legislatures, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

I have written this piece for Slate. It begins: Will a power grab by the new Republican majority on North Carolina’s Supreme Court—ostensibly to reverse a power grab by the earlier Democratic majority on North Carolina’s Supreme Court—deprive conservatives on… Continue reading