Category Archives: Supreme Court

League of Women Voters, ACLU and Rutherford Institute File Amicus Brief Supporting Republican Representative Bost’s Standing to Sue over Accepting Ballots Arriving After Election Day

July 29, 2025, 1:10 pmcampaigns, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

They disagree on the merits of Bost’s position, but this filing at the Supreme Court supporting standing for Rep. Bost is still notable. See also this interesting amicus brief from Professor Michael Morley.

“Montana Initiative to File Bold Blueprint to Challenge Citizens United; New Amendment Would Use Corporate Law to Ban Political Spending”

July 28, 2025, 2:47 pmcampaign finance, Plutocrats United, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Press release via email: The Transparent Election Initiative, a Montana organization, today released the public draft of a historic constitutional amendment that takes direct aim at Citizens United—and the corporate and dark money it unleashed into Montana’s politics. The amendment… Continue reading

Breaking: 8th Circuit, Following Earlier Decision Holding Private Plaintiffs Cannot Sue to Enforce Section 2 of Voting Rights Act, Now Says No Right to Sue under Voter Assistance Provisions Either [Corrected]

July 28, 2025, 8:28 amSupreme Court, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

Via Hansi Lo Wang comes this order finding no private right of action under section 208 of the VRA. The fate of this case will likely follow the fate of what the Supreme Court will do with the Section 2 … Continue reading

Waiting for Callais

July 25, 2025, 12:29 pmredistricting, Supreme Court, Voting Rights ActTravis Crum

Earlier today, Rick Pildes flagged the Court’s inexplicable month-long delay in issuing a re-argument order in Louisiana v. Callais, last Term’s—and now next Term’s—major Shaw case. I agree with Pildes’s concerns and want to add a few points. First, to… Continue reading

Toobin: “The Line Trump Crossed by Accusing Obama of Treason”

July 25, 2025, 5:27 amDepartment of Justice, Supreme CourtDan Tokaji

Jeffrey Toobin in NYT on President Trump’s assertion that former President Obama engaged in “treason” in connection with the investigation into Russian efforts to influence the 2016 election: President Trump’s history of intemperate remarks has earned him a perverse kind… Continue reading

“Justice Kagan Urges Supreme Court to Explain Itself in Emergency Decisions”

July 25, 2025, 5:07 amSupreme CourtDan Tokaji

NYT: Justice Elena Kagan said Thursday that the Supreme Court was shortchanging the public and lower court judges by failing to explain its reasoning in rulings on cases that come before the court on an emergency basis, including challenges… Continue reading

Crum: “The Curiously Minor Role of Minor v. Happersett”

July 24, 2025, 1:03 pm19th Amendment, election law and constitutional law, Supreme CourtTravis Crum

Along with my co-authors (Professor Susan Appleton and Hannah Keidan (WashU Law ’25)), I have posted this draft on SSRN. It is part of a symposium that will be published later this summer in the Washington University Law Review. It… Continue reading

Supreme Court Puts on Hold Eighth Circuit Order that Would Have Ended Private Enforcement of the Voting Rights Act in Seven States, But Three Justices Appear Ready to Kill Section 2 Nationally

July 24, 2025, 11:59 amSupreme Court, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

Via Steve Vladeck comes this Supreme Court order, over the dissents of Justices Alito, Gorsuch, and Thomas, of the Eighth Circuit case raising the question whether private plaintiffs have the right to sue under Section 2 of the Voting… Continue reading

“Why Can Trump Sue You, But You Can’t Sue Him?”

July 22, 2025, 4:40 amauthoritarian threats in US, Supreme CourtDan Tokaji

Ankush Khardori in Politico Magazine: The Supreme Court has been steadily building up an extraordinary level of immunity for presidents, on both civil and criminal fronts. And Trump has benefited from — and exploited — the law like no… Continue reading

“The Court’s Liberals Are Trying to Tell Americans Something”

July 18, 2025, 5:36 amauthoritarian threats in US, Supreme CourtDan Tokaji

Aziz Huq in The Atlantic: In recent Supreme Court terms, Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and Ketanji Brown Jackson have issued defiant dissents that push back against a seemingly endless cascade of conservative opinions. The three tend to take… Continue reading

Watch Archived Video of UCLA Hammer/Safeguarding Democracy Project Supreme Court Term in Review Event with Cary Franklin, Jennifer Chacon, Justin Levitt, and Eugene Volokh (with Hasen Moderating)

July 17, 2025, 11:38 amSupreme CourtRick Hasen

You can watch on Youtube. A fascinating and deep discussion:

“Supreme Court Keeps Ruling in Trump’s Favor, but Doesn’t Say Why”

July 17, 2025, 8:54 amSupreme CourtDan Tokaji

NYT on the shadow docket, of which election law cases — especially those involving the Purcell doctrine — have been prominent components over the years. The article begins: “In clearing the way for President Trump’s efforts to transform American… Continue reading

Now Available: 2025 Supplement to Lowenstein, Hasen, Tokaji & Stephanopoulos, Election Law–Cases and Materials (7th Edition)

July 15, 2025, 7:51 amelection law biz, pedagogy, Supreme CourtDan Tokaji

You can download the free Supplement here, current through the Supreme Court’s 2024-25 term. New to this Supplement is an overview of 2024 election litigation, including the lawsuits over the North Carolina Supreme Court election. The Supplement also includes… Continue reading