Category Archives: Supreme Court

Carter Phillips and Bipartisan Group of Heavy Hitters (including Sen. Danforth) File Supreme Court Brief Rejecting Bush v. Gore Concurrence/Independent State Legislature Doctrine in PA case

December 7, 2020, 11:32 amSupreme CourtRick Hasen

This brief will get attention at the Court. See especially the discussion at pages 9-11.

Justice Alito Has Moved Up the Response Time to the Rep. Kelly PA Election Petition to the Morning of Safe Harbor Day: What Does It Mean?

December 6, 2020, 8:14 amabsentee ballots, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Via Bob Barnes, comes news that Justice Alito had moved the date for the response to Rep. Kelly’s request for emergency relief from Dec. 9 to Dec. 8. I had noted in an earlier post that Justice Alito had… Continue reading

Trump Administration Files Supreme Court Brief Urging It To Hear Case That Could Weaken Campaign Finance Disclosure Rules

December 5, 2020, 1:16 pmcampaign finance, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

The Court had invited the views of the Solicitor General about whether or not it should take the case, and now the office has filed this brief. It would not surprise me to see the Biden Administration taking a… Continue reading

As Path to Overturn Pennsylvania Election Results Closes Completely, Trump Campaign Apparently Abandons Seeking Supreme Court Emergency Relief in Third Circuit Case

December 4, 2020, 8:34 amfraudulent fraud squad, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Philadelphia Inquirer: If its fate had not been abundantly clear already, President Donald Trump’s dream of having Pennsylvania’s GOP-controlled legislature overturn the state’s election results received what appeared to be its final death blows Thursday with a late-night order… Continue reading

Justice Alito Slow-Walks Rep. Kelly’s Pennsylvania Emergency Petition, Requiring a Response from the State on Dec. 9, After the Safe Harbor Deadline: What Does It All Mean?

December 3, 2020, 8:22 pmelectoral college, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Although it is not yet reflected on the docket, Justice Alito has reportedly set a deadline of December 9 for the state of PA to respond to Rep. Kelly’s petition seeking to nullify the vote in Pennsylvania (a petition… Continue reading

Rep. Kelly Has Apparently Withdrawn His Emergency Request for a SCOTUS Injunction to Reverse Pennsylvania Results, As He Awaits PA Supreme Court Ruling on Stay

December 2, 2020, 8:30 pmSupreme CourtRick Hasen

From the opposition to the stay request filed in the PA Supreme Court: Once again, Petitioners are asking the courts to take expedited action in response to an emergency of Petitioners’ own making. This Court dismissed the Petition for Review… Continue reading

Unanimous 4th Circuit Panel Applies “Presumption of Good Faith” in Upholding 2018 North Carolina Voter ID Law, Despite Finding That 2013 Voter ID Law Was Passed with Racially Discriminatory Intent

December 2, 2020, 9:22 amSupreme Court, voter idRick Hasen

You can find the 29-page opinion at this link (via WRAL). The opinion leans heavily on the Supreme Court’s use of a presumption of legislative good faith in Abbott, despite an earlier history of racially discriminatory conduct. I recently wrote… Continue reading

“Federal Court Review of State Court Interpretations of State Laws that Regulate Federal Elections: Debunking the ‘Independent State Legislature’ Notion Once and for all, and Keeping Federal Judges to Their Important but Limited Lanes”

December 1, 2020, 9:58 amlegislation and legislatures, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Vik Amar has posted this draft on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In the weeks leading up to and following Election Day 2020, Republican litigants, taking cues from a minority group of Justices, asked federal courts to undo state election… Continue reading

“A Census Case That Goes to the Heart of American Democracy”

December 1, 2020, 8:16 amcensus litigation, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Michael Wines for the NYT: On Monday, the Supreme Court heard arguments on a question that goes to the heart of American democracy: Must the government count everyone living in the country, citizens or not, in the census totals that… Continue reading

Pennsylvania and PA Democratic Party File Opposition to Cert. Briefs in Supreme Court Over Extension of Ballot Deadline; Both Argue Case is Now Moot

November 30, 2020, 8:58 pmSupreme CourtRick Hasen

PA Brief. PA Dems’ Brief. This is the case involving the PA Supreme Court’s decision to accept ballots arriving up to three days after election day. PA Republicans claim this violates the right of the state legislature to set… Continue reading

“Supreme Court Skeptical of Trump’s Plan to Not Count Unauthorized Immigrants in Redistricting”

November 30, 2020, 8:51 pmcensus litigation, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Adam Liptak for the NYT: A skeptical Supreme Court on Monday reacted with frustration and some confusion to President Trump’s plan to exclude unauthorized immigrants from the calculations used to allocate seats in the House.While there was some discussion about… Continue reading

Listen Live to the Oral Argument at Supreme Court in the Census Case

November 30, 2020, 7:57 amcensus litigation, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

In progress here.

“The Supreme Court Must Choose Between Trump and the Constitution in the Census Case”

November 30, 2020, 7:34 amcensus litigation, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

David Gans for Slate.

“Election Case Risks Awkward About-Face for Biden Administration”

November 23, 2020, 8:46 amSupreme Court, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

Bloomberg Law: President-elect Joe Biden’s top lawyer at the Supreme Court may have no choice but to change the government’s position in an election dispute out of Arizona, the sort of pivot that is awkward for lawyers and irritates… Continue reading

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