Category Archives: Supreme Court

“New Memo Reveals the Census Question Was Added to Boost White Voting Power; Why it won’t matter to the Supreme Court’s conservatives.”

May 30, 2019, 9:07 amcensus litigation, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

I have written this piece for Slate. It begins: If we had a fair Supreme Court not driven by partisanship in its most political cases, Thursday’s blockbuster revelation in the census case would lead the court to unanimously rule in … Continue reading

New Cert Petition Out of Disputed Connecticut Assembly Race Asks Supreme Court to Resolve an Apparent Circuit Split Over the Meaning of Bush v. Gore

May 28, 2019, 9:00 pmBush v. Gore reflections, election administration, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

The case is Feehan v. Marcone and the cert petition is here.

“McConnell confirms he would help Trump fill another Supreme Court vacancy in 2020”

May 28, 2019, 8:28 pmSupreme CourtRick Hasen

WaPo: When President Obama nominated Judge Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court in 2016, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) refused to consider him, blocking the nominee until after the year’s presidential election.He said then that “the American people… Continue reading

“Buckley 2.0: How Would The Buckley Court Decide Buckley Today?”

May 27, 2019, 4:56 pmcampaign finance, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Miriam Galston has posted this draft on SSRN. Here is the abstract: If you read Supreme Court campaign finance cases, you will be struck by the disconnect between the lofty rhetoric used to justify the constitutional protections afforded political speech… Continue reading

Wendy Tam Cho: “Technology-Enabled Coin Flips for Judging Partisan Gerrymandering”

May 26, 2019, 9:05 pmredistricting, Supreme Court, UncategorizedRick Hasen

The following is a guest post from Wendy Tam Cho: The Court has issued a stay in the Ohio and Michigan partisan gerrymandering cases, and we await their rulings in North Carolina and Maryland. I was an expert witness… Continue reading

No Surprise: Supreme Court, Without Noted Dissent, Blocks Redraws of Ohio, Michigan Maps Found by Lower Courts to Be Partisan Gerrymanders

May 24, 2019, 1:56 pmredistricting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Today’s orders are no surprise. Indeed, the Court often fails to give preliminary relief in redistricting cases even when the plaintiffs eventually win on the merits. Indeed, if the Court did allow the remaps to take place while the… Continue reading

“Academic highlight: Hyatt is latest example of textualist-originalist justices’ willingness to overturn precedent”

May 24, 2019, 8:00 amstatutory interpretation, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Really sharp Anita Krishnakumar piece at SCOTUSBlog.

“U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Bid to Let Businesses Donate to Candidates”

May 20, 2019, 7:08 amcampaign finance, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Bloomberg: The U.S. Supreme Court declined an opportunity to give businesses broader rights to contribute money to political candidates and causes.The justices, without comment Monday, refused to question a Massachusetts law that bars for-profit corporations from making campaign donations.

“Don’t Rebrand Corruption”

May 16, 2019, 10:28 ambribery, campaign finance, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Ciara Torres-Spelliscy blogs.

“Supreme Court requests response from Ohio and Michigan gerrymander challengers”

May 13, 2019, 9:03 pmredistricting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Roll Call: The Supreme Court on Monday gave the challengers of congressional maps in Ohio and Michigan until May 20 to respond to requests from state officials to stop court-ordered redrawing of district lines. Lower courts found the maps… Continue reading

“Ohio, Michigan legislators seek partisan-gerrymandering stays”

May 11, 2019, 8:25 amredistricting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

SCOTUSBlog: At the end of March, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in two cases challenging federal congressional districts in North Carolina and Maryland as the product of unconstitutional partisan gerrymandering. A key question in both cases was whether courts… Continue reading

Steve Mazie on the Ohio Partisan Gerrymandering Ruling

May 9, 2019, 10:40 amredistricting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Here at The Economist.

Today’s Must-Read: Linda Greenhouse: “The Supreme Court, the Census Case and the Truth: Will the justices be the administration’s enablers or form a firewall against its lies?”

May 9, 2019, 8:33 amcensus litigation, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Linda Greenhouse NYT column: But if the plaintiff states are going to lose, it seems to me that it matters greatly how they lose. What was depressing and even scary about the April 23 argument was the disingenuous lengths to… Continue reading

“In Michigan & Ohio, Justice Delayed Could Mean Justice Denied; Is There A Better Way?”

May 8, 2019, 4:38 pmredistricting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Mike Parsons: In the past two weeks, federal district courts have struck down partisan gerrymanders in both Michigan and Ohio. As a matter of legal doctrine, these decisions are important. As Nick Stephanopoulos states, they reveal an emerging … Continue reading

Election Law Blog

The law of politics and the politics of law