Category Archives: Supreme Court

“Dueling Canons”

January 19, 2015, 10:00 amstatutory interpretation, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Anita Krishnakumar has posted this draft on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This Article offers the first targeted study of the Supreme Court’s use of the canons and other tools of statutory interpretation in a “dueling” manner — i.e., to… Continue reading

“Supreme Court to Review Bans on Solicitations in Judge Races”

January 18, 2015, 6:28 pmcampaign finance, campaigns, judicial elections, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Liptak NYT preview of Williams-Yulee.

“A Question on the Question of Gay Marriage”

January 18, 2015, 4:18 pmSupreme CourtRick Hasen

Bob Barnes WaPo analysis on the questions presented in the SCOTUS same sex marriage cases.

“Arizona and Anti-Reform”

January 18, 2015, 1:29 pmElections Clause, redistricting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Nick Stephanopoulos has posted this draft on SSRN (forthcoming, University of Chicago Legal Forum). Here is the abstract: The Supreme Court is on the cusp of rejecting one of the best ideas for reforming American elections: independent commissions for congressional… Continue reading

More on the #SCOTUS Questions Presented in Same Sex Marriage Case

January 18, 2015, 8:52 amSupreme CourtRick Hasen

Steve Sanders Ilya Shapiro

“Taking Up Gay Marriage, but on Their Own Terms”

January 17, 2015, 11:49 amSupreme CourtRick Hasen

Adam Liptak for the NYT: WASHINGTON — The first page of a petition seeking Supreme Court review is the most important. It sets out the “question presented,” the one the court will answer if it takes the case. The justices… Continue reading

“When Can a Judge Ask, ‘Write Me a Check’?”

January 16, 2015, 4:50 pmcampaign finance, judicial elections, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Garrett Epps on Williams-Yulee.

Has #SCOTUS Stacked the Deck Against Gay Marriage in How It Has Framed the Question?

January 16, 2015, 12:53 pmSupreme CourtRick Hasen

The Supreme Court’s decision to hear the gay marriage cases today came accompanied by some strange rephrasing of the questions presented: The cases are consolidated and the petitions for writs of certiorari are granted limited to the following questions: 1) … Continue reading

Vanderbilt Law Review Roundtable on Williams-Yulee Judicial Campaign Case Before SCOTUS

January 14, 2015, 8:19 pmcampaign finance, campaigns, judicial elections, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

This looks good: Our current Roundtable considers Williams-Yulee v. The Florida Bar, to be argued before the Supreme Court on January 20, 2015. In Williams-Yulee, the Court considers whether a rule of judicial conduct that bans judicial candidates from… Continue reading

“Tax credit for $200 in political giving could encourage small donors”

January 14, 2015, 9:17 amcampaign finance, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

David Gans LA Times oped: The policy landscape is highly polarized, with the two sides talking past each other. Rather than simply rehearsing the same stale debates, we need to find different approaches. One is to enact a federal tax… Continue reading

“Groups Have Deep Ties to Campaigns and Parties They Support, Discrediting Key Assumption in Supreme Court’s Citizens United Decision”

January 14, 2015, 7:06 amcampaign finance, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Release: Single-candidate super PACs represented 45 percent of all super PACs that spent at least $100,000 during this election cycle, a new Public Citizen report shows. The report is the latest installment in a series Public Citizen began… Continue reading

“Election Spending 2014: Outside Spending in Senate Races Since ‘Citizens United'”

January 14, 2015, 7:03 amcampaign finance, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

New Brennan Center report: Key findings include: Outside spending by a tiny number of mega-rich donors has played an increasingly important role in each federal election since Citizens United. Outside spending on Senate elections has more than doubled since… Continue reading