The first abortion-related decision of the 2021 Supreme Court term, Whole Woman’s Health v. Jackson, examined the following issue: The State of Texas adopted a law banning abortions at approximately six weeks of pregnancy, in clear violation of this Court’s precedents holding that a State cannot prohibit abortion at a point before viability. To try…
Category: Text Analysis
Activist or Restrained, the Current Court’s Movement is Often Directed by the Chief
At the helm of the Senate impeachment trial, Chief Justice Roberts is engaged in politics in a manner distinct from any other role he has or will play on the Supreme Court. At the impeachment trial he presides over the Senate, mainly ruling on procedural issues, but has also shown a willingness to exert control of the…
How Chief Justice Roberts Articulates His Ethos Through His Year End Reports
Chief Justice John Roberts released an impassioned Year End Report on December 31, 2019, which generated much commentary. The New York Times, for instance wrote about the Chief Justice’s calls for an independent federal judiciary. The Wall Street Journal examined Justice Roberts’ warnings against rumor and false information. These values inherent in the Chief’s report…
The “Right” Stuff
The Constitution as originally drafted excluded certain rights. These rights were were instead later added as amendments to the Constitution in the form of the Bill of Rights. Commentary leading up to the establishment of a Constitution found in the Federalist Papers discusses the importance of amendments and the process by which they might be…
Follow the Experts: Framing Petitions for Cert
What do Supreme Court experts do differently in their cert petitions? Some insights in this post
The Wide Arc of the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court now hears around 70 arguments a term and each case tends to have issues unique from others on the Court’s docket. After the Court’s merits docket is assembled each term though, similarities between cases become apparent and these similarities may present an area of law where the Court is more invested and…
Building a Merits Docket in 2018
The Supreme Court hears its first oral argument of the 2018 term on the first Monday in October (Monday October 1st). Before then, on September 24th, the justices will sit down to what is known as the “long conference” where the justices will review petitions for the first time since June. The number of petitions…
A Little Change Will Do You Good: Oral Argument Interruptions 2017
Although female justices have only served on the Supreme Court since 1981, a relatively short slice of the Court’s history, gender imbalances have existed in oral argument interruptions for many years with female justices bearing the brunt of them. These imbalances were identified in a blog post on Empirical SCOTUS with subsequent commentary from Stephanie…
Getting Rid of those Amicus Blues
Good writing makes a world of difference in appellate practice. In an era where some scholars question whether oral arguments have very much utility, briefs, and especially amicus briefs, are thought to play a unique role in Supreme Court decision making. The Court receives briefs in large numbers, with amicus briefs leading the way. Cases with broad national repercussions may garner…
An Opinion is Worth at Least 1,000 Words
Supreme Court opinions come in all different shapes and sizes. Some are short and sweet, others are dense, long, and hard to follow. Some reasons behind relative opinion length are obvious. Even though the justices tend not to grant cases with facile solutions, certain cases are more complex and involve extensive fact patterns. Along with…
The Dissenting-est Dissenters on the Modern Court
The Court’s opinions have been sliced, diced, and dissected in various fashions over the years as scholars and practitioners look for overt and latent meanings in the Court’s texts. An object of study has often been the dissenting opinion. The dissent is an interesting point of focus because both because of its purpose and its…
Zubik and the Free Exercise Context
(image via The Atlantic) One of the most anticipated decisions of the current Supreme Court Term is forthcoming in the case Zubik v. Burwell. Zubik follows in the footsteps of another recent case: Hobby Lobby v. Burwell, 134 S.Ct. 2751 (2014). Both cases deal with First Amendment challenges under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) to…
Empirical SCOTUS 