In the Supreme Court’s first decision of the term, Hamer v. Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg cited language from the court’s 2010 decision in Magwood v. Patterson stipulating that “[w]e cannot replace the actual text with speculation as to Congress’ intent.” Indeed, as Justice Elena Kagan wrote in the 2015 decision Ross…
Tag: Digital Realty Trust
A New Era in SCOTUS Textualism
Legal interpretation begins with a legal text. At least in theory it does. While in practice this is not always the case, textualism has become synonymous with conservatism in recent Court eras primarily due to Justice Scalia’s reliance on the language of statutory texts. In practice, a textualist approach is not limited by judicial ideology and…
Help a Justice Out
While Supreme Court justices are often guarded about how they come to their decisions, there are occasions where they are much more transparent. During oral argument, it is not uncommon for justices to bluntly say to an attorney “help me -” followed by a certain request. Instances where justices enlist attorneys’ help during oral argument present…
Major Players in the Lower Courts
Cases’ contours are primarily defined by the time they reach the Supreme Court. These contours take shape through litigation in lower courts. In the lower courts, judges make decisions that are by and large upheld as they are generally are left untouched. Even if appeals courts wanted to take a larger role in the universe…
Who’s on the Case: Successful Cert Petitions 2017
The Supreme Court has its calendar set through January 2018 with ten cases already accepted for argument that are as of yet unscheduled. The total number of case grants so far is 53, and with consolidated cases this will lead to 47 arguments. This puts the Court on pace for one of the slowest grant rates…
Empirical SCOTUS 