U.S.: Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor dies at 93

Retired Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States Sandra Day O’Connor died December 1st, in Phoenix, Arizona.

Justice serves as scholar for teacher professional development program

North Dakota Supreme Court Justice Daniel J. Crothers served as a scholar for the North Dakota Social Studies and We the People: the Citizen and the Constitution Summer Institute.

U.S. Supreme Court opinion: April 18

The United States Supreme Court has issued a new opinion.

Jackson sworn in as U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice

The Honorable Ketanji Brown Jackson was sworn in as the 104th Associate Justice of the Supreme Court on Thursday, June 30.

U.S. Supreme Court opinions: April 28

The United States Supreme Court has issued two new opinions.

U.S. chief justice issues 2021 report on federal judiciary

Chief Justice John Roberts has released the 2021 year-end report on the federal judiciary.

U.S.: Inside virus-era Supreme Court

National Law Journal: "Michael Francisco clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch until July 17 this past term, an unusually late departure caused by the scrambled court calendar resulting from the pandemic."

U.S.: Justices will hear argument in ACA case one week after Election Day

SCOTUSblog: "The Supreme Court on Wednesday released the calendar for the November argument session, which will include the latest challenge to the Affordable Care Act and a clash between religious liberty and LGBTQ rights."

Justice Thomas maps own course, at wheel of his 40-foot bus

Associated Press: "Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has never been afraid to turn right when his colleagues turn left, or in any direction really as long as there’s a place to plug in his 40-foot refitted tour bus at the end of the day."

U.S. Supreme Court justices make rare public appearances in pandemic

Bloomberg News: "Two Supreme Court justices appeared in public this week in the kind of sightings that have become rare since the Covid-19 pandemic forced them to end the term while working remotely."

Supreme Court denies Nevada church's appeal of coronavirus rule

MPR News: "A sharply divided U.S. Supreme Court denied a rural Nevada church’s request late Friday to strike down as unconstitutional a 50-person cap on worship services as part of the state’s ongoing response to the coronavirus."

Ruth Bader Ginsburg announces cancer recurrence, says chemotherapy yielding 'positive results'

CNN: "Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said Friday she is undergoing chemotherapy to treat a recurrence of cancer. The treatment is yielding 'positive results.'"

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg hospitalized with infection

USA Today: "Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was admitted to a hospital Tuesday for treatment of a possible infection, marking the latest medical issue for the four-time cancer survivor."

U.S.: Court releases October calendar

SCOTUSblog: "The Supreme Court released its calendar for the October argument session, which begins on Monday, Oct. 5, and continues through Wednesday, Oct. 14."

U.S. Supreme Court: Final stat pack for October Term 2019

SCOTUSblog: "A Supreme Court term unlike any other has finally come to an end. In March, some observers thought the term would end early after the court shut its doors and postponed oral arguments."

U.S.: 2 female firsts at the Supreme Court announce retirements

Associated Press: "The Supreme Court said Tuesday that the first-ever women to hold two prominent positions at the court, handling the justices’ security and overseeing publication of the court’s decisions, are retiring."

U.S.: Justices have a lot to say, but all is quiet in the Supreme Court

ABA Journal: "In a normal June, the U.S. Supreme Court issues the last of the term’s opinions, many of which are in its most contentious and divided cases."

U.S.: Justices won’t wade into fight over tribal water rights

Courthouse News Service: "Farmers won’t get paid for river water they lost out on during a drought in southern Oregon, because Native American tribes have water rights that rank above those of irrigators."

U.S. Supreme Court rejects challenge to attorneys' mandatory state bar dues

Washington Times: "The Supreme Court declined to hear a challenge on Monday to lawyers’ state bar fees, which had been brought after the justices struck down mandatory union dues in a 2018 case citing the First Amendment."

U.S.: Chief justice says pandemic teaches humility, compassion

Associated Press: "Chief Justice John Roberts told graduating seniors at his son’s high school that the coronavirus has 'pierced our illusion of certainty and control' and he counseled the students to make their way with humility, compassion and courage in a world turned upside down."

Nothing to draw when nothing to see leaves SCOTUS artists idle

Bloomberg News: "Art Lien has been tuning in for what’s both familiar and unrecognizable during the first-ever live audio of Supreme Court oral arguments."

U.S. Supreme Court Notebook: Chatty Thomas breaks with precedent

Associated Press: "A Supreme Court justice gets it in his mind to ask a question, and pretty soon, he’s got questions for everyone. And so the next question: Will Clarence Thomas ever stop talking?"

Justice Ginsburg in hospital with infection, court says

Associated Press: "Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was hospitalized Tuesday with an infection caused by a gallstone, but plans to take part in the court’s arguments by telephone Wednesday, the Supreme Court said."

Smooth sailing in U.S. Supreme Court's first teleconference case; Thomas joins fray

Reuters: "The first U.S. Supreme Court arguments conducted by teleconference - a break from tradition due to the coronavirus pandemic - played out smoothly on Monday."

Black robes or bathrobes? Virus alters high court traditions

WSLS News: "The coronavirus pandemic is forcing big changes at the tradition-bound Supreme Court. The justices will hear arguments this month by telephone for the first time since Alexander Graham Bell patented his invention in 1876."

U.S.: Lawyers get ready for first-ever Supreme Court oral arguments by phone

NBC News: "The Supreme Court’s announcement this week that it will hold oral arguments via teleconference for the first time in its history has a small group of America’s top attorneys prepping for the most important phone calls of their careers."

U.S. Supreme Court moves to limit paper filings

Bloomberg News: "The U.S. Supreme Court joined the chorus of federal courts across the country trying to reduce paper filings amid the coronavirus outbreak."

U.S. Supreme Court to hold May arguments by teleconference

Associated Press: "The Supreme Court said Monday it will hold arguments by teleconference in May in key cases, including President Donald Trump’s bid to shield his tax and other financial records."

U.S. Justice Stephen Breyer reflects on Supreme Court and life in isolation

CNN: "Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer recently plunked down before his computer camera for a lively Zoom chat with students at the United Nations International School, offering a glimpse of the justices' private negotiations against a canvas of how the law develops in America."

U.S. Supreme Court cancels oral arguments for rest of the term

NBC News: "The U.S. Supreme Court Friday said it will scrap the oral argument schedule for the rest of the term amid the coronavirus pandemic but left open the possibility that it might hear a few cases before the term ends in late June."

Paper filings, relics elsewhere, endure at SCOTUS through virus

Bloomberg News: "With the rest of Washington beginning to grind to a halt over coronavirus and social distancing not yet the norm, senior paralegal Cheryl Olson left Jenner & Block’s office March 19 for a four-mile round trip to deliver briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court—on foot."

U.S.: Spring cases in limbo without Supreme Court guidance on arguments during pandemic

CNN: "The Supreme Court has yet to announce alternatives for regular oral arguments in pending cases, even as President Donald Trump has declared the national distancing guidelines should continue through April."

U.S. Supreme Court postpones arguments because of virus outbreak

Associated Press: "The Supreme Court announced Monday that it is postponing arguments for late March and early April because of the coronavirus, including fights over subpoenas for President Donald Trump’s financial records."

U.S. Supreme Court’s closure could be first disease-related shuttering in a century

SCOTUSblog: "On Thursday, the Supreme Court announced that it would close its doors to the public 'until further notice' '[o]ut of concern for the health and safety of the public and Supreme Court employees.'"

U.S.: Supreme Court takes up teen’s life-without-parole case

Courthouse News Service: "Taking up the case of a 15-year-old who killed his grandfather, the Supreme Court agreed Monday to decide whether a juvenile must be ruled 'permanently incorrigible' to get a life sentence without parole."

U.S. Justice Thomas: Judges aren’t ‘mass media icons,’ should uphold the law

Atlanta Journal Constitution: "Judges must adhere to the rule of law and not substitute their own racial, religious or partisan preferences to achieve a desired result, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas said Tuesday."

U.S.: Ginsburg says deadline to ratify Equal Rights Amendment has expired

CNN: "Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a long-time supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment, suggested Monday night that the deadline to ratify the measure as a constitutional amendment has expired and that the decades long effort must start anew."

Roberts: Judges working to promote civics, impartial courts

Associated Press: "Federal judges are taking up the challenge to educate Americans about how their government works at a time when false information can spread instantaneously on social media, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote Tuesday in his annual year-end report."

U.S.: Religious school’s firing power heads to high court

Courthouse News Service: "The Supreme Court took up two cases Wednesday that ask whether teachers at religious schools can sue their employers for discrimination."

U.S.: Man whose conviction was overturned by Supreme Court after 6 trials is granted bail

NPR News: "Mississippi man Curtis Flowers was tried for the same crime six times: the murder of four people at a furniture store in 1996. He was convicted four times — but each was overturned. Two others ended in mistrials."

U.S. Supreme Court accepts new Oklahoma case about Indian reservations

The Oklahoman: "The U.S. Supreme Court, which failed this year to decide a case that could have a major impact in eastern Oklahoma, has chosen a different path to determine whether tribal reservations in the state were officially terminated."

U.S.: Supreme Court refuses to consider cities' efforts to prosecute the homeless for sleeping outside

USA Today: "The Supreme Court refused Monday to consider whether state and local governments can make it a crime for homeless people to sleep outside."

U.S.: Ruth Bader Ginsburg misses court due to illness

CNN: "Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was not on the bench for oral arguments Wednesday due to illness, according to Chief Justice John Roberts."

Liberty Medal awarded to former Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy

Philadelphia Inquirer: "Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy was awarded the Liberty Medal on Sunday evening at the National Constitution Center. In his acceptance of the award, Kennedy called for people, but especially government, to have respectful, open dialogue in making decisions."

Associate Justice Elena Kagan says U.S. Supreme Court not partisan, despite current political climate

Denver Post: "At a time when partisan politics seem to have taken hold of the country, U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Elena Kagan believes that the country’s highest court remains independent."

The last of the sketch artists on cameras in the US Supreme Court

Quartz: "Art Lien didn’t dream of becoming a courtroom sketch artist, though the diminutive form of his name did hint at this ultimate destiny. In fact, it’s a job Lien once mocked."

U.S. Supreme Court to hear Appalachian Trail pipeline fight

Reuters: "The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear an appeal by Dominion Energy Inc. and President Donald Trump’s administration of a lower court ruling that halted construction on a natural gas pipeline due to run underneath a section of the popular Appalachian Trail in rural Virginia."

U.S.: Chief Justice John Roberts prepares for outsized role as umpire

USA Today: "As his Supreme Court prepares for a contentious term featuring cases on immigration, gay and lesbian rights, gun ownership and, in all likelihood, abortion, Roberts can look forward to opposition from the left and distrust from the right."

U.S.: Supreme Court Justice Kagan shares her insights

Courthouse News Service: "In a visit to U.C. Berkeley Law School Monday, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan shared her thoughts on studying law, divisive politics and the career disappointments that led to her reaching the highest court in the nation."

U.S.: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg reflects on Supreme Court’s unchanging 'collegiality'

UChicago News: "After more than a quarter of a century on the United States Supreme Court, what hasn’t changed for Ruth Bader Ginsburg are her cordial relationships with her fellow justices."

U.S.: Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch decries lack of access to justice for many Americans

USA Today: "Lawyers cost too much. Getting to trial takes too long. Juries promised by the Constitution are rarely used. And just try counting all the criminal laws on the books."

U.S.: Gorsuch says it’s just fine to be forgotten someday

Bloomberg News: "If history doesn’t remember Justice Neil Gorsuch, that’d be just fine by him. 'We’ll all be forgotten soon enough,' the justice quotes his former boss and Supreme Court predecessor Justice Byron 'Whizzer' White in his upcoming memoir, 'A Republic, If You Can Keep It.'"

U.S.: Elena Kagan offers new law students advice — and a shot of confidence

Harvard Gazette: "Elena Kagan was 'petrified' when a Law School professor called on her on her first day of class. She blew her first exams, which situated her in 'the bottom third of the class.'"

U.S.: Ginsburg appears strong during first speech since latest cancer revelation

CNN: "Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, making her first public appearance since it was announced that she had undergone recent treatment for pancreatic cancer, appeared strong Monday when she accepted an honorary degree from the University at Buffalo."

U.S. Supreme Court: Ginsburg treated for tumor on pancreas

Associated Press: "Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has completed radiation therapy for a cancerous tumor on her pancreas and there is no evidence of the disease remaining, the Supreme Court said Friday."

U.S.: Law school Supreme Court clinics catapult students to top jobs

Bloomberg News: "Alex Twinem’s second-year spring at Stanford Law School looked a bit different than that of her peers. Twinem, rather than cramming for exams, was hard at work on a case that ultimately resulted in a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision: Obergefell v. Hodges."

Does Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg have any regrets? Hardly

MPR News: "Does Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the 86-year-old feminist icon, have any regrets about her professional life? Hardly. 'I do think that I was born under a very bright star,' Ginsburg said."

U.S.: Kagan speaks of Supreme Court credibility in Spokane

Associated Press: "Supreme Court justices are aware of how decisions made along partisan lines can damage the credibility of the institution, Justice Elena Kagan said Thursday at a judicial conference in Washington state."

U.S.: Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, at 86, dreams of serving many more years

USA Today: "Supreme Court Associate Justice and liberal icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg has a message for friends and foes alike: She hopes to serve many more years."

U.S.: Ex-Marine, professor, MLB draft pick among high court clerks

Associated Press: "A former Marine who deployed twice to Afghanistan. A patent law professor. A woman who’s blind. Two Rhodes scholars. They’re among the lawyers starting work this summer as law clerks at the Supreme Court."

U.S.: Former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens dies at 99

Associated Press: "John Paul Stevens, the bow-tied, independent-thinking, Republican-nominated justice who unexpectedly emerged as the Supreme Court’s leading liberal, died Tuesday in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, after suffering a stroke Monday. He was 99."

Clarence Thomas: From 'Black Panther type' to Supreme Court's conservative beacon

NPR News: "On the U.S. Supreme Court, where nine justices often disagree but try to meld their views into majority decisions, one justice stands out."

U.S.: Thomas, RBG align in 5-4 rulings

Associated Press: "Since Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s return in late winter from cancer surgery and broken ribs , she has regularly accepted Justice Clarence Thomas’ extended hand to help her down the three steps behind the Supreme Court bench when the gavel falls and court ends for the day."

U.S.: Clarence Thomas questions sources of retirement rumors

CNN: "Justice Clarence Thomas' booming voice filled the Supreme Court chamber Monday afternoon, as he took time off from the last month of the term to give a wide-ranging talk and publicly question where the rumors of his retirement come from."

U.S.: Retired Justice Kennedy promises message of civility at American Law Institute’s annual meeting

SCOTUSblog: "'This award will inspire me in future years to bring again the message of civility and decency and progress to all of those who, like you, revere the law,' retired Justice Anthony Kennedy promised [May 20] as he received the Henry J. Friendly Medal at the American Law Institute’s annual meeting."

U.S.: Retired Justice John Paul Stevens talks history, his new book and ping-pong

NPR News: "When you interview a 99-year-old Supreme Court justice, one who has written some of the landmark opinions of modern times, you don't imagine in advance that the subplot of the interview is going to be Ping-Pong."

U.S.: Justice Brett Kavanaugh says judges 'owe our allegiance to the Constitution'

CNN: "Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh stressed judicial independence and 'allegiance to the Constitution' in his first major appearance outside of Washington since his contentious confirmation last October."

U.S.: John Roberts' journey from 'sober puss' to the pinnacle of American law

CNN: "Chief Justice John Roberts has always had perfect timing. Shortly before he reached high school age, an elite boarding school was founded near his northern Indiana home. Even as a young boy he knew that it offered a place to obtain a superior education."

U.S.: Sandra Day O'Connor reflects on life before, during and after the Supreme Court

CNN: "A new biography of the first woman on the Supreme Court details Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's agonizing struggle with her husband's dementia in the years before she retired and her later angst as she watched the court lunge rightward and faced her own declining health."

U.S.: Chief Justice Roberts weighs ethics code for high court

Courthouse News Service: "At a hearing Thursday on the high court’s budget, Justice Elena Kagan told lawmakers that Chief Justice John Roberts is looking into the possibility of drafting a code of conduct that applies only to Supreme Court justices."

U.S.: Justice Ginsburg appears strong in first appearance at Supreme Court this year

MPR News: "Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg - the oldest, tiniest and possibly most well-known justice - returned to her perch on the bench Tuesday, asking questions in a firm and strong voice."

U.S.: Sotomayor on conservative colleague Gorsuch - 'He's such a lovely person'

Washington Times: "Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor said Thursday the high court is a prime example of how people who disagree can actually get along with one another and even have some fun together, saying she has particular respect for her colleague Justice Neil M. Gorsuch."

U.S.: Ginsburg illness casts spotlight on long-term court absences

Associated Press: "Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has missed a month of Supreme Court arguments as she recovers from lung cancer surgery. But she's not the first justice to be away for a while and her absence hardly compares with those of some of her predecessors."