Outside the Beltway

The Supreme Court ruled today that states may not exclude church-run schools from an aid program with a wholly secular purpose.

In a decision that hands a victory to both sides, the Supreme Court has partly upheld, and partly lifted, the stay on President Trump’s Executive Order that banned travel from six majority-Muslim nations.

With tomorrow marking the end of the Court’s current term, there’s speculation that we could see Justice Anthony Kennedy stepping down.

The Supreme Court rules that states cannot bar convicted felons from using social media sites.

The Supreme Court made it harder for states to keep fines and other payments in cases where defendants are exonerated.

The Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee is hinting at a new Supreme Court vacancy this summer.

When life terms means almost three decades on the bench, fights will be fierce.

After a prolonged vacancy and a bitterly partisan confirmation process, Neil Gorsuch has been confirmed to succeed Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court of the United States.

As expected, Senate Republicans invoked the so-called ‘nuclear option’ to move the nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch forward to a final vote on Friday.

With a relatively smooth announcement, Donald Trump has named a solid and qualified conservative who will likely be confirmed to the nation’s highest court.

John McCain said that Senate Republicans will unite to block any Supreme Court appointment by a President Hillary Clinton.

In a ruling that could have a real impact on the 2016 election, the Supreme Court has declined to grant a stay to a lower court ruling striking down a North Carolina law that tightened Voter ID laws and restricted early voting.

The Supreme Court won’t hear the appeal of a pharmacist who objects to providing the ‘morning after’ pill.

Depending on the outcome of the election, the Supreme Court’s just concluded term will most likely be remembered as the point at which the Court’s rightward tilt that began at the end of the Warren Court Era came to an end.

The Supreme Court has handed down a major abortion rights ruling that reaffirms the central reasoning of Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, and makes it less likely that Roe will ever be overturned.

The Supreme Court balances the Fourth Amendment against public safety concerns and, for the most part, gets it right.

The Supreme Court has once again issued a ruling that further chips away at the protections of the Fourth Amendment.

Clarence Thomas is the latest Supreme Court Justice to be the subject of retirement rumors. You should treat these rumors skeptically.

Former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell’s fate lies the hands of the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court heard oral argument in the case challenging the President’s deportation relief plan, but it’s unlikely we’ll see a ruling on the merits.

With surprising unanimity, the Supreme Court rejected an effort to restrict the meaning of ‘one person, one vote’ in legislative redistricting.

A victory in the fight to reform civil asset forfeiture laws.

Another Republican Senator has broken ranks and called for hearings on the nomination of Merrick Garland, as another poll shows most Americans support hearings as well.

The Supreme Court appeared deadlocked during oral argument in the latest case dealing with the PPACA’s contraceptive coverage mandates.

The Supreme Court rejected a lawsuit filed by Nebraska and Oklahoma against Colorado’s decision to legalize marijuana.

The Supreme Court seems as closely divided as ever on an issue that has divided the nation for forty years, but the implications of Justice Scalia’s death were quite apparent during oral argument in the Texas Abortion Law case.

After oral argument today in a high profile case, it appears likely that public employee unions are likely to suffer a major legal defeat later this year.

A divided Supreme Court heard argument today in a case involving affirmative action in college admissions that is before the Court for the second time in two years.

The Supreme Court has declined to accept an appeal challenging a law barring certain types of so-called ‘assault weapons’ in a Chicago suburb.

He definitely wouldn’t appreciate it, but in some sense you can thank Robert Bork for the Supreme Court’s opinion in Obergefell v. Hodges.

The Supreme Court rejected a challenge to the way the death penalty is administered, dealing a serious blow to opponents of the death penalty.

SCOTUS has upheld the use of election commissions to draw Congressional district lines.

The Supreme Court has issued a ruling whose roots can be found in case law going back half a century.

The US Supreme Court has ruled 5-4 that the U.S. Constitution contains a right to same-sex marriage.

The era of legal challenges to the Affordable Care Act is over.

The Supreme Court ruled that police are not entitled to access to a hotel registry without a warrant.

The Supreme Court has struck down a program that forced farmers to turn over a portion of their crop to the government without compensation.

The Supreme Court ruled that states don’t have to grant license plates that display the Confederate flag. Their decision has the potential to seriously harm the First Amendment.

In a case that took seven months to decide, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Presidency’s broad authority in foreign affairs, and inserted itself just a little bit in the thorny politics of the Middle East.

In a setback for the gun rights movement, the Supreme Court has let stand a San Francisco law that places tough restrictions on handgun ownership.

The Supreme Court ruled in favor of a Muslim woman who was refused a job because of her hijab.

The Supreme Court has narrowed the means by which Federal prosecutors can prosecute someone for making statements online that could be perceived as threats.

House Republicans are set to vote on a bill banning abortion in almost all cases after twenty weeks. What they can’t do is explain where the Constitution gives Congress the power to do this.

In a 6-3 vote that defied traditional expectations, the Justices have limited the ability of police to detain people on the side of the road for long periods of time.

Once again, the Supreme Court appears to be sharply divided on the latest challenge to the Affordable Care Act.

By refusing to stay the legalization of same-sex marriage in Alabama, the Supreme Court has sent the strongest signal yet that it is ready to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide.

More interesting developments from the Supreme Court on what has been one of the biggest legal stories of 2014.

The Court holds that Federal Law does not require employees to be paid for the time waiting to get through mandatory security screening.

The next President will have a profound ability to shape the future of the Supreme Court, but that is unlikely to be the most important issue on voters minds in 2016.

Every member of the Supreme Court graduated from an Ivy League Law School. That kind of homogeneity is not healthy.