Cases and Controversies

The scope of attorney client privilege headlines a lower-profile first sitting of the new year for the Supreme Court, which returns to the bench for arguments Jan. 9. But things won’t stay quiet for long. The February argument calendar features a fast-tracked GOP-led challenge to Biden administration attempts to end pandemic-era immigration restrictions. Supreme Court correspondents Kimberly Robin...

The US Supreme Court is off to a historically slow start having released no opinions in argued cases so far. Kimberly Robinson and Madison Alder break down possible reasons for the drought, including hearing cases early in the term that might not lend themselves to quick decisions. Meanwhile, the justices released a blockbuster February calendar that includes arguments in challenges to Joe Biden’s...

The US Supreme Court heard marathon arguments over the role state courts play in setting federal election rules. University of Iowa law professor Derek Muller says there was little appetite on the court during arguments Dec. 7 to cut state courts wholly out of the process. Muller joins Cases and Controversies hosts to discuss Moore v. Harper, the independent state legislature theory it implicates,...

The justices next week will hear two of the term’s most consequential cases—one in the ongoing clash between LGBTQ and religious rights and another that could change the rules of election law nationwide. Cases and Controversies hosts Kimberly Robinson and Greg Stohr explain the most pressing issues facing the justices in 303 Creative v. Elenis and Moore v. Harper. In the first, the justices will c...

A Supreme Court immigration case is center stage for a familiar showdown between Republican-led states suing Democratic administrations to rein in executive policies they say go too far. Cases and Controversies hosts Kimberly Robinson and Greg Stohr talk with University at Austin law professor Stephen Vladeck, who’s filed a friend-of-the court brief ahead of Nov. 29 arguments in United States v. T...

The Supreme Court could continue to pull back on places where companies can be sued in a jurisdictional case that’s gotten little notice despite its importance to business. Kimberly Robinson and Lydia Wheeler break down Tuesday’s high-court back and forth in Mallory v. Norfolk Southern Railway in the latest episode of Cases and Controversies podcast. The court in recent terms has limited where com...

High profile shadow docket disputes from Donald Trump and others keep hitting the US Supreme Court as the justices gear up to hear an array of arguments during midterm-election week. Bloomberg Law Supreme Court reporters Kimberly Robinson and Jordan Rubin bring listeners up to speed in this latest episode of Cases and Controversies. The hosts give an update on those shadow-docket disputes plus a s...

Affirmative action is making headlines as a Supreme Court blockbuster, but there’s a closely watched financial reporting case and two others dealing with criminal matters on tap as well in the November sitting that actually kicks off on Halloween. Bloomberg Law Supreme Court reporters Kimberly Robinson and Jordan Rubin bring listeners up to speed in this latest episode of Cases and Controversies....

The Supreme Court is gearing up for its next argument sitting that will feature closely watched disputes about race and identity. While most attention may be on the affirmative action cases set for argument Oct. 31, the Nov. 9 hearing over the Indian Child Welfare Act is also consequential. Cherokee Nation deputy attorney general Chrissi Ross Nimmo joins the latest Cases and Controversies to previ...

The Supreme Court just wrapped up its October argument session, hearing disputes on voting, the environment, copyright, and more. The Legal Defense Fund’s Samuel Spital joins the latest Cases and Controversies to help hosts Kimberly Robinson and Jordan Rubin break down some of those cases. Spital, LDF’s director of litigation, discusses two appeals that the civil-rights group worked on, involving...

A dispute over a California animal-cruelty law and the potential impact on other cultural and social issues tops Week 2 of the new Supreme Court term. The case to be argued on Oct. 11, National Pork Producers v. Ross, centers on Proposition 12, a voter-approved measure requiring a certain amount of movement space for pigs bred for pork production. Because California produces little of its own comm...

The First Monday in October kicks off Supreme Court arguments in a short week featuring disputes over the future of voting rights and environmental regulation. Bloomberg Law reporters Kimberly Robinson and Jordan Rubin give a sneak peek of the action on the latest Cases and Controversies. Hearing cases Monday and Tuesday with a holiday on Wednesday, the court will also consider a clash between Del...

With the new US Supreme Court term set to start Oct. 3, Cases and Controversies returns with a deep dive episode on a big copyright dispute over Andy Warhol images of Prince. Orrick partner Mel Bostwick joins hosts Kimberly Robinson and Jordan Rubin to discuss Andy Warhol Foundation v. Goldsmith, which is set to be argued Oct. 12. The dispute centers on whether Warhol prints of a Prince photo chan...

From shifts in the law to public reaction to its rulings, the US Supreme Court’s just-concluded term appears to be a blockbuster like no other. Since the Warren Court of the 1950s and 1960s, “I don’t think we’ve seen any term that comes close to the one we just saw,” said A.E. Dick Howard, a constitutional law professor at the University of Virginia and a former clerk to Justice Hugo Black. During...

The Supreme Court is finished with its blockbuster term but the focus is already shifting to the next one, with Ketanji Brown Jackson now sworn-in as the first Black woman justice. Jackson comes aboard following a tumultuous nine months that included her confirmation to replace the now-retired Stephen Breyer. Controversies flared over the court's independence with the conservative majority making...

The Supreme Court justices finally issued their ruling in the Mississippi abortion case, with the conservative majority striking down the landmark decision in Roe v. Wade. Cases and Controversies host Kimberly Robinson and guest-host Lydia Wheeler explain the reasoning behind Justice Samuel Alito’s opinion. They also look at Chief Justice John Roberts’ failed bid to find middle ground and the diss...

The Supreme Court made up a lot of ground fast on issuing decisions, and appears to be in good position to finish the term on its customary timeline. The justices handed down 11 opinions in recent days, and have 18 more to go by the end of the month or early July. More decisions are expected on Tuesday with blockbuster rulings on abortion, guns, and religion outstanding. On this episode of Cases a...

The Supreme Court again chipped away at the ability of those alleging constitutional violations by federal law enforcement to sue, effectively immunizing Border Patrol agents from being hauled into court. Athul Acharya, of the public interest law firm Public Accountability, says the June 8 ruling in Egbert v. Boule is one of several judge-made barriers to suing government officials. There are many...

Though the justices took the unusual step of not issuing orders during the first week of June, there was still plenty going on at One First Street. Cases and Controversies host Kimberly Robinson and producer David Schultz discuss the latest shadow docket developments, and how the handling of emergency orders highlight a broader divide between conservative and liberal justices. And news on the cour...

With all eyes on abortion and guns, the US Supreme Court still has potentially major opinions to issue in the coming weeks on other big issues such as administrative law, religion, and immigration. Goodwin partner Jaime Santos joins Cases and Controversies to remind listeners of the cases that in any other term would be the headlining cases, but which have taken a backseat in this headline-grabbin...

The Supreme Court’s latest decision chipping away at campaign finance reform was a victory for Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who challenged a limit on how much candidates can expect to recoup when loaning their campaigns money. University of Iowa law professor Derek Muller joins Cases and Controversies to review the May 16 decision striking down another provision of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act. M...

The Supreme Court’s public approval ratings have taken a hit since a leaked draft opinion signaled that the conservative majority is poised to strike down the Roe v Wade abortion precedent. Gabe Roth of the watchdog group Fix the Court joins host Kimberly Robinson of Cases and Controversies to discuss what the court could do to boost public confidence, and whether Congress has legal authority to r...

The possibility of American life without federal abortion rights puts a spotlight on state prosecutors. “These elected prosecutors are going to become the last line of defense,” Miriam Krinsky said of a potential post-Roe world. Krinsky, head of reform group Fair and Just Prosecution, discussed the issue on the latest Cases and Controversies episode with Bloomberg Law’s Jordan Rubin. “This is simp...

We got a window into the inner workings of the usually secretive Supreme Court with a leaked draft opinion in a landmark abortion case. As surprising, even shocking, as this leak was, it could be the beginning of a new era at the court in which the justices' private deliberations are no longer sacrosanct and leaks become more common. On this special breaking news edition of Bloomberg Law's "Cases...

The Biden administration from the start has sought to unwind a Trump-era policy known as “Remain in Mexico.” It requires would-be immigrants to stay outside the U.S. while their cases are reviewed. That issue reached the Supreme Court on April 26, as the justices wrestled with what presidents must do to change course from their predecessors. Cases and Controversies host Kimberly Robinson and guest...