Cases and Controversies

The U.S. Supreme Court’s final scheduled arguments of the term—Justice Stephen Breyer’s last ever—features the dispute over whether President Joe Biden can end Donald Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” immigration policy. During the April 25-27 session, the court also will hear appeals over public-school prayer at football games, habeas corpus, method-of-execution litigation, and a follow-on case to the l...

Supreme Court justices are taking the bench for their last batch of oral arguments after Justice Clarence Thomas was photographed at the court with Georgia Republican Senate candidate and former football star Herschel Walker. Cases and Controversies hosts Kimberly Robinson and Jordan Rubin give a sneak peek of the April sitting’s first week of arguments, including one on the famed Miranda warnings...

The Supreme Court is set to hear its next big religion case with a First Amendment dispute over prayer at school football games. The justices will consider the limits on such prayer at argument April 25 in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District. A lawyer for Bremerton, Bradley Girard of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, joins Bloomberg Law’s Cases and Controversies to discuss the...

Death-row inmates may have an easier time getting religious accommodations at executions after the Supreme Court rejected Texas’ attempt to block a pastor from laying hands on and praying aloud for an inmate in the chamber. Ramirez v. Collier was an unusual case in a number of ways, including because the inmate won. John Ramirez’s lawyer Seth Kretzer joins Cases and Controversies to talk about his...

On the eve of confirmation hearings for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, the U.S. Supreme Court disclosed that Justice Clarence Thomas had been hospitalized two days earlier with an infection. Following the close of those hearings on Thursday, the Washington Post reported that Thomas’ wife, Ginni, had encouraged the White House to challenge the results of the 2020 presidential election in text message...

Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation hearings kick off March 21 as her potential future colleagues continue to hear oral arguments. Former Senate Judiciary counsel Nick Xenakis joins Cases and Controversies to give an inside look at the process and what to expect in Jackson’s hearings. The hosts also give a sneak peek of the arguments that will be heard while Senate Judiciary Committee members que...

Supreme Court justices will consider a dispute over congressional powers to authorize discrimination suits against states brought by service members injured abroad. Cases and Controversies discusses former Texas State Trooper Le Roy Torres' suit against the state Department of Public Safety for employment accommodations. He says he suffered lung damage due to exposure to burn pits while deployed i...

It's been a week since President Biden announced he would be nominating Kejanji Brown Jackson to replace Stephen Breyer on the Supreme Court. Since then, there have been few if any signs that Democrats will have trouble confirming her. Cases and Controversies recaps the latest on the Jackson nomination and looks into what, if anything, Republicans can do to stop it. Guest host David Schultz also e...

We finally have an answer: President Biden has picked federal judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as his pick to replace the outgoing Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer. We have instant reaction from hosts Jordan Rubin and Kimberly Robinson along with a preview of next week's arguments. The Supreme Court kicks off the argument week with a potential blockbuster over the executive branch's ability to tack...

Supreme Court justices are set for a short week of arguments while the country awaits Joe Biden’s decision on his choice to replace Justice Stephen Breyer. An announcement is expected by month’s end. With the Presidents Day holiday on Monday, the justices are hearing two cases on Tuesday over tribal gaming and double jeopardy for American Indians. A procedural argument follows Wednesday over the T...

The Supreme Court appears ready to continue reining in the so-called administrative state in an EPA climate case set for argument this month. On the latest Cases and Controversies podcast, hosts Kimberly Robinson and Jordan Rubin preview the next chance for the 6-3 conservative majority to flex its muscles in this blockbuster term. The hosts are joined by Case Western law professor Jonathan Adler...

Justice Stephen Breyer’s retirement announcement gives President Joe Biden the chance to put the first Black woman on the high court and prevent Democrats from losing another seat to Republicans. On the latest Cases and Controversies episode, Kimberly Robinson and Jordan Rubin break down Breyer’s impending departure, his legacy, his potential replacements, and what that replacement means—and doesn...

Justice Stephen Breyer is known for letting his flamboyant intellect shine on the bench. And, according to those who clerked for him, Breyer's personality outside of the courtroom was no different. It was reported earlier today that this will be the 27-year veteran of the Supreme Court's final term. To learn more about who Breyer is, we spoke with some of the attorneys who clerked for the Justice...

The Supreme Court had a short but busy week, issuing orders on the Texas abortion law and Donald Trump’s attempt to keep records from the Jan. 6 commission, while hearing arguments and also issuing rare public statements on mask-wearing at the high court. Cases and Controversies podcast hosts Kimberly Robinson and Jordan Rubin recap the “Maskgate” controversy that stemmed from an NPR report on Jus...

The Supreme Court issued its anticipated rulings on the Biden administration’s vaccine rules affecting millions of Americans, as the justices continue to hear cases in the first oral-argument sessions of 2022. Cases and Controversies hosts Kimberly Robinson and Jordan Rubin recap the vaccine opinions and give a sneak peek of upcoming arguments on Jan. 18 and 19. Those hearings include disputes ove...

The Supreme Court starts 2022 with an ultra-rare Friday argument session over President Joe Biden’s vaccine policies as the country continues to struggle with Covid-19. The justices will hear back-to-back arguments Friday over the employer and healthcare-worker mandates, an unusual step for the sort of emergency litigation that the court generally decides with briefs alone. Cases and Controversies...

The Supreme Court opened up its doors once again, returning to in-person arguments in October 2021. Cases and Controversies hosts Kimberly Robinson and Jordan Rubin discuss the biggest moments from this consequential year—from reproductive rights, to the justices’ roadshows, to a covid diagnosis.

The Supreme Court effectively kept the Texas abortion ban in place, with a decision coming later this term in the Mississippi case that could decide the future of abortion rights nationwide. Cases and Controversies podcast hosts Kimberly Robinson and Jordan Rubin break down the Texas S.B. 8 decision on Friday and, with guest Ilya Shapiro of the Cato Institute, recap the Dec. 1 argument in the Miss...

Fresh off the contentious argument over Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban and the future of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court turns toward its final hearings of 2021. They include cases on religious-school funding, immigration, ERISA, and criminal procedure, including an ineffective assistance of counsel case that could lead to an innocent person being executed. Cases and Controversies hosts Kimberl...

The Supreme Court is in the spotlight again Dec. 1, this time hearing a challenge to Mississippi's 15-week abortion ban. Joining Cases and Controversies to discuss what's at stake in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization is Kathryn Kolbert, who argued the landmark abortion case Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which upheld the viability line being challenged in the Mississippi case. She said th...

The Supreme Court is considering a challenge to New York's strict concealed-carry law that's primed to set a precedent which could shape the future of guns in the U.S. Gun-rights supporters want the court in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen to bless more permissive public carry. Gun control advocates worry about the implications of doing so. Cases and Controversies podcast hosts...

It's another big week of arguments at the Supreme Court as the justices will hear cases involving national security and religious rights of death-row inmates. Cases and Controversies podcast hosts Kimberly Robinson and Jordan Rubin take a look in the latest sneak peek episode at the five cases on the court's docket next week. They also recap the blockbuster Nov. 1 arguments over the Texas abortion...

The Supreme Court is slated to hear arguments over controversial abortion and gun laws in a jam-packed week at the high court. The court will scrutinize Texas’ abortion law, S.B. 8, that effectively bans the procedure, in back-to-back arguments on Nov. 1 that will feature Elizabeth Prelogar’s first appearance for the federal government since being confirmed solicitor general Oct. 28. Two days late...

The Texas abortion law will be front and center at the Supreme Court Nov. 1 after the justices agreed to hear argument on an expedited basis over whether the Justice Department can sue despite the law's unusual enforcement mechanism. The justices on Friday agreed to hear two challenges to the Texas measure in short order, while allowing the abortion-blocking law to stay in place in the meantime ov...

The Supreme Court’s first oral argument sitting of the new term is in the books as the nine-case docket included disputes over state secrets and the Boston Marathon bombing. The MacArthur Justice Center’s Amir Ali joins Bloomberg Law’s Cases and Controversies podcast to talk about what it was like to argue in the high court’s new hybrid, in-person format. Ali represented the petitioner in Thompson...