The High Court Report

Hain Celestial Group, Inc. v. Palmquist | Case No. 24-724 | Oral Argument Date: 11/4/25 | Docket Link: Here Overview Today, the Supreme Court hears oral arguments in Hain Celestial Group versus Palmquist, a forum fight about when courts keep cases they never should have had. A Texas family sued two companies over their child's heavy metal poisoning from baby food—but after a federal court wrongly...

Coney Island Auto Parts, Inc. v. Burton | Case No. 24-808 | Oral Argument Date: 11/5/25 | Docket Link: Here Overview Today, the Supreme Court hears oral arguments in Coney Island Auto Parts versus Burton, a time trap tangle examining when void verdicts gain validity. Coney Island's bank account gets frozen for nearly $100,000 based on a 2015 Tennessee judgment they claim they never knew about. Whe...

Hencely v. Fluor Corp. | Case No. 24-924 | Argued: 11/3/25| Decided 4/22/26 | Docket Link: Here Question Presented: Whether federal law preempts state tort claims against military contractors for unauthorized conduct violating military instructions. Overview: Supreme Court narrows military contractor immunity, ruling contractors face state tort liability when they violate rather than follow govern...

Rico v. United States | Case No. 24-1234 | Oral Argument Date: 11/3/25 | Docket Link: Here Overview Today, the Supreme Court hears oral arguments in Rico versus United States, the disappearing defendant dilemma examining when sentence clocks stop ticking. Isabel Rico went on the run during her 42-month release term. The government says her time on the run doesn't count toward her sentence. Questio...

Geo Group v. Menocal Case No. 24-758 | Oral Argument Date: 11/10/25 Overview This episode examines The GEO Group, Inc. versus Menocal, a technical procedural fight with massive real-world consequences for the hundreds of billions of dollars the U.S. government spends on contracts annually. The case pits the efficiency of the justice system against the government's ability to use private contractor...

Landor v. Louisiana Department of Corrections | Case No. 23-1197 | Oral Argument Date: 11/10/25 | Docket Link: Here Question Presented: Whether an individual may sue a government official in his individual capacity for damages for violations of RLUIPA. Overview This episode examines Landor v. Louisiana Department of Corrections, a case that could reshape religious liberty enforcement in prisons by...

Coney Island Auto Parts v. Burton | Case No. 24-808 | Oral Argument Date: 11/5/25 | Docket Link: Here Question Presented: Whether Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(c)(1) imposes any time limit to set aside a default judgment void for lack of personal jurisdiction. Overview This episode examines a deceptively simple civil procedure case that could fundamentally reshape how federal courts handle vo...

Trump v. V.O.S. Selections, Inc., et al. | Oral Argument: November 5, 2025 | Case No. 25-250 | Docket Link: Here Consolidated with: Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump | Case No. 24-1287 | Docket Link: Here September 10th Episode (A Constitutional Clash: Trump's Tariffs and the Separation of Powers): https://scotus-oral-arguments.captivate.fm/episode/a-constitutional-clash-trumps-tariffs-and-th...

Hain Celestial Group, Inc. v. Palmquist | Case No. 24-724 | Oral Argument Date: 11/4/25 | Docket Link: Here Question Presented: Whether a district court's final judgment as to completely diverse parties must be vacated when an appellate court later determines that it erred by dismissing a non-diverse party at the time of removal; and whether a plaintiff may defeat diversity jurisdiction after remo...

Rico v. United States | Case No. 24-1234 | Oral Argument Date: 11/3/25 | Docket Link: Here Question Presented: Whether the fugitive-tolling doctrine applies in the context of supervised release. Overview This episode examines Rico v. United States, a Supreme Court case that challenges the boundaries between judicial power and congressional authority in criminal sentencing. The case asks whether fe...

Hencely v. Fluor Corp. | Case No. 24-924 | Decided April 22, 2026 | Docket Link: Here Question Presented: Whether federal law preempts state tort claims against military contractors for unauthorized conduct violating military instructions. Overview: Supreme Court narrows military contractor immunity, ruling contractors face state tort liability when they violate rather than follow government order...

Oral Argument: Louisiana v. Callais | Case No. 24-109 | Oral Argument Date: 10/15/25 Link to Docket: Here Consolidated with: Robinson v. Callais | Case No. 24-110 | Oral Argument Date: 10/15/25 | Docket Link: Here Case Preview: Here Background: Over the State's strenuous objections, the Middle District of Louisiana held, Robinson v. Ardoin , 605 F. Supp. 3d 759 (M.D. La. 2022)-and the Fifth Circui...

Oral Argument: Case v. Montana | Case No. 24-624 | Oral Argument Date: 10/15/25 Link to Docket: Here Case Preview: Here Question Presented: Whether law enforcement may enter a home without a search warrant based on less than probable cause that an emergency is occurring, or whether the emergency-aid exception requires probable cause. Oral Advocates: For Petitioner: Fred A. Rowley, Jr., Los Angeles...

Oral Argument: Ellingburg v. United States | Case No. 24-482 | Oral Argument Date: 10/14/25 Link to Docket: Here Case Preview: Here Question Presented: Whether criminal restitution under the Mandatory Victim Restitution Act (MVRA) is penal for purposes of the Ex Post Facto Clause. Oral Advocates: For Petitioner: Amy M. Saharia, Washington, D.C. argued for petitioner. For Respondent in Support of V...

Oral Argument: Bowe v. United States | Case No. 24-5438 | Oral Argument Date: 10/14/25 Link to Docket: Here Case Preview: Here Background: Under 28 U.S.C. § 2244(b)(1), “[ a] claim presented in a second or successive habeas corpus application under section 2254 that was presented in a prior application shall be dismissed. ” (emphasis added). Question Presented: Whether 28 U.S.C. § 2244(b)(1) appli...

Oral Argument: Postal Service v. Konan | Case No. 24-351 | Oral Argument Date: 10/8/25 Link to Docket: Here Case Preview: Here Background: The Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), ch. 753, 60 Stat. 842 (28 U.S.C. 1346(b), 2671 et seq .), generally waives the United States' sovereign immunity for suits seeking damages "for injury or loss of property, or personal injury or death caused by the negligent o...

Oral Argument: Chiles v. Salazar | Case No. 24-539 | Oral Argument Date: 10/7/25 Link to Docket: Here Case Preview: Here Question Presented: Whether a law that censors certain conversations between counselors and their clients based on the viewpoints expressed regulates conduct or violates the Free Speech Clause. Oral Advocates: For Petitioner: James A. Campbell, Lansdowne, Va. For United States a...

Oral Argument: Barrett v. United States | Case No. 24-5774 | Oral Argument Date: 10/7/25 Link to Docket: Here Case Preview: Here Question Presented: Whether the Double Jeopardy Clause permits two sentences for an act that violates 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) and§ 924(j), a question that divides seven circuits but about which the Solicitor General and Petitioner agree. Whether "Hobbs Act robbery qualifies a...

Oral Argument: Berk v. Choy | Case No. 24-440 | Oral Argument Date: 10/6/25 Link to Docket: Here Episode Preview: Here Background: Question Presented: Whether a state law providing that a complaint must be dismissed unless it is accompanied by an expert affidavit may be applied in federal court. Oral Advocates: For Petitioner: Andrew T. Tutt, Washington, D.C. For Respondent: Frederick R. Yarger, D...

Oral Argument: Villarreal v. Texas | Case No. 24-557 | Oral Argument Date: 10/6/25 Link to Docket: Here Preview Episode: Here Question Presented: Whether a trial court abridges the defendant's Sixth Amendment right to counsel by prohibiting the defendant and his counsel from discussing the defendant's testimony during an overnight recess. Oral Advocates: For Petitioner: Stuart Banner, Los Angeles,...

Oral Argument: Bost v. Illinois State Bd. of Elections | Case No. 24-568 | Oral Argument Date: 10/8/25 Link to Docket: Here Case Preview: https://scotus-oral-arguments.captivate.fm/episode/upcoming-oral-argument-bost-v-illinois-ballot-box-bout-when-can-candidates-challenge-election-rules/ Background: Federal law sets the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November as the federal Election Day....

Louisiana v. Callais | Case No. 24-109 | Oral Argument Date: 10/15/25 | Docket Link: Here Question Presented: Whether the State's intentional creation of a second majority-minority congressional district violates the Fourteenth or Fifteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Other Referenced Episodes: • August 19th – Road Work Ahead: How Four 2024 Cases May Be Reshaping First Amendment Scrutiny...

Case v. Montana | Case No. 24-624 | Oral Argument Date: 10/15/25 | Docket Link: Here Question Presented: Whether law enforcement may enter a home without a search warrant based on less than probable cause that an emergency is occurring, or whether the emergency-aid exception requires probable cause. Other Referenced Episodes: August 5th Roundup: Presidential Power Crushes Agency Independence, Cour...

Bowe v. United States | Case No. 24-5438 | Oral Argument Date: 10/14/25 | Docket Link: Here Questions Presented: Whether 28 U.S.C. § 2244(b)(1) applies to a claim presented in a second or successive motion to vacate under 28 U.S.C. § 2255. Whether 28 U.S.C. § 2244(b)(3)(E) deprives this Court of certiorari jurisdiction over the grant or denial of an authorization by a court of appeals to file a se...

Ellingburg v. United States | Case No. 24-482 | Docket Link: Here Question Presented: Whether criminal restitution under the Mandatory Victim Restitution Act (MVRA) is penal for purposes of the Ex Post Facto Clause. Overview This episode examines Ellingburg v. United States, one of the most procedurally unusual Supreme Court cases in recent memory. After the Court granted certiorari, the governmen...