“Court Strikes Down Trump Order to Keep an Aging Coal-Burning Plant Running; The 64-year-old Michigan power plant was set to retire; Then the Trump administration intervened in a way that overstepped its authority, a court ruled”: Claire Brown and Brad Plumer of The New York Times have this report.
And Niina H. Farah of Politico reports that “Court deals first blow to Trump’s coal rescue campaign; The ruling casts a pall on the administration’s orders requiring six coal plants across the country to stay online past their retirement dates.”
You can access yesterday’s decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit at this link.
“Fifth Circuit: The Constitution Does Not Prevent the Government From Poisoning Your Drinking Water; By defining constitutional rights as narrowly as possible, conservative judges make it very easy for them to conclude that those rights do not exist.” Madiba K. Dennie has this essay online at Balls and Strikes.
“Justice Department Appeals Decision That Killed Trump’s Anti-Weaponization Fund”: Kathianne Boniello of Mediaite has this report.
You can access the notice of appeal at this link.
“ACLJ Defends Professor and Former Trump Lawyer John Eastman From Politicized Disbarment”: Jay Sekulow and Jordan Sekulow have this essay online at Townhall.
You can view a copy of the petition for writ of certiorari, which has been redacted to remove counsel’s office addresses, at this link.
“John Roberts Is Not an ‘Institutionalist’; Based on recent history, if Roberts is the ‘only person’ who can preserve the Smithsonian’s independence, the Smithsonian’s independence should be dead by the end of June”: Jay Willis has this post at his “Balls & Strikes” Substack site.
“Washington lawyer Goldstein asks US appeals court to overturn tax conviction”: Mike Scarcella of Reuters has this report.
You can access the Brief for Appellant filed Thursday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit at this link. The brief consists of 17,990 words, in the hope that the Fourth Circuit will grant Goldstein’s pending motion, which the prosecution has opposed, to file an opening brief consisting of not more than 18,000 words.
“Shoe of Damocles”: You can access the new episode of the “Divided Argument” podcast via this link.
“DOJ Ramps Up Controversial Probe of Trump’s Perceived Enemies”: Chris Strohm and Jimmy Jenkins of Bloomberg News have this report.
“Woman deported to Afghanistan in first use of Alien Terrorist Removal Court; Nazira Haji Zada conceded being an ‘alien terrorist’ in a case heard by a secretive court established three decades ago but which held its first hearing this year”: Salvador Rizzo of The Washington Post has this report.
Josh Gerstein of Politico reports that “DOJ avoids legal battle over secretive terrorism court; The U.S. deported the Afghan woman who was the first target of the Alien Terrorist Removal Court.”
And Celine Castronuovo of Bloomberg Law reports that “Afghan Immigrant Deported in First ‘Alien Terrorist’ Order.”
“Kavanaugh recalls 9/11 chaos, defends Bush’s war on terror; The Supreme Court justice recounted sprinting from the White House on Sept. 11, 2011, while working as counsel to President George W. Bush”: Kelsey Reichmann of Courthouse News Service has this report.
C-SPAN has posted online a video titled “Justice Brett Kavanaugh Reflects on September 11, 2001 Attacks.”
“The Supreme Law: A Quarter Century after 9/11; On this twenty-fifth anniversary of 9/11, it is worthwhile to reflect on how much of our current legal order traces back to that single day.” Josh Blackman has this post at Civitas Outlook.
“The Emergency Presidency at Twenty-Five: September 11 launched an era of executive power that has only expanded in the years since.” Law professor Michael W. McConnell has this essay online at City Journal.
“Brett Kavanaugh was at the White House on 9/11. It changed his life. In an exclusive interview, Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh said 9/11 was the most ‘important day in my life for the country and for me.’” Maureen Groppe of USA Today has this report.
“Supreme Court Weighs US Mail Ballot Fight as DOJ Losses Grow”: Zoe Tillman of Bloomberg News has this report.
“Sam Bankman-Fried Asks Supreme Court to Review Fraud Conviction; The disgraced founder of the crypto exchange FTX is serving a 25-year prison sentence”: Abbie VanSickle of The New York Times has this report.
And John Fritze of CNN reports that “Former crypto billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried appeals conviction to Supreme Court.”
“Indiana Supreme Court weighs limits of religious exemptions to abortion ban; In question is an injunction protecting a class of Hoosiers who say thier religious beliefs conflict with the state’s near-total ban”: Casey Smith of Indiana Capital Chronicle has this report.
Andrew Lapin of Jewish Telegraphic Agency reports that “A case pitting Indiana Jews against an abortion ban heads back to court; Indiana was one of several states to pass severe abortion restrictions following the 2022 US Supreme Court ruling overturning its 1972 Roe v. Wade decision guaranteeing the right to an abortion.”
And David Wells of Courthouse News Service reports that “Religious freedoms tested in Indiana abortion ban case; The state’s abortion ban provides exceptions in cases of rape, incest and lethal fetal anomalies where the mother might be permanently impaired; But what about individuals with religious objections?”
The Supreme Court of Indiana has posted online the video of today’s oral argument at this link.
“Joe diGenova, loyalist tapped by Trump to oversee controversial DOJ probe targeting his foes, resigns: Sources; DiGenova had been probing officials involved in past investigations of Trump.” Katherine Faulders, Alexander Mallin, and Luke Barr of ABC News have this report.
Eric Tucker and Alanna Durkin Richer of The Associated Press report that “Prosecutor brought in to lead investigation of Trump foes tells AP that he has resigned his position.”
Evan Perez of CNN reports that “Trump admin pick to oversee a conspiracy investigation into president’s foes resigns after DOJ clashes.”
Ryan J. Reilly, Michael Kosnar, and Raquel Coronell Uribe of NBC News report that “Prosecutor who led ‘grand conspiracy’ probe of Trump targets resigns without charging anyone; Joe diGenova, 81, was part of a group that tried to overturn the 2020 election.”
Josh Gerstein of Politico reports that “DOJ prosecutor resigns from probe into alleged anti-Trump conspiracy; Joseph diGenova declined to explain his abrupt departure.”
Chris Strohm and Jimmy Jenkins of Bloomberg News report that “Trump Loyalist Tapped to Lead Controversial DOJ Probe Quits.”
And Kaelan Deese of Washington Examiner has a report headlined “Reagan-era prosecutor hired for Trump’s ‘grand conspiracy’ resigns: ‘Differences of opinion.’”
“Insular Cases | Interview: Chief Judge Jeff Sutton and Neil Weare.” You can access today’s new episode of the “Advisory Opinions” podcast via this link and on YouTube.
“Sixth Circuit Chief Judge Defends Supreme Court’s Trump Record”: Eric Heisig of Bloomberg Law has this report.
“Ballots differ from cremains: The Postal Service’s rule is illegal.” Adam Unikowsky has this post at his Substack site, “Adam’s Legal Newsletter.”
“Defying Precedent in Ten Commandments Case; A much-reversed appeals court upheld a Texas law requiring schools to post the sacred text”: Adam Liptak has this new installment of his “The Docket” newsletter online at The New York Times.
“Appeals court rejects Trump request to lift block on Postal Service rule for mail ballots”: Jacob Rosen and Stefan Becket of CBS News have this report.
You can access today’s order of a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit at this link.
“Appeals court rejects ICE detention policy, setting stage for SCOTUS; The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals compared ICE’s policy to Japanese internment”: Kyle Cheney of Politico has this report.
You can access today’s decision of a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit at this link.
“The Final Battle for America’s Democracy: Forget November 3; It’s January 3 when Donald Trump and his MAGA Republicans might bury our democracy once and for all; Here’s how.” Michael Luttig has this essay online at The New Republic.
“Sorry, Justices — the Constitution Doesn’t Belong to You; A new book argues that Americans need to reclaim ownership of their founding charter from nine robed lawyers”: Jesse Wegman has this post at his “Major Questions” Substack site.
“SCOTUSblog” now offers a $199 annual subscription to access certain posts that used to appear for free, plus additional content: Details here, including how to obtain a lifetime membership for a mere $3,000.
“Did John Marshall Continue as Secretary of State? No, as a curious scheme perpetrated by Thomas Jefferson helps show.” Ed Whelan has this post at his “Confirmation Tales” Substack site.
“The Most Hated Justice Of All Time? How Clarence Thomas went from civil rights activist to the Court’s most uncompromising originalist . . . and why his influence is only growing.” Noah Feldman has this essay online at his Substack site.
“The Emergency Supreme Court Order of Sept. 12, 2001; Chief Justice Rehnquist was adamant about not letting terrorists disrupt the judicial routine”: Gregg Costa has this op-ed in today’s edition of The Wall Street Journal.
“Supreme Court Again Blocks Republican-Backed Missouri Voting Map; The map had been drawn to give Republicans an advantage in the midterm elections; It was not immediately clear how Missouri would proceed”: Ann E. Marimow of The New York Times has this report.
Justin Jouvenal of The Washington Post reports that “Supreme Court again blocks new Missouri congressional map favoring GOP; The ruling is the latest twist in an intense legal drama that has plunged the state into electoral confusion.”
And Lydia Wheeler and James Romoser of The Wall Street Journal report that “Supreme Court Again Blocks Missouri From Using GOP-Friendly Voting Map; Justices act quickly after previously rejecting state officials who wanted to use redrawn districts for the midterms.”
You can access today’s order of the U.S. Supreme Court at this link.
“Religious Freedom for All on Trial as Abortion Ban Case Begins”: Mary Anne Pazanowski of Bloomberg Law has a report that begins, “Indiana’s top court is about to become the first in the nation to decide whether there’s a religious right to abortion.”
“Fifth Circuit questions Louisiana’s renewed attempt to block abortion pill mailing; Louisiana’s effort to reverse the FDA’s decision to allow remote dispensing of abortion pills could have significant implications for abortion access nationwide”: Christina van Waasbergen of Courthouse News Service has this report.
And Sandhya Raman of Bloomberg Law reports that “Abortion Drug Access Weighed in Louisiana Suit Versus FDA.”
You can access the audio of today’s oral argument before a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit at this link.
“DOJ asks US Supreme Court to allow Trump ally to remain Nevada’s top federal prosecutor”: Nate Raymond of Reuters has this report.
You can access the cert. petition at this link.
“DC Circuit rules IRS data sharing plan with ICE unlawful; A federal judge previously determined the tax agency broke the law over 40,000 times by turning over immigrants’ addresses even when ICE submitted requests with random numbers as the ZIP code”: Ryan Knappenberger of Courthouse News Service has this report.
You can access yesterday’s decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit at this link.
“It’s up to Chief Justice Roberts to preserve the Smithsonian’s independence; The chief justice heads the institution’s Board of Regents, which will choose retiring secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III’s successor”: Columnist Philip Kennicott has this essay online at The Washington Post.
