“Trump Withdraws His $10 Billion Suit Against the I.R.S.; The dismissal appears to be part of the Trump administration’s effort to effectively settle the case, which stemmed from the leak of his tax returns in 2019”: Andrew Duehren and Alan Feuer of The New York Times have this report.
And Jeremy Roebuck and Perry Stein of The Washington Post report that “Trump will end $10 billion lawsuit against IRS over leaked tax records; The filing did not mention details of any settlement President Donald Trump may have reached with the agency.”
“With Timing of Voting Rights Decision, Supreme Court Chose a Political Scramble; The timing brought the court into the middle of a fight to redraw voting maps across the South, even as some primaries were underway”: Abbie VanSickle of The New York Times has this news analysis.
“228. Justices Testifying Before Congress: At least two justices are shortly expected to testify at a Senate hearing for the first time since 2011; The practice used to be a *lot* more common — and, in my view, ought to become so again.” Steve Vladeck has this post at his “One First” Substack site.
“The Problem with the 25th Amendment — And a Partial Fix; Congress can, and should, take more responsibility”: Bob Bauer has this post at the “Executive Functions” Substack site.
“How SCOTUS is Waging Electoral Warfare”: You can access today’s new episode of the “Strict Scrutiny” podcast via this link and on YouTube.
“Justice Clarence Thomas laments ‘very dicey’ threats to judiciary and heightened security for Supreme Court”: John Fritze of CNN has this report.
“Northshore Judge Billy Burris wins open La. Supreme Court seat; Election decided by GOP party primary in which Democrats could not participate”: Julie O’Donoghue of Louisiana Illuminator has this report.
“The court-packing comeback: Kamala Harris wants to destroy the one branch of government that is working as it should.” The Washington Post has published this editorial.
“At Supreme Court, Virginia Democrats Pressed Legal Theory Embraced by Trump; A long-shot emergency request to restore a voting map was the latest salvo in an all-out legal war over control of the House”: Adam Liptak of The New York Times has this news analysis.
“AI won’t replace lawyers. It will create more of them. The legal profession is changing, but the lawyer is here to stay.” Damien Charlotin has this essay online at The Washington Post.
“Judicial Notice (05.17.26): Unexpected Departures; John Quinn steps down from Quinn Emanuel leadership, Justice Wecht resigns from the Democratic Party, and Biglaw leaders leave their firms for Latham.” David Lat has this post at his “Original Jurisdiction” Substack site.
“Trump Administration Weighs $1.7 Billion Fund for Allies Investigated Under Biden; Critics denounced the highly unusual plan, which has yet to be finalized or approved, as a vast political slush fund financed by taxpayers”: Glenn Thrush, Andrew Duehren, and Alan Feuer of The New York Times have this report.
“West Virginia Federal Trial Judge Appointed by Ford Dies at 100”: Olivia Alafriz of Bloomberg Law has this report.
And the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia issued a news release titled “Passing of United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr.“
“Return of the Abortion Pill Wars; Mifepristone is back at the Supreme Court; Democrats need to make the stakes clear”: You can access the new episode of Slate’s “Amicus” podcast via this link.
“Trump DOJ Lawyer Correctly Describes Congress’s History of Circumcising Presidential Power; During oral argument in the cases about Trump’s executive orders targeting law firms, a Justice Department lawyer brought up a very different form of severability”: Jay Willis has this post at his “Balls & Strikes” Substack site.
“Democrats Battle to Politicize the Georgia Supreme Court; Stacey Abrams seizes an opportunity to make her state more like Wisconsin”: Columnist Jack Butler will have this op-ed in Monday’s edition of The Wall Street Journal.
“Newsom’s Delay on Filling California High Court Seat: Explained.” Quinn Wilson of Bloomberg Law has this report.
“New Hawaii law targets corporate influence in politics after Citizens United ruling”: Jennifer Sinco Kelleher of The Associated Press has this report.
And online at The Atlantic, Michael Scherer has an article headlined “Hawaii vs. Citizens United: State lawmakers want to change the terms of personhood for corporations.”
“In the US South, an appeals court leans farther right than the Supreme Court”: Nate Raymond of Reuters has this report.
Programming note: Additional posts will appear here on Sunday evening.
“Will Donald Trump Be Allowed to Destroy His Records? A law passed after Watergate makes Presidential records government property; The Trump Administration has declared it unconstitutional.” Ruth Marcus has this essay online at The New Yorker.
“Appeals Court Appears Skeptical of Trump Orders Targeting Law Firms; A three-judge panel showed few signs of siding with the president on his efforts to compel law firms to work for the administration or face threats”: Zach Montague of The New York Times has this report.
Mark Berman of The Washington Post reports that “Appeals court shows some skepticism of Trump’s effort to punish law firms; A panel of judges pressed a Justice Department lawyer about the president’s sanctions, meant to target firms that raised his ire.”
And Ryan Knappenberger of Courthouse News Service reports that “DC Circuit signals Trump’s law firm sanctions likely unlawful; The executive orders revoked security clearances for firm employees en masse, suspended any active government contracts and barred attorneys from government buildings, including the Washington federal courthouse.”
“Supreme Court Allows Abortion Pill Access by Mail to Continue; A federal appeals court ruling against the Food and Drug Administration would have restricted access by mail to mifepristone”: Ann E. Marimow of The New York Times has this report.
David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times reports that “Supreme Court, over two dissents, upholds abortion pills sent by mail, for now.”
James Romoser, Lydia Wheeler, and Jennifer Calfas of The Wall Street Journal report that “Supreme Court Maintains Widespread Access to Abortion Pills; High court decision allows providers to continue sending common abortion drug mifepristone to patients by mail.”
Maureen Groppe of USA Today reports that “Supreme Court keeps abortion pill widely available as challenge continues; In an emergency ruling, the justices said mail-order access to mifepristone can remain while Louisiana is challenging expanded access.”
And Stephen Dinan of The Washington Times reports that “Supreme Court allows abortion pill to be distributed by mail.”
“Todd Blanche Is Wasting No Time in His Audition to Be the Next Attorney General; Aggressive moves by acting Justice Department head have won him praise at the White House”: Sadie Gurman and C. Ryan Barber of The Wall Street Journal have this report.
“Justice Thomas hails US Constitution as common bedrock in divided America”: Joshua Goodman of The Associated Press has this report.
And Suzanne Monyak of Bloomberg Law reports that “Thomas Reflects on ‘Deeper’ Bonds During Early High Court Tenure” (subscription required for full access).
“Trump Lawyer Tapped for Appeals Court Advanced by Senate Panel”: Olivia Alafriz of Bloomberg Law has this report.
And Benjamin S. Weiss of Courthouse News Service reports that “Senate Judiciary advances former Trump lawyer tapped for Eighth Circuit judgeship; Justin Smith worked on President Donald Trump’s appeal of his $88 million defamation judgment against author E. Jean Carroll — but has pledged to remain an impartial jurist if confirmed to the appellate bench.”
“Former Oklahoma death row inmate Richard Glossip goes free on $500k bond”: Nolan Clay of The Oklahoman has this report.
“Supreme Court temporarily clears way for mail distribution of widely used abortion pill; The decision will, for now, preserve access nationwide to medication abortion, the most common way of ending pregnancies in the United States”: Justin Jouvenal and Praveena Somasundaram of The Washington Post have this report.
You can access this evening’s order of the U.S. Supreme Court, and the dissents therefrom, at this link.
“Trucker gets Supreme Court support for injury suit against freight broker; A 2017 tractor-trailer crash that left one truck driver an amputee had the justices questioning who should be held liable for negligent hiring practices”: Kelsey Reichmann of Courthouse News Service has this report.
You can access today’s ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court at this link.
“Law firms urge appeals court to keep blocking Trump’s sanctions against them”: Michael Kunzelman of The Associated Press has this report.
And Justin Henry, Meghan Tribe, and Tatyana Monnay of Bloomberg Law report that “Trump’s Law Firm Targeting Over Security Queried by Judges.”
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has posted the audio of today’s oral argument on YouTube.
“Why Sotomayor Failed to Defend the Progressive Vision of Judging: Short-term incentives and the triumph of conservative rhetoric.” Ed Whelan has this post at his “Confirmation Tales” Substack site.
“This Is Getting Dangerous”: Columnist Jamelle Bouie has this essay online at The New York Times.
“How a New York Wine Importer Helped Take Down Trump’s Tariffs; Victor Owen Schwartz, owner of V.O.S. Selections, discusses sticking his ‘neck out’ to challenge President Trump’s crippling tariffs, the mix of egos on his winning Supreme Court team and his hope for a ‘lifeline’ from refunds”: Jimmy Hoover of The National Law Journal has this report.
“Alex Webb ’26 Takes High‑Stakes Advocacy in Stride; From National Collegiate Debate Champion to Best Oralist to Appellate Litigator”: Melissa Castro Wyatt of the University of Virginia School of Law has this report.
“10,000 rulings: The courts’ overwhelming rebuke of Trump’s ICE policies; A POLITICO analysis reveals judges have ruled against ICE detention practices in roughly 90 percent of cases since the agency mandated that millions of immigrants must be locked up while they face deportation proceedings.” Kyle Cheney of Politico has this report.
