“Alito’s Stars and Gripes: What the Justice’s upside down American flag tells us about SCOTUS’ declining legitimacy.” You can access today’s new episode of Slate’s “Amicus” podcast via this link.

“Flag-Waving at the Supreme Court: The left finds another reason to find fault with Justice Samuel Alito.” This editorial appears in today’s edition of The Wall Street Journal.

“Law Professor’s Tireless Search for Rare Recordings Resurrects Voices of Landmark Segregation Case; Using AI and sleuthing, a team recreated unrecorded oral arguments from Brown v. Board; It’s ’amazing’ but ‘a little creepy,’ says retired Justice Stephen Breyer”: Jess Bravin of The Wall Street Journal has this report.

“What Was That Bizarro Louisiana Voting Rights Decision All About? In a topsy-turvy ruling, the conservatives on the Supreme Court ordered Louisiana to use a VRA-compliant congressional map while the liberals dissented.” Elie Mystal has this essay online at The Nation.

“The Supreme Court Just Handed Another Loss to Congress; Legislators have delegated too much of their decision-making to powerful agencies like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau”: Law professor Stephen L. Carter has this essay online at Bloomberg Opinion.

“What Do Judicial Rules Say About Alito and a ‘Stop the Steal’ Symbol? Judicial experts say an upside-down flag at the justice’s home raises thorny questions about potential ethics violations and what circumstances require recusal from cases.” Abbie VanSickle of The New York Times has this report.

John Fritze and Holmes Lybrand of CNN report that “Justice Samuel Alito blames upside-down American flag on his wife and a flap with neighbors.”

In commentary, online at The Atlantic, Adam Serwer has an essay titled “Why Was Alito Flying the Flag Upside Down After January 6? Justice Alito blamed his wife for the incident, but he did not disavow what the symbol stands for.”

Online at Slate, Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern have a Jurisprudence essay titled “The Smallest Justice Who Ever Lived; Samuel Alito’s explanations for his wife’s upside-down American flag make the story even worse.”

And at the “Intelligencer” blog of New York magazine, Ed Kilgore has a post titled “Justice Alito’s ‘Stop the Steal’ Flag Is Symbol of New Partisan Era at Supreme Court.”

“Despite consumer watchdog’s US Supreme Court win, agency powers still on chopping block”: John Kruzel of Reuters has this report.

“Stuart Harrow Wins the Unlikeliest of Supreme Court Cases; Court is unanimous ruling Harrow can continue his 11-year fight for six days of back pay”: Ben Foldy of The Wall Street Journal has this report.

“Is There a Constitutional Right to Talk About Abortion?” Linda Greenhouse has this guest essay online at The New York Times.

“Biden has installed the most non-White judges of any president; Additionally, 6 in 10 Biden judges are women, data show”: Nick Mourtoupalas of The Washington Post has this report.

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania agrees to consider whether to limit availability of “statutory employer” defense: Yesterday, the Pennsylvania’s highest court issued this order granting review in the case.

The Petition for Allowance of Appeal that I filed a little over one year ago asking the court to accept the case for review can be accessed here.

“In Shopify class action, US appeals court will revisit thorny venue issue”: Alison Frankel’s “On the Case” from Reuters has this post.

“Ghostwriters Try Steering Supreme Court Justices Away from Cases; No rule against practice seen in opposition briefs; Ethical question of misleading the justices raised”: Lydia Wheeler of Bloomberg Law has this report.

“The Fifth Circuit Is In the Tank For Corporate Power; When the government does things that megacorporations don’t like, they know exactly where to go to get the friendliest possible audience”: Molly Coleman has this essay online at Balls and Strikes.

“The Supreme Court decides not to trigger a second Great Depression; Two justices dissent”: Ian Millhiser has this essay online at Vox.

And online at Slate, Mark Joseph Stern has a Jurisprudence essay titled “Even Clarence Thomas Can See That the 5th Circuit Is Just Making Up Nonsense; The conservative justices finally sent a strong message to a rogue lower court; But the sanity might not last.”

“Brett Kavanaugh: Ending School Segregation Is a Lot Like Ending Abortion Rights, If You Think About It; The conservative legal movement spent years complaining about Brown v. Board of Education; But they love bringing it up to justify taking rights away from people.” Madiba K. Dennie has this essay online at Balls and Strikes.

“Kavanaugh Bests Two Fellow Justice Runners in Washington Race; ACLI Capital Challenge attracts big field, including DC luminaries; Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar bests the three justices”: Seth Stern of Bloomberg Law has this report.

“‘Papa Warren’ and the End of Segregation: A boy’s-eye view of my grandfather’s most important case.” Jeffrey Earl Warren has this op-ed in today’s edition of The Wall Street Journal.

“At Justice Alito’s House, a ‘Stop the Steal’ Symbol on Display; An upside-down flag, adopted by Trump supporters contesting the Biden victory, flew over the justice’s front lawn as the Supreme Court was considering an election case”: Jodi Kantor of The New York Times has this report.

“Federal Consumer Financial Watchdog Survives Supreme Court Scrutiny; Justices reject claim CFPB funding structure violates Constitution”: Jess Bravin of The Wall Street Journal has this report.

Access online today’s opinions of the U.S. Supreme Court in argued cases: Justice Elena Kagan delivered the opinion for a unanimous Court in Harrow v. Department of Defense, No. 23-21. You can access the oral argument via this link.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor delivered the opinion for a unanimous Court in Smith v. Spizzirri, No. 22-1218. You can access the oral argument via this link.

And Justice Clarence Thomas delivered the opinion of the Court in Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. Community Financial Services Assn. of America, Ltd., No. 22-448. Justice Kagan issued a concurring opinion, in which Justices Sotomayor, Brett M. Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett joined. And Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr. issued a dissenting opinion, in which Justice Neil M. Gorsuch joined. You can access the oral argument via this link.

“Louisiana will have 2 Black majority districts for fall elections, US Supreme Court decides”: Mark Ballard of The Times-Picayune of New Orleans has this report.

Abbie VanSickle of The New York Times reports that “Supreme Court, for Now, Allows Louisiana Voting Map to Move Forward; Louisiana had asked the justices to weigh in on a dispute over a new congressional map with a second majority-Black district in time for the election.”

Patrick Marley, Justin Jouvenal, and Ann E. Marimow of The Washington Post report that “Supreme Court restores Louisiana voting map with majority-Black district; The court had been asked to resolve uncertainty over which map Louisiana will use, with just months to go before the 2024 election.”

David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times reports that “Supreme Court upholds new Black-majority district in Louisiana that may elect Democrat to Congress.”

Maureen Groppe and Greg Hilburn of USA Today report that “Supreme Court allows Louisiana’s congressional map with new, mostly Black district; One lawyer who has argued the issue of voting rights before the Supreme Court called the case the biggest ‘train wreck’ in recent memory; ‘This madness must end,’ Louisiana’s attorney general said.”

You can access today’s order of the U.S. Supreme Court, and the dissent therefrom, at this link.

“Chief Justice Talks Prairie Dogs as Colleagues Talk Substance”: Kimberly Strawbridge Robinson and Michael Shapiro of Bloomberg Law have this report.

“Brown v. Board of Education: 70 Years of Progress and Challenges.” Mark Walsh of Education Week has this report.

“Georgia Supreme Court candidate defends statements on reproductive rights; Former Democratic Congressman John Barrow argues that Georgia’s code of judicial conduct is being wrongly enforced against him in violation of his free speech rights”: Megan Butler of Courthouse News Service has this report.

“Supreme Court rules on petition effort against A’s ballpark public financing bill”: Mick Akers of The Las Vegas Review-Journal has this report.

And John Shea of The San Francisco Chronicle reports that “Nevada Supreme Court thwarts 2024 ballot challenge to A’s $380 million stadium handout.”

“Arizona’s 1864 abortion ban not enforceable until mid-August, state Supreme Court says”: Stacey Barchenger of The Arizona Republic has this report.

And Alex Tabet of NBC News reports that “Arizona Supreme Court pushes back enforcement date for 1864 abortion ban; The governor signed a bill repealing the Civil War-era law, but the new statute won’t take effect for several months, potentially allowing brief enforcement of the old one.”

“Wisconsin Supreme Court’s liberal majority questions past ruling barring ballot drop boxes”: Molly Beck of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has this report.

Patrick Marley of The Washington Post reports that “Wisconsin’s top court signals it will reinstate ballot drop boxes; The court’s liberal majority could overturn a 2022 ruling that rendered drop boxes illegal in one of the nation’s most important swing states.”

Adam Edelman of NBC News reports that “Wisconsin Supreme Court’s liberal justices appear willing to overturn ruling that barred most ballot drop boxes; The court’s eventual ruling will have a major impact on the battleground state’s elections heading into the 2024 presidential contest.”

And Joe Kelly of Courthouse News Service reports that “Wisconsin Supreme Court justices reconsider ban on ballot drop boxes; The court’s conservative majority banned drop boxes two years ago; Its new liberal majority seems open to reversing that decision.”

In the May 20, 2024 issue of The New Yorker: H.C. Wilentz has a Talk of the Town essay titled “A (Semi-Famous) Fame Scholar Takes In the Knicks’ Courtside Celebs; The legal scholar Cass Sunstein, whose new book is titled ‘How to Become Famous,’ heads to the Garden, where Seth Meyers and Anya Taylor-Joy roam the V.I.P. section.”

Sarah Stillman has an American Chronicles article headlined “Do Children Have a ‘Right to Hug’ Their Parents? Hundreds of counties around the country have ended in-person jail visits, replacing them with video calls and earning a cut of the profits.”

And Rachel Aviv has a Reporter at Large article headlined “A British Nurse Was Found Guilty of Killing Seven Babies. Did She Do It? Colleagues reportedly called Lucy Letby an ‘angel of death,’ and the Prime Minister condemned her. But, in the rush to judgment, serious questions about the evidence were ignored.”

“Supreme Court denies California’s plea for immunity for COVID-19 deaths at San Quentin”: David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times has this report.

“Supreme Court declines to hear two-step bankruptcy case that drew Senate attention”: Dietrich Knauth of Reuters has this report.

“The Historic Trump Court Cases That We Cannot See: The former President is on trial in a courtroom that has banned cameras; Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is deciding whether his other trials should even happen.” Neal Katyal has this essay online at The New Yorker.

“In praise of robotic judging: The Supreme Court mindlessly and correctly decides Culley v. Marshall.” Adam Unikowsky has this post at his Substack site, “Adam’s Legal Newsletter.”

“Judicial Notice (05.12.24): How To Survive Cross Like A Porn Star; Paul Weiss’s big hire from Cleary Gottlieb, TikTok’s suit against the feds, more takes on the Columbia clerk boycott, and other legal news from the week that was.” David Lat has this post at his “Original Jurisdiction” Substack site.

“His Dreadlocks Shaved by Prison Guards, Rastafarian Man Turns to Supreme Court; A federal appeals court condemned the ‘stark and egregious’ violation of Damon Landor’s religious freedom; But it said he could not sue the prison officials”: Adam Liptak will have this new installment of his “Sidebar” column in Tuesday’s edition of The New York Times.