“An election for a single state Supreme Court seat becomes the ‘blockbuster’ political fight of 2025”: Fredreka Schouten and Arlette Saenz of CNN have this report.
And Theodore Schleifer and Reid J. Epstein of The New York Times report that “Musk and His Millions Enter Wisconsin Supreme Court Race; Elon Musk’s super PAC has spent $1 million on canvassing operations supporting the conservative candidate in the race, his first election spending after the 2024 campaign.”
“Professors’ Paper Explains How a Handful of Elite Lawyers Dominates Supreme Court Litigation; Mitu Gulati Explores Numbers Behind ‘Tournament of Champions’”: Mary Wood of the University of Virginia School of Law has this report.
You can access the paper via this link.
“Supreme Court Rejects, for Now, Trump’s Bid to Fire Government Watchdog; The court’s order indicated that it may return to the issue as soon as next week, when a trial judge’s temporary restraining order is set to expire”: Adam Liptak of The New York Times has this report.
Ann E. Marimow of The Washington Post reports that “Supreme Court delays decision on Trump’s firing of watchdog agency leader; A lower court said Hampton Dellinger could continue serving as head of the Office of Special Counsel while litigation over his firing continues.”
David G. Savage of The Los Angeles Times reports that “Justices turn away — for now — Trump’s appeal seeking to fire head whistleblower protection official.”
Maureen Groppe of USA Today reports that “Supreme Court declines Trump’s emergency bid to immediately fire head of watchdog agency.”
And Stephen Dinan of The Washington Times reports that “Supreme Court rebuffs Trump’s attempt to oust special counsel — for now.”
You can access this evening’s order of the U.S. Supreme Court at this link.
“Who Is Paul Clement, the Lawyer Appointed to Help Judge in Adams Case? A former solicitor general, Mr. Clement has argued over 100 cases before the Supreme Court; Now he will present independent arguments as a judge decides whether to drop the charges against the mayor.” Santul Nerkar of The New York Times has this report.
“This Spending Fight Is Actually About the Constitution; With unilateral freezes and cuts, Trump is testing how far he can encroach on Congress’s power of the purse”: Columnist Greg Ip has this essay online at The Wall Street Journal.
“Trump Is Making It Harder for the Supreme Court to Side With Him; A haphazard approach makes it more likely the Supreme Court rules against him”: Ankush Khardori has this essay online at Politico Magazine.
“Judge Defers Ruling in Adams Case, Appointing Lawyer to Guide Decision; Judge Dale E. Ho said that with Eric Adams’s lawyer and federal prosecutors agreeing to end the case, he needed to hear independent arguments”: Benjamin Weiser of The New York Times has this report.
Jeremy Roebuck and Shayna Jacobs of The Washington Post report that “Judge refuses for now to drop Adams charges, appoints outside lawyer; Paul Clement, a former U.S. solicitor general, will examine the Justice Department’s decision to dismiss the bribery case against the New York mayor.”
James Fanelli and Corinne Ramey of The Wall Street Journal report that “Judge Holds Off on Dismissing Case Against New York Mayor Eric Adams; Top lawyer appointed to argue against Justice Department’s motion to drop bribery charges.”
And Erica Orden of Politico reports that “Judge taps top Supreme Court lawyer to present ‘adversarial’ arguments on DOJ’s bid to drop Eric Adams case; The judge said the appointment of an outside lawyer will ‘assist the court’s decision-making.’”
You can access today’s order of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York at this link.
“Mastering the Art of Persuasion: What Top Appellate Lawyers Do Differently; A well-crafted legal brief can sway a judge — while a poorly written one feels like hacking through a jungle with a machete; What sets elite appellate advocates apart?” Adam Feldman has this post at his “Legalytics” Substack site.
“Only the Supreme Court Can Stop an Unprecedented Power Grab; This is not the time to give more unchecked power to a president contemptuous of the rule of law”: Law professor Noah Feldman has this essay online at Bloomberg Opinion.
“Anti-DEI push could get a boon from Supreme Court ‘reverse discrimination’ case; If the high court lowers the standard for discrimination claims from people in majority groups, employment experts said companies could have a harder time defending diversity programs”: Kelsey Reichmann of Courthouse News Service has this report.
“Michigan Chief Justice’s Exit Fortifies Court’s Leftward Swing; Governor’s pick will cement a Democratic-backed majority; Recent changes are part of larger swing, court watchers say”: Eric Heisig of Bloomberg Law has this report.
“South Carolina Death Row Inmate Chooses to Be Executed by a Firing Squad; The state has never used that method to execute a prisoner; The last time an inmate was killed by a firing squad was in 2010 in Utah”: Eduardo Medina of The New York Times has this report.
“CT Supreme Court in Hartford evacuated after museum staff finds WW1 artillery shells, officials say”: Josh LaBella of CT Insider has this report.
“Luigi Mangione’s Lawyer Says Accused Healthcare CEO Killer Being Treated Unfairly; No trial date set yet in Manhattan state court proceedings, one of three criminal cases against the 26-year old”: Corinne Ramey of The Wall Street Journal has this report.
Hurubie Meko of The New York Times reports that “Suspect in Insurance C.E.O. Killing Creates Website as Support Floods In; Luigi Mangione faced a hearing on Friday as supporters planned a rally outside a Manhattan courthouse; Some Americans have found a hero in the man accused of vigilante murder.”
And Patricia Hurtado and David Voreacos of Bloomberg News report that “Luigi Mangione’s Lawyer Says US Still Weighing Death Penalty for Murder; Mangione pleaded not guilty to killing UnitedHealth executive; Defense lawyer says state, federal charges are ‘inconsistent.’“
“Justice Department broadens Trump’s Jan. 6 clemency as it moves to drop gun cases; In court papers, DOJ revealed a newly expansive interpretation of the president’s Jan. 6 pardons”: Kyle Cheney of Politico has a report that begins, “The Justice Department now says that President Donald Trump’s clemency for Jan. 6 rioters covers unrelated crimes that were discovered during FBI searches stemming from the attack on the Capitol.”
“Trump comes close to the red line of openly defying judges, experts say; Faced with judges’ orders to block certain initiatives, the Trump administration has found ways to tell courts it still has the authority to act”: Justin Jouvenal, Leo Sands, and Ann E. Marimow of The Washington Post have this report.
“On Constitutional Crisis And The Current ‘Precarious’ Moment: Vince Chhabria; Judge Chhabria speaks candidly about judicial activism, judge shopping, dismissing a criminal case under Rule 48, and other timely topics.” David Lat has posted online this new episode of his “Original Jurisdiction” podcast.
“Bonus 125: The Federal Reserve and the Unitary Executive; The Supreme Court’s apparent unwillingness to jeopardize the central bank’s independence is entirely understandable (and good); it also undermines the persuasive force of the unitary executive theory.” Steve Vladeck has this post at his “One First” Substack site.
“In Trump’s first month, a relentless effort to remake the presidency; In the initial stretch of his second term, Trump has pursued a different vision than virtually any of his 44 predecessors”: Naftali Bendavid of The Washington Post has this report.
“Judge asks if ‘unadulterated animus’ is driving Trump’s trans troop ban; In a sometimes-fiery hearing, a federal judge said that the Trump administration’s assertion that troops’ pronouns are harming military readiness is ‘frankly ridiculous’”: Casey Parks of The Washington Post has this report.
“D.C. U.S. attorney probing Democrats over alleged threats, documents show; Analysts say Ed Martin’s ‘Operation Whirlwind,’ which targets statements by Democrats and others about Elon Musk, justices and government workers, is meant to stifle criticism”: Spencer S. Hsu of The Washington Post has this report.
“Trump’s FBI Pick Stands to Make Millions From Fashion Brand Shein; Kash Patel is in line for Senate confirmation; Critics question potential conflicts of interest in owning shares of foreign company with China ties”: Dave Michaels, Corrie Driebusch, and Shen Lu of The Wall Street Journal have this report.
“When Your Last Name Is Null, Nothing Works; The word, used by computer scientists to mean ‘no value,’ has created long-running challenges”: Oyin Adedoyin of The Wall Street Journal has this report.
“US appeals court rejects Trump’s emergency bid to curtail birthright citizenship”: Nate Raymond of Reuters has this report.
Leo Sands of The Washington Post reports that “Appeals court denies Trump’s bid to reinstate birthright citizenship order; A federal appeals court declined to set aside a nationwide injunction against Trump’s order, paving the way for a potential Supreme Court showdown.”
Zoe Tillman of Bloomberg News reports that “Appeals Court Hands Trump a Loss in Birthright Citizenship Clash; 9th Circuit panel refused to narrow injunction of Trump action; US Justice Department appealing decisions in lower courts.”
And Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein of Politico report that “Appeals court deals setback to Trump efforts to immediately end birthright citizenship; The issue is likely headed to the Supreme Court.”
You can access yesterday’s order of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit at this link.
“Pivotal Trial Begins in Texas: Will Johnson & Johnson’s Third Talc Bankruptcy Survive? U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez heard opening statements on Tuesday in a two-week trial over the fate of Johnson & Johnson’s third talcum powder bankruptcy.” Amanda Bronstad has this report online at Texas Lawyer.
“Could the U.S. See a Canceled Election? It happened in Romania, and Washington practiced Europe-style censorship during the Biden years.” Former Ninth Circuit Judge Alex Kozinski will have this op-ed in Thursday’s edition of The Wall Street Journal.
“Justice Dept. Official Suggests That Aiding Trump Outweighs Prosecutions; Emil Bove III, the acting deputy attorney general, tried to persuade a judge to let him drop a corruption case against Mayor Eric Adams; He said the mayor was crucial to the president’s agenda”: Jonah E. Bromwich, Benjamin Weiser, Hurubie Meko, and William K. Rashbaum of The New York Times have this report.
Shayna Jacobs and Jeremy Roebuck of The Washington Post report that “Acting deputy AG Emil Bove defends move to drop Eric Adams case; A federal judge questioned the acting deputy attorney general about his reasoning in dropping corruption charges but has limited authority to refuse the motion.”
And James Fanelli and Corinne Ramey of The Wall Street Journal report that “Judge Questions Justice Department Over Decision to Drop Eric Adams Case; Department’s acting No. 2 defends move that set off a political crisis for New York City’s mayor and prompted several federal prosecutors to quit.”
“Missouri Clinics Resume Abortions, Following Abortion Rights Referendum; Abortion opponents had tried to block, or severely limit, the procedure, against the will of voters who in November enshrined abortion rights in the state constitution”: Kate Zernike of The New York Times has this report.
“Republican lawmaker seeks US judge’s impeachment over ruling against Trump”: Nate Raymond of Reuters has this report.
Jacqueline Thomsen of Bloomberg Law reports that “House Republican Moves to Impeach Judge Who Blocked Trump’s DOGE; Paul Engelmayer accused of judicial misconduct, abuses of authority; Follows Elon Musk’s call for judicial impeachments.”
And Benjamin S. Weiss of Courthouse News Service reports that “GOP lawmaker moves to impeach judge who blocked DOGE from Treasury data; Republicans and Elon Musk accused Southern District of New York Judge Paul Engelmayer of political bias after he stopped Department of Government Efficiency staffers from accessing the Treasury Department’s payments system.”
“Clement stepping down from state Supreme Court, paving way for bigger Democratic majority”: Beth LeBlanc of The The Detroit News has this report.
Arpan Lobo of The Detroit Free Press reports that “Michigan Chief Justice Elizabeth Clement will step down from Supreme Court.”
Matthew Miller of MLive reports that “Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Elizabeth Clement to step down.”
And Simon D. Schuster of Bridge Michigan reports that “Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Beth Clement stepping down.”
The Supreme Court of Michigan today issued a news release titled “Statement from Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Elizabeth T. Clement.”
“Lawyer asks federal judge to recuse himself due to pronoun policy in courtroom; Judge S. Kato Crews is one of six judges on Colorado’s US District Court requiring parties to use others’ ‘applicable pronouns’ in their courtrooms”: Michael Karlik of Colorado Politics has this report.
You can access the motion at this link.
“Parents Lose Appeal Over School’s Gender Identity Notification Policy”: Mark Walsh of Education Week has this report.
My earlier coverage of yesterday’s First Circuit ruling can be accessed here.
“We’re about to learn just how eager the Supreme Court is to help Trump; The first Supreme Court showdown of Trump’s second term is upon us”: Ian Millhiser has this essay online at Vox.
“Poof! The Independent Agencies Are No Longer Independent; A Sea Change in US Government.” Cass Sunstein has this post at his “Cass’s Substack” site.
“Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor inspires Miami students to protect democracy and drive change”: Daniella Krasney of The Miami Hurricane has this report.
