“President Donald Trump pushes for ‘no’ vote on Pa. Supreme Court retention election; Trump blasts Justices Donohue, Dougherty, Wecht as ‘woke,’ ‘radical,’ but Dems outspending in race”: Benjamin Kail of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has this report.
Gillian McGoldrick of The Philadelphia Inquirer has a report headlined “Five things we’re watching ahead of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court retention election; The high-stakes retention election over whether Justices Christine Donohue, Kevin Dougherty, and David Wecht should remain on the bench is the biggest race on Pennsylvania’s November ballot.”
Carter Sherman of The Guardian reports that “Abortion is on the ballot in three US states, from supreme court to governor; Reproductive justice has changed the face of judicial and gubernatorial races as abortion sanctuaries fight back.”
Jane C. Timm of NBC News reports that “Pennsylvania Supreme Court faces a key election as justice warns that a deadlock would be ‘disastrous’; David Wecht, one of three Democratic justices facing up-or-down retention votes Tuesday, told NBC News that ‘it’s extremely hard to work with a shorthanded court.’”
Chris Potter of 90.5 WESA reports that “Trump urges ‘no’ on Pa. Supreme Court retention; Shapiro says POTUS has ‘zero credibility.’”
And Jaxon White of WITF reports that “Voters put off by polarization, ad barrage in Pa. Supreme Court election.”
“Ford Foundation’s New Leader Vows to Protect Elections and the Rule of Law; Heather K. Gerken, a voting rights scholar and former dean of Yale Law School, plans to intensify its emphasis on democracy as it girds for attacks from the Trump administration”: Adam Liptak has this new installment of his “Sidebar” column online at The New York Times.
“What Is Going On Inside the Department of Justice? ‘Injustice,’ by the veteran journalists Carol Leonnig and Aaron C. Davis, follows federal prosecutors at work under the presidencies of Donald Trump and Joe Biden.” Jeffrey Toobin has this book review online at The New York Times.
“Voting Rights and Immigration Under Attack: The President’s goals were clear on the first day of his term, when he issued an executive order overruling the Fourteenth Amendment’s birthright-citizenship clause.” Jelani Cobb has this Comment in the Talk of the Town section of the November 10, 2025 issue of The New Yorker.
“187. ‘Regular Forces’ and the Insurrection Act: The supplemental briefing order in the Illinois National Guard case provides an obvious way for the Court to block President Trump’s deployments to date—and a fair concern about what could come next.” Steve Vladeck has this post at his “One First” Substack site.
“The Legal Battles Over Trump’s War on Blue Cities”: You can access today’s new episode of the “Strict Scrutiny” podcast via this link and on YouTube.
“Conversation with Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett”: Georgetown Center for the Constitution has posted this video on YouTube.
“Judicial Notice (11.02.25): Oh, SNAP; Judges order the continuation of critical federal food benefits, AUSAs get in trouble for disrespecting January 6, and a sizable group of immigration lawyers leaves Biglaw.” David Lat has this post at his “Original Jurisdiction” Substack site.
“Supreme Court has expanded presidential powers under Trump. How far will it go? The justices will hear arguments Wednesday on the legality of most of the president’s tariffs — the first in a series of tests of sweeping claims of authority.” Justin Jouvenal of The Washington Post has this report.
Alex Swoyer of The Washington Times reports that “Small businesses facing bankruptcy over Trump’s tariffs go to Supreme Court for relief.”
Michelle L. Price of The Associated Press reports that “Tariffs are Trump’s favorite foreign policy tool. The Supreme Court could change how he uses them.”
Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News reports that “Toymaker Gears Up for Supreme Court Fight Over Trump’s Tariffs; A Chicago-area toy company is among the businesses arguing to the justices this week that most of the president’s tariffs should be struck down.”
And Elisabeth Buchwald of CNN has a report headlined “Trade deals and $90 billion in tariff revenue: What’s riding on the landmark Supreme Court case kicking off this week.”
“Justice Barrett’s Campaign Biography: By presenting judging as pure law untainted by politics, Amy Coney Barrett offers a picture so implausible it makes cynics of us all.” Law professor Mark A. Graber has this book review in the November/December 2025 issue of Washington Monthly.
“Dem-appointed Maryland Supreme Court justice in hot seat over politically charged Halloween display; ‘It’s cast a shadow over the decision now,’ an expert said, adding, ‘the public, whatever side you’re on is inevitably going to feel distrust’”: Peter Pinedo and Cameron Cawthorne of Fox News have this report.
“Trump says he will not attend Supreme Court’s oral arguments on tariffs”: Jasper Ward and Andrea Shalal of Reuters have this report.
“The Supreme Court justices to watch during the tariffs oral argument; This term’s biggest case is a jump ball with an unusually large number of swing votes”: The Washington Post has published this editorial.
“Trump’s Retribution Campaign Leaves D.C. Prosecutor’s Office in Crisis; Few places have felt the effects as palpably as the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington, which is deeply enmeshed in the workings of government and has filed criminal cases against President Trump”: Alan Feuer of The New York Times has this report.
“Democrats feared Republican efforts to oust Pa. Supreme Court justices. They spent significantly more on the race. The full extent of GOP spending to oust the left-leaning justices is unknown.” Joe Yerardi and Katie Bernard of The Philadelphia Inquirer have this report.
“How Stare Decisis Can Save the Fed”: Andrew Coan has this guest post at the “Divided Argument” Substack site.
“Trump escalates demands for 2020 election investigations and prosecutions; The Justice Department is seeking 2020 ballots that were preserved in Atlanta, but federal officials have been more focused on vetting voter rolls for future elections”: Isaac Arnsdorf, Patrick Marley, and Perry Stein of The Washington Post have this report.
“Crazy Half-Drunk Unreliable Research Assistant”: You can access the new episode of the “Divided Argument” podcast via this link.
“God’s Chief Justice: Paul Newby, a born-again Christian, has turned his perch atop North Carolina’s Supreme Court into an instrument of political power; Over two decades, he’s driven changes that have reverberated well beyond the borders of his state.” Doug Bock Clark of ProPublica has this report.
“The Federal Judiciary Is Trapped: Trump’s lawlessness demands judicial courage and candour; Federal judges got the memo; SCOTUS is asleep at the switch.” You can access the new episode of Slate’s “Amicus” podcast via this link.
“Britain’s 300-year tradition of wearing wigs in court gets a trim; Updated guidelines allow more lawyers to dispense with the curly horsehair wigs, while traditionalists fear a loss of courtroom decorum”: Steve Hendrix of The Washington Post has this report.
“Are Trump’s tariffs too big to fail at the Supreme Court? How the Supeme Court rules on President Trump’s tariffs could affect his agenda, the economy, the federal budget, presidential powers and costs for businesess and households.” Maureen Groppe of USA Today has this report.
Lindsay Whitehurst of The Associated Press has a report headlined “A Vermont cycling apparel company is trying to survive Trump’s tariffs. Will the Supreme Court help?”
Jan Wolfe of Reuters reports that “A toy maker takes his case against Trump’s tariffs to the Supreme Court.”
Jordan Fischer of Bloomberg News reports that “Trump Would Make Supreme Court History by Attending Tariffs Case.”
And in commentary, at the “Intelligencer” blog of New York magazine, Elie Honig has a post titled “Why Supreme Court Conservatives Might Strike Down Trump’s Tariffs.”
“Pa. Supreme Court Justice Kevin Dougherty joined labor unions to rally for judicial retention ahead of Tuesday’s election; With three Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justices up for retention, building trades unions encouraged people to vote ‘yes’ to ensure continued Democratic control of the state’s highest court”: Brett Sholtis of The Philadelphia Inquirer has this report.
“How the Supreme Court Paved the Way for Revenge Prosecutions”: Mary McCord and Andrew Weissmann have this guest essay online at The New York Times.
“Election 2025: Why Pa. Supreme Court retention questions have taken center stage.” Tom Shortell of Lehigh Valley News has this report.
And in commentary, online at The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, columnist Adriana E. Ramírez has an essay titled “Republicans love radical, activist judges.”
“Some Thoughts on the Liberal Dissenters’ Dilemma; Inspired by Jodi Kantor’s New Article”: Richard M Re has this post at the “Divided Argument” Substack site.
