How Appealing



Monday, April 20, 2026

“Justices to Hear Case on Catholic Preschools That Reject Children of Gay Parents; Catholic preschools in Colorado that decline to enroll families with L.G.B.T.Q. children or parents sued to participate in a state-funded program”: Ann E. Marimow of The New York Times has this report.

Julian Mark of The Washington Post reports that “Supreme Court to review Catholic preschools’ bid for LGBTQ exemption; The Colorado schools say they’re being excluded from funding because of their denial of enrollment to children of LGBTQ parents, which the state deems discriminatory.”

And Steve Garrison of Courthouse News Service reports that “Supreme Court takes up religious freedom case from Colorado preschools; Catholic school administrators in Colorado argue they shouldn’t be required to admit LGBTQ+ families in order to receive state funding.”

Posted at 8:44 PM by Howard Bashman



“Building Bridges: Disagreement by Design; A Conversation with Justice Amy Coney Barrett.” The Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art has posted this event notice online.

Posted at 8:40 PM by Howard Bashman



“The Trump Administration Is Coming After Birth Control Access in a Terrifying New Way”: Jill Filipovic has this guest essay online at The New York Times.

Posted at 8:30 PM by Howard Bashman



“Distilling Down the Commerce Clause; An 1868 moonshine ban could be an opening for the Supreme Court”: This editorial will appear in Tuesday’s edition of The Wall Street Journal.

Posted at 8:27 PM by Howard Bashman



“Supreme Court justices turn children’s books into big paydays; The trend is fueled by their status as political celebrities in a deeply divided country”: Julian Mark of The Washington Post has this report.

Posted at 8:20 PM by Howard Bashman



“Legal heavyweights duke it out at high court over federalism; Each with dozens of arguments under their belts, the two esteemed attorneys left the justices seemingly divided in an otherwise lower profile appeal”: Kelsey Reichmann of Courthouse News Service has this report.

Posted at 8:10 PM by Howard Bashman



“Court Leaks and Attorney-Journalists; The professional-ethics implications of making court confidences public”: Stephen E. Sachs has this post at the “Divided Argument” Substack site.

Posted at 7:14 PM by Howard Bashman



“The NYT and the ‘Shadow Papers’; Thoughts on the reporting”: Jack Goldsmith has this post at the “Executive Functions” Substack site.

Posted at 2:15 PM by Howard Bashman



“Trump Administration to Begin Refunding $166 Billion in Tariffs; The government will debut a system to repay importers two months after the Supreme Court struck down tariffs at the heart of the president’s trade policy”: Tony Romm and Ana Swanson of The New York Times have this report.

Posted at 12:56 PM by Howard Bashman



“The Cancer Victims Who Could Sink Bayer’s Roundup Settlement; With thousands of cases piling up in U.S. courts, the company’s relief plans still face hurdles”: Patrick Thomas and Erin Mulvaney of The Wall Street Journal have this report.

Posted at 12:55 PM by Howard Bashman



“F.B.I. Director Sues The Atlantic Over Article Claiming Excessive Drinking; Mr. Patel sued the publication for defamation, asking for $250 million in damages; A spokeswoman for The Atlantic called the suit ‘meritless’”: Katie Robertson of The New York Times has this report.

Scott Nover of The Washington Post reports that “FBI Director Kash Patel sues the Atlantic for $250M, alleging defamation; The magazine published a report alleging Patel engaged in ‘excessive drinking’ in work settings and had ‘unexplained absences.’

And Isabella Simonetti of The Wall Street Journal reports that “FBI Director Kash Patel Sues the Atlantic for Defamation; Patel is seeking $250 million in damages after alleging an article from last week was malicious and inaccurate.”

You can access the complaint initiating suit at this link.

Posted at 12:51 PM by Howard Bashman



“Uncertainty reigns at DOJ in the aftermath of Bondi’s departure; Acting attorney general Todd Blanche has moved quickly to put his stamp on the department, but other Trump loyalists also appear to be vying for leading roles”: Jeremy Roebuck, Perry Stein, Salvador Rizzo, and Theodoric Meyer of The Washington Post have this report.

Posted at 12:45 PM by Howard Bashman



“Pa. court recognizes ‘reproductive autonomy’ as a right, strikes down ban on public funding for abortion; In a 4-3 ruling, the Commonwealth Court found that abortion access is a fundamental right guaranteed by the Pennsylvania Constitution”: Abraham Gutman of The Philadelphia Inquirer has this report.

You can access today’s 112-page, 4-to-3 decision of the en banc Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania at this link.

Posted at 11:57 AM by Howard Bashman



“221. Chief Justice Roberts and the Clean Power Plan: Remarkable reporting from the New York Times provides a peek behind the curtain of the February 2016 rulings that ushered in the modern emergency docket; And what it reveals is pretty discouraging.” Steve Vladeck has this post at his “One First” Substack site.

At the “Divided Argument” Substack site, William Baude has a post titled “The Non-Scandalous Clean Power Plan Memos.”

And at his Substack site, Chris Geidner has a post titled “The 2016 Supreme Court memos and the mess that John Roberts has made of his court; The New York Times scoop about the Clean Power Plan case SCOTUS memos highlights the conservative justices’ brazen disregard for their own rules — both then and now.”

Posted at 11:52 AM by Howard Bashman



“Will Trump Pardon Ghislaine Maxwell? Her Lawyer Thinks So. Florida attorney David Oscar Markus has made a career of representing controversial clients. His next challenge is trying to get Ghislaine Maxwell out of prison.” Hailey Fuchs has this report online at Politico Magazine.

Posted at 10:18 AM by Howard Bashman



“Last Branch Standing: Sarah Isgur; The conventional wisdom about the Supreme Court is just wrong, according to Isgur — Advisory Opinions host, SCOTUSblog editor, and well-known legal commentator.” You can access the new episode of David Lat’s “Original Jurisdiction” Substack via this link.

Posted at 10:15 AM by Howard Bashman



“Judicial Notice (04.19.26): Please Stop! A judge’s excited utterances against Trump, a sweeping verdict against Live Nation’s predations, a halt to a high-profile contempt inquiry, and an impressive new boutique.” David Lat has this post at his “Original Jurisdiction” Substack site.

Posted at 10:03 AM by Howard Bashman