“Federal judge indefinitely blocks Trump’s $1.8 billion payout fund; U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema said the government has not provided ‘absolute certainty’ it won’t try to resurrect the fund in the future”: Katie Mettler and Jeremy Roebuck of The Washington Post have this report.
Josh Gerstein of Politico reports that “Judge extends block on Trump’s ‘Anti-Weaponization Fund’; Judge Leonie Brinkema said she’ll likely dismiss a lawsuit over the project if top officials formally kill it.”
Zoe Tillman of Bloomberg News reports that “Judge Rejects DOJ Assurance ‘Weaponization’ Fund Is Defunct.”
And at his “All Rise News” Substack site, Adam Klasfeld has a post titled “Judge BLOCKS Trump’s $1.776 slush fund: Highlights from the hearing; It took U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema less than 30 minutes to gut Trump’s slush fund.”
Update: You can access the order at this link.
“Axed activist-investor takeover leaves Supreme Court at loggerheads over legislative intent; A disagreement over judicial interpretation led to riffs from the bench on judges’ preferences supplanting the will of the people”: Kelsey Reichmann of Courthouse News Service has this report.
Reichmann also has articles headlined “Supreme Court says bankruptcy paperwork error shouldn’t knock out debtor’s injury suit; The high court considered whether an accidental bankruptcy nondisclosure could sink an Arkansas man’s personal injury lawsuit” and “Feds lose Supreme Court duel over Twitter-era obstruction probe; Justice Kagan drew on ideals the founders cemented in the Declaration of Independence to describe the unfairness of the government’s prosecution.”
“Florida Reinstates Trump Lawyer Chesebro Despite Guilty Plea”: Alex Ebert of Bloomberg Law has this report.
You can access today’s decision of the Supreme Court of Florida at this link.
“Arkansas asks Eighth Circuit to revive law targeting librarians over ‘harmful’ books; The state argues the law protects children and regulates government speech, but librarians and booksellers claim it criminalizes availability and enables viewpoint discrimination”: Gabriel Tynes of Courthouse News Service has this report.
You can access the audio of today’s oral argument before a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit at this link.
“Solo dissents are uncommon. Justice Kagan just made her first. Justice Elena Kagan’s first solo dissent came nearly 16 years after she joined the Supreme Court bench.” Law professors Grant Christensen and Anne Mullins have this essay online at The Washington Post.
“The Wall Street Journal seeks second dismissal of Trump defamation lawsuit; Trump sued the publication last year for $10 billion over an article about a birthday card sent to Jeffrey Epstein; After an adverse ruling, the president revived his claims”: Alex Pickett of Courthouse News Service has this report.
“US Judge Ross Apologizes for ‘Harmful, Offensive’ Behavior”: Suzanne Monyak of Bloomberg Law has this report.
The three recently issued letters mentioned in the article can be accessed here, here, and here.
“Trump and Allies Are Working on Plan to ‘Expunge’ Impeachments; Republican-backed symbolic resolution would put lawmakers on record regarding the two impeachments during Trump’s first term”: Annie Linskey, Olivia Beavers, and Natalie Andrews of The Wall Street Journal have this report.
“Penn & Teller call out ‘flim-flam’ in Supreme Court death penalty case; The master manipulators of perception said they have an obligation to expose the type of junk science they said was used to convict a man of murder”: Maureen Groppe of USA Today has this report.
“US Can Enforce Section 122 Tariffs Until Appeals Court Rules”: Erik Larson and Zoe Tillman of Bloomberg News have this report.
You can access today’s order of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit at this link.
“Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh takes on a starring role in Maine’s Senate race; Sen. Susan Collins’ 2018 vote to confirm Kavanaugh is a fresh source of anger for Democrats, who point to his key vote to overturn Roe v. Wade — even though she indicated he wouldn’t”: Natasha Korecki and Sahil Kapur of NBC News have this report.
“More Trump Losses in Court and a Federal Judge in Hot Water; A roundup of legal news from the last week”: You can access this new installment of “The Docket” newsletter online at The New York Times.
“Standing Downstream from Dobbs; Good constitutional interpretation must distinguish invented liberties from written ones”: John O. McGinnis has this post at the “Law & Liberty” blog.
“Was Ray Howell Responsible for His Crimes? A small-town doctor’s abuse of power shocked his community and family. Then he was diagnosed with a rare neurological condition, leaving his culpability in doubt.” Adeline Goss has this article online at The New Yorker.
“Sex, Lies and Secrets: A Federal Judge’s Trysts Go Public; Now, Judge Eleanor Ross’s career and caseload are under scrutiny; And her punishment, a private reprimand, has sparked backlash.” Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs and Mattathias Schwartz of The New York Times have this report.
“Delaware Supreme Court hears arguments over constitutionality of age-restricted gun law; Delaware gun rights advocates cheered last year’s overturning of the gun control law, but took issue with the court’s method”: Sarah Mueller of WHYY has this report.
The Supreme Court of Delaware has posted this video of today’s oral argument on Vimeo.
“The Supreme Court’s confusing use of ‘principles’”: Rory Little has this post at “SCOTUSblog.”
“US Refunds $22 Billion in Tariffs, Offsetting Customs Revenue”: Daniel Flatley and Laura Curtis of Bloomberg News has this report.
“Alabama AG’s office appeals ruling declaring nitrogen gas executions unconstitutional; A federal judge Tuesday ruled that Jeffery Lee had shown the method was cruel and unusual punishment and that death by firing squad was a feasible alternative”: Ralph Chapoco of Alabama Reflector has this report.
“In Memoriam: Jake Dear, Chief Supervising Attorney of the California Supreme Court; Devoted public servant helped shape 40 years of California jurisprudence.” Merrill Balassone of California Courts Newsroom has written this news release.
“The Supreme Court Doesn’t Own the Constitution”: Columnist Jamelle Bouie has this essay online at The New York Times.
“Montana Supreme Court certifies ballot measure on corporate election spending; The high court removed one sentence from the attorney general’s ballot statement, calling it argumentative”: Alan Riquelmy of Courthouse News Service has this report.
You can access Tuesday’s decision of the Supreme Court of Montana at this link.
“Why the Supreme Court Is Debating Which Founding Fathers Were Drunks; The court’s docket increasingly features bizarre historical arguments; ‘John Adams took a tankard of hard cider with his breakfast’”: James Romoser of The Wall Street Journal has this report.
“Supreme Court set to rule on Trump, GOP policy goals ahead of summer recess; President Donald Trump’s agenda looms large at the Supreme Court as the justices prepare to ink rulings on mail-in ballots, executive branch firings and immigration”: Kelsey Reichmann of Courthouse News Service has this report.
Sentencing in United States v. Thomas C. Goldstein postponed until July 24, 2026: You can access Monday’s order of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland at this link.
The hearing on Goldstein’s renewed motion for judgment of acquittal or, in the alternative, a new trial remains scheduled for June 16, 2026.
“Delaware Top Court Nominee Offers Relief From ‘Tempestuous Era’”: Mike Leonard of Bloomberg Law has this report.
“Judicial Independence is the Cornerstone of Democracy; Judge J. Michael Luttig and Gregg Nunziata in conversation on the inaugural episode of the Checks & Balances podcast”: You can access today’s episode of the “Checks & Balances” podcast via this link.
“Senators Press 8th Circuit Pick on His Vow Not to Hire Columbia Law Clerks”: Avalon Zoppo of The National Law Journal has this report.
Olivia Alafriz of Bloomberg Law reports that “GOP Senator Warns Trump Court Pick Over Columbia Protests Letter.”
Mary Steurer of North Dakota Monitor reports that “North Dakota judicial nominee questioned on political views during Senate hearing.”
And at his “nomination notes” Substack site, Patrick McNeil has a post titled “Judicial nominees try out ‘new script’ for answering questions; Nominees are now saying Joe Biden won the 2020 election ‘as a matter of law.’”
“The AP’s Mark Sherman Retiring from the Supreme Court Beat at the End of June”: Rick Hasen has this post at his “Election Law Blog.”
“News publishers take fight over copyright of embedded content to Fifth Circuit; A newspaper company argues the news aggregator NewsBreak has violated its copyright to its online articles by displaying embedded versions on its app”: Christina van Waasbergen of Courthouse News Service recently had this report.
As Brian Downing noted today, the “How Appealing” blog and its author were mentioned in questioning from the bench at the oral argument (around minute 39).
“Why Callais Doesn’t Justify Court-Packing; To the extent Callais is a problem, it can be better addressed by steps such as banning gerrymandering”: Ilya Somin has this post at the “Lawfare” blog.
“The Fifth Circuit’s Chance to Expose the Inflation Reduction Act’s Unconstitutionality; The Biden-era drug-pricing program may or may not ultimately survive constitutional review”: Jeff Stier has this post at Civitas Outlook.
“No to Todd Blanche for Attorney General”: National Review has published this editorial.
And online at The Nation, Elie Mystal has an essay titled “Trump’s AG Appointee Is a Literal Sock Puppet; Todd Blanche might be the most craven attorney general yet; Thankfully, he’s also incompetent.”
“‘A Simple Ambition—The Very Best Appellate Practice’: Kannon Shanmugam; One of the nation’s leading SCOTUS advocates explains his move from Paul Weiss to Davis Polk — and what’s driving Biglaw’s appellate arms race.” You can access today’s new episode of David Lat’s “Original Jurisdiction” podcast via this link.
“California’s slow vote count faces changes as Supreme Court decision on late ballots looms”: Kevin Rector of The Los Angeles Times has this report.
