Supreme Court
July 14, 2026 — John Hinderaker
Today Supreme Court Justices Amy Barrett and Elena Kagan testified before a House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Court’s budget for security. Justice Barrett testified about having to wear a bulletproof vest and about a swatting incident at her home: Threats against conservative justices must be taken seriously, given the foiled attempt on Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s life. And swatting is a favorite liberal tactic. Is there any reasonable prospect of a
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July 13, 2026 — Scott Johnson
Senator Lindsey Graham’s passing on Saturday evening represents a great loss to our public life. Senator Graham had a special moment of greatness in the 2018 Judiciary Committee hearing on the nomination of then Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. Senator Graham not only rose to Kavanaugh’s defense, he called out his Democrat colleagues on the committee for the disgusting charade they had performed in the attempted assassination of
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July 3, 2026 — John Hinderaker
I was on the Media Show on Sky News last night. It was a quick appearance, just over five minutes. But the topics are interesting: the Supreme Court decision on men in women’s sports, and the growing radicalism of the Democratic Party. Given that it is just five minutes, I think it is worth your time:
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June 30, 2026 — John Hinderaker
The Supreme Court term ended today with the release of three final opinions. I have not yet had time to read them, but for now will simply recite the results with a few additional comments. The most important decision is Trump v. Barbara, in which the Court held, 6-3, that the 14th Amendment requires that the children of illegal aliens be citizens of the United States. This result is disappointing
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June 29, 2026 — John Hinderaker
Today the Supreme Court decided one of the most important cases of recent years, Trump v. Slaughter. The Court affirmed what Article II of the Constitution says: the President runs the executive branch. Specifically, he can fire an FTC Commissioner, with or without cause. I wrote about the case when it was argued last December: The case tests the constitutionality of the “independent agencies” that Congress has established over the
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June 27, 2026 — John Hinderaker
I have said and written many times that the United States is on a path toward disunion. We are separating ourselves into distinct zones, Red America and Blue America. Red states are getting redder (and more prosperous) and blue states are getting crazier. A nation cannot exist half slave and half free, nor can it exist half socialist and half free. Unless something changes, the road we are on leads
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June 26, 2026 — Scott Johnson
The Temporary Protected Status conferred on immigrants from designated countries provides yet another example of the meaning of “temporary” government programs. The meaning of “temporary” must be subsumed under a broader category of Newspeak that includes government programs adopted under the banner of “emergency.” Bruce Springsteen captured the spirit of the thing in “For You” on his first album: “Your life was one long emergency.” Governors including Minnesota’s ineffable Tim
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June 25, 2026 — John Hinderaker
The Supreme Court decided several interesting cases today, with resulting controversy. In Monsanto Co. v. Durnell, the Court took up the case of a plaintiff who sued Monsanto under Missouri tort law, claiming that his exposure to glyphosate, which Monsanto markets under the brand name Roundup, gave him cancer. A Missouri jury found in Durnell’s favor and awarded him damages. Glyphosate is the most widely used agricultural chemical in the
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June 24, 2026 — John Hinderaker
Last night I was on the Rita Panahi Show, and the conversation was lively as usual. We talked about the Karmelo Anthony case, the bizarre situation in Iran, the Democrats’ rush to socialism, Elon Musk’s threatened libel suit against Ro Khanna, and the Supreme Court’s most recent immigration decision. All good stuff. I come on following the video clips at 4:30, but you shouldn’t miss Lefties Losing It:
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June 11, 2026 — John Hinderaker
There are a great many things wrong with our election systems, but one of them may be addressed in a case that awaits decision in the Supreme Court. The case is Watson v. Republican National Committee, and the issue is whether the State of Mississippi’s statute allowing ballots that arrive after Election Day to be counted violates federal law. Article 1, Section 4 of the Constitution says: The Times, Places
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May 18, 2026 — John Hinderaker
The Trump administration is taking the position that federal law does not just permit the government to detain illegal immigrants, it requires such detention. This position has inspired outrage on the left, and circuits that have addressed the issue have split. So it is on to the Supreme Court. The question is a tricky one, involving interpretation of a law that is not particularly well drafted. That is probably due,
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May 15, 2026 — Bill Glahn
No surprise here. From The Hill newspaper, Supreme Court declines to restore Virginia Democrats’ congressional map. Restore? At no point was the Democrats’ map the actual map. The farcical vote was never certified. But in no event was the U.S. Supreme Court going to intervene in the state supreme court’s interpretation of their own state’s constitution. If you dig into the reasoning in the VA court’s decision, it’s clear that
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May 5, 2026 — John Hinderaker
Justice Sam Alito has emerged as a spokesman for the conservative (or, at least, moderate) majority on the Supreme Court, while Justice Ketanji Jackson seems to be auditioning for a role on MSNBC as a left-wing pundit. We wrote here about the Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais, where the Court held, correctly, that the Voting Rights Act cannot be interpreted to require racial gerrymandering. That decision was handed down
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May 4, 2026 — John Hinderaker
Justice Sam Alito has rightly become a hero to conservatives. He has built a distinguished record, implementing a philosophy that some have called “practical originalism.” Mollie Hemingway has written an admiring biography of Alito, which you can buy on Amazon. Mollie’s book, however, is not just a biography of Alito. It also chronicles the controversies and some of the major cases of recent years. Yesterday, Mollie recorded an hour-long Rationally
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April 29, 2026 — John Hinderaker
Today the Supreme Court decided an important case on the Voting Rights Act, Louisiana v. Callais. The decision holds that Louisiana’s new map of congressional districts is an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. The decision was 6-3, so you know it has political consequences. I have never liked the Voting Rights Act. It may have addressed issues that were still live when it passed in 1965, but for almost all of its
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April 26, 2026 — John Hinderaker
I have heard about the Supreme Court’s “shadow docket” for some time, but never knew what it meant. The phrase is in the news because Justice Jackson has been criticizing its use. So, what exactly is the shadow docket, and is its use a good thing or a bad thing? On the Rationally Based podcast, law professor Ilan Wurman and co-host Kathryn Johnson explain, in these two back to back
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April 19, 2026 — John Hinderaker
As the Supreme Court deliberates on the case that will determine the law regarding birthright citizenship, it should keep these numbers in mind: Nearly 10% of US births in 2023 came from illegal immigrant mothers, according to newly published research. Pew Research Center revealed that 320,000 of the 3.6 million babies born in the US that year were anchor babies who would not qualify for birthright citizenship if President Trump’s
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