US: 2022 Year In Review – The Supreme Court
From Media & Entertainment Law360
No Signs Of Supreme Court’s Conservatives Slowing Down
By Jimmy Hoover
The U.S. Supreme Court’s last term was considered by many to be the most consequential in a generation as the court’s conservative justices delivered key victories on abortion and guns. But one quick glance at the new term’s docket suggests this new supermajority has only just begun shifting the law to the right.
The Firms That Won Big At The Supreme Court
By Jack Karp
Oral arguments at the U.S. Supreme Court are always a singular experience, the more so this term as the justices returned to hearing cases in person after being remote last term.
Analysis
Justices Back On Bench, But Hearings Still Getting Longer
By Jimmy Hoover
For decades, the U.S. Supreme Court was famous for enforcing time limits on oral arguments. That changed during the pandemic due to the challenge of telephonic hearings. But despite the justices’ return to the bench a year ago, arguments have only gotten longer.
Analysis
The Quiet Power Of Amy Coney Barrett
By Jimmy Hoover
She is not the most talkative at oral arguments nor does she write the most opinions, but Justice Amy Coney Barrett is a key player in the U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative majority who seems to be in control over the law’s rightward push.
Analysis
‘Idiosyncratic’ Gorsuch Blazes Unpredictable Trail
By Jimmy Hoover
Justice Amy Coney Barrett and Justice Brett Kavanaugh are widely considered the U.S. Supreme Court’s two “swing” votes who can make or break a majority. But in closely divided cases, it was actually Justice Neil Gorsuch who voted more frequently with the court’s liberal bloc than any other Republican appointee last term.
THE CASES
Analysis
From Leak To Decision, Dobbs Majority Didn’t Waver
By Jimmy Hoover
Justice Samuel Alito’s leaked draft striking down Roe v. Wade underwent few substantive changes before becoming the law of land Friday, signaling a unified conservative majority that never wavered even as public outcry over the decision grew.
Analysis
Dobbs May Be Just The First Domino, Dissent Warns
By Hannah Albarazi
In a scathing and sorrowful dissent, the U.S. Supreme Court’s liberal justices warned Friday that the “catastrophic” decision to overturn Roe v. Wade not only strips millions of American women of their constitutional right to abortion but “throws longstanding precedent to the winds” and threatens the very foundation of the U.S. legal system.
High Court Pares Down EPA’s Clean Air Act Power
By Keith Goldberg and Juan Carlos Rodriguez
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday restricted the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s power to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, finding that the Obama administration exceeded its authority under the Clean Air Act when it allowed states to issue regulations aimed at increasing the use of cleaner sources of electricity generation.
Opinion attached | Read full article »
Justices Strike Down NY Gun Law, Expand 2nd Amendment
By Jimmy Hoover
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 vote Thursday that New York’s restrictive licensing regime for firearm carry permits is unconstitutional, expanding the scope of the Second Amendment to outside the home for the first time.
Opinion attached | Read full article »
Justices Seem Set To End Use Of Race In College Admissions
By Chris Villani
The U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative justices expressed doubt Monday that race should continue to be a factor in college admissions, hinting that they may overturn a decades-old precedent and steer schools toward “race-neutral” alternatives.
Breaking Down The Vote: The High Court Term In Review
By Jack Karp
The overturning of a long-standing precedent, the surprising leak of a draft opinion and the announcement of Justice Stephen Breyer’s retirement all made for a tumultuous term at the U.S. Supreme Court. Here, Law360 takes a data dive into the numbers behind this court term.
SHADOW DOCKET
Analysis
High Court ‘Shadow Docket’ Still A Long Shot For Companies
By Jimmy Hoover
The U.S. Supreme Court has made frequent use of its “shadow docket” in recent years to decide blockbuster cases on an expedited basis without full briefing or argument, but the justices’ recent actions indicate that companies are likely to be disappointed if they look to the docket as a realistic option for streamlining their appeals.
Analysis
Chief Justice Co-Signs Kagan’s Rebuke Of Shadow Docket
By Jimmy Hoover
Justice Elena Kagan has made no secret of her distaste for how the U.S. Supreme Court has used the so-called shadow docket to decide controversial cases without full briefing or arguments. But Chief Justice John Roberts had largely managed to stay out of that debate — until he joined her latest dissent Wednesday.
Opinion attached | Read full article »
BREYER RETIRES
Analysis
Breyer Retiring As Supreme Court Lurches Right
By Jimmy Hoover
Justice Stephen Breyer is retiring from the U.S. Supreme Court at a time when his conservative colleagues on the bench seem intent on dismantling landmark precedents on abortion, affirmative action and the administrative state, to name a few. Can his successor preserve his liberal legacy?
Analysis
5 Breyer Opinions You Need To Know
By Cara Bayles
Justice Stephen Breyer, who was confirmed Wednesday to be stepping down from the court after 27 years, was a pragmatist who thought about the real-world implications of the high court’s decisions. Here, Law360 looks at some of the cases that epitomize his career.
5 documents attached | Read full article »
JACKSON TAKES THE BENCH
Analysis
What To Watch In Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s First Term
By Jimmy Hoover
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson has spent nearly a decade on the federal bench, but only a short portion of that was as a member of an appellate court. With so many unknowns about her approach to the job, U.S. Supreme Court practitioners tell Law360 what they will be watching for in her debut term beginning in October.
Podcast
The Term: Ketanji Brown Jackson In Her Own Words
From being Matt Damon’s scene partner as an undergrad to getting swamped with 150 cases as a rookie judge, Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson has publicly shared a number of stories over the years from her life and career as a self-identified “professional vagabond.” Listen to Judge Jackson in her own words on this week’s episode of “The Term” podcast.
