Supreme Court of the United States

Supreme Court Trump Immunity Ruling Institutionalizes WHIG Constitutional Crisis Precedent into Permanent Oligarchic Governance Framework

| Importance: 10/10

The Supreme Court’s 6-3 ruling in Trump v. United States granting broad presidential immunity for official acts represents the systematic institutionalization of WHIG constitutional crisis precedent into permanent oligarchic governance framework, completing the transformation from episodic …

Supreme Court of the United States Chief Justice John Roberts Donald Trump Justice Clarence Thomas Justice Samuel Alito +3 more supreme-court-capture presidential-immunity-institutionalization whig-precedent-codification constitutional-crisis-permanence oligarchic-governance-establishment +4 more
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SCOTUS overrules Chevron deference (Loper Bright v. Raimondo)

| Importance: 8/10

In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court overturned Chevron deference, eliminating the long-standing doctrine that required courts to defer to federal agencies’ reasonable interpretations of ambiguous statutes. This landmark ruling fundamentally reshapes administrative law, requiring courts to …

Supreme Court of the United States Chief Justice John Roberts National Marine Fisheries Service administrative-law chevron courts supreme-court judicial-reform
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SCOTUS stays EPA 'Good Neighbor Plan' for cross-state smog program

| Importance: 6/10

The Supreme Court granted a 5-4 stay on June 27, 2024, blocking the EPA’s Good Neighbor Plan addressing interstate ozone pollution while litigation proceeds. Justice Gorsuch’s majority opinion found EPA failed to reasonably explain its methodology after some states left the program. The …

Supreme Court of the United States EPA Justice Neil Gorsuch (majority opinion) Justice Amy Coney Barrett (dissent) State of Ohio (applicant) +2 more administrative-law courts environment clean-air-act good-neighbor-provision +3 more
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SCOTUS limits SEC use of in-house tribunals for civil penalties (SEC v. Jarkesy)

| Importance: 6/10

In a 6-3 decision on June 27, 2024, the Court held the Seventh Amendment requires jury trials when the SEC seeks civil penalties for securities fraud, ending the agency’s use of in-house administrative law judge proceedings for such cases. Chief Justice Roberts’ majority opinion found …

Supreme Court of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission Chief Justice John Roberts (majority opinion) Justice Neil Gorsuch (concurring) Justice Clarence Thomas (concurring) +4 more administrative-law courts enforcement seventh-amendment jury-trial-rights +3 more
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SCOTUS: Plaintiffs lack standing in social-media coercion case (Murthy v. Missouri)

| Importance: 6/10

The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on June 26, 2024, that neither state nor individual plaintiffs established standing to enjoin federal officials over alleged coercion of social-media platforms. Justice Barrett’s majority opinion found plaintiffs failed to show government actions caused platforms to …

Supreme Court of the United States Justice Amy Coney Barrett (majority opinion) Justice Samuel Alito (dissent) Justice Clarence Thomas (dissent) Justice Neil Gorsuch (dissent) +2 more courts social-media standing first-amendment content-moderation +3 more
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SCOTUS: No standing in challenge to mifepristone changes (FDA v. AHM)

| Importance: 6/10

The Supreme Court unanimously held the plaintiffs lacked Article III standing to challenge FDA’s 2016/2021 actions on mifepristone, leaving the agency’s changes in place. Justice Kavanaugh delivered the opinion, with the Court finding that the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine failed to …

Supreme Court of the United States Food and Drug Administration administrative-law courts standing supreme-court abortion-rights
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SCOTUS allows Texas SB 4 to take effect temporarily

| Importance: 8/10

The Supreme Court allowed Texas’s SB 4 immigration law to take effect pending further proceedings, before subsequent Fifth Circuit action. A 6-3 ruling temporarily permitted Texas to criminalize border crossings and allow state police to arrest and potentially deport migrants, creating a …

Supreme Court of the United States State of Texas Biden Administration Justice Samuel Alito Justice Sonia Sotomayor +2 more emergency-docket immigration state-preemption supreme-court judicial-conflict
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Allen v. Milligan reaffirms Voting Rights Act §2; orders additional majority-Black district in Alabama

| Importance: 9/10

The Supreme Court held that Alabama’s congressional map likely violated §2 of the Voting Rights Act and ordered a remedy adding a second majority-Black district. The ruling preserved the Thornburg v. Gingles framework for vote-dilution claims, affecting redistricting nationally.

Supreme Court of the United States State of Alabama DOJ Civil Rights Division section-2 section-2-vra voting-rights-act redistricting racial-discrimination +4 more
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Supreme Court blocks 2020 Census citizenship question as 'contrived'; filings tie rationale to Hofeller partisan plan

| Importance: 10/10

In Department of Commerce v. New York, the Supreme Court held that the Secretary’s stated rationale for adding a Census citizenship question was “contrived” and set aside the decision. Separate court filings introduced the late GOP strategist Thomas Hofeller’s 2015 study and …

U.S. Department of Commerce U.S. Census Bureau Supreme Court of the United States Thomas Hofeller census voting-rights redistricting administrative-law
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Powell creates Central Hudson test expanding corporate commercial speech rights

| Importance: 6/10

Justice Lewis Powell delivers 8-1 majority opinion in Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. v. Public Service Commission of New York (447 U.S. 557), striking down New York ban on utility promotional advertising and establishing four-part “Central Hudson test” for commercial speech …

Lewis F. Powell Jr. Supreme Court of the United States Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corporation New York Public Service Commission commercial-speech-rights central-hudson-test corporate-advertising-rights powell-memo-implementation utility-regulation +1 more
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Powell delivers Bellotti decision establishing corporate First Amendment rights

| Importance: 6/10

Justice Lewis Powell delivers majority opinion in First National Bank of Boston v. Bellotti (435 U.S. 765), establishing for first time that corporations have First Amendment speech rights to influence ballot initiatives and political campaigns. Powell’s 5-4 decision strikes down Massachusetts …

Lewis F. Powell Jr. Supreme Court of the United States First National Bank of Boston Francis X. Bellotti (Massachusetts Attorney General) Corporate Interests corporate-speech-rights first-amendment bellotti-decision powell-memo-implementation campaign-finance +1 more
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