Cases and Controversies
by Bloomberg Law
Bloomberg Law's Cases and Controversies brings you the latest from the Supreme Court. Each week we preview oral arguments at the Court or feature in-depth interviews. We explore critical legal issues with Supreme Court advocates, judges, law professors, lawyers, and legal journalists.
Episodes
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Justice Stephen Breyer on Trump, the Rule of Law, and Whether the Supreme Court is Political
Former Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer sits down with Bloomberg Law's Matthew S. Schwartz to discuss the Court, executive power, Dobbs, judicial independence, and the rule of law. Reflecting on nearly three decades on the bench — and the perennial question of whether politics shapes when...
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Supreme Court Term to Have Lasting Impact With Few Blockbusters
The Supreme Court term was limited in its blockbusters this year, but the decision to limit the power of lower court judges to issue nationwide injunctions will have the biggest impact, attorneys and legal scholars say. “It affects how cases get litigated in a big way,” said Anastasia Boden, a...
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Justices End Term with Split Decisions and Powerful Dissents
The Supreme Court closed out its term with a string of rulings that divided the justices. The court split 6-3 along ideological lines in opinions June 27 that limited the ability of lower courts to issue nationwide injunctions and gave parents the right to opt their children out of classroom...
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Trans Advocates See Glimmer of Hope After Loss at High Court
Transgender rights suffered a major loss at the US Supreme Court after its opinion in the Skrmetti case. But some advocates for transgender rights found reasons within the opinion to believe their cause might fare better in future cases. Cases and Controversies hosts Kimberly Robinson and Lydia...
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Busy Opinion Season in Full Swing at the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court is chipping away at the mound of argued cases it has to decide before the justices break for summer. The court has 21 cases left after releasing its latest batch of opinions. Those included a unanimous decision that revived a lawsuit brought by a family against the government...
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Trump's Tariffs Likely to Land On Justices' Shadow Docket Soon
The justices have already had a deluge of emergency requests from the Trump administration, and another is likely to land before them soon involving the president's tariffs. Lower courts have temporarily ruled against the tariffs using doctrines recently revived by the Supreme Court's…
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Justices Cast Doubt on Long-Term Precedent With Trump Firings
The Supreme Court's long-awaited order over the president's firing of Democratic members of independent agencies is puzzling, according to the lawyer representing one of the fired individuals. Gupta Wessler founder Deepak Gupta joins Cases and Controversies hosts Kimberly Robinson and Greg Stohr…
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Justices Focus on Feasibility of Birthright Citizenship Limits
The practicalities of birthright citizenship being restricted in some states but not others appeared to be a concern of key justices on the US Supreme Court. President Donald Trump has asked the justices to narrow lower court rulings that blocked his executive order limiting automatic citizenship...
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Justices to Consider Procedure in Birthright Citizenship Suit
The Supreme Court will sit for a special session May 15 to hear a challenge to President Donald Trump's birthright citizenship order. The merits, however, are not before justices at this time. Instead, the court will consider the scope of relief temporarily available to the parties, and in...
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Supreme Court Debates Bid for First Religious Charter School
The Supreme Court heard the last in a trio of cases over religious rights with the justices appearing to split long largely ideological lines. During arguments April 30 in Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board v. Drummond, the justices considered a virtual school's bid to become the nation's...
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Justices Focus on Meaning of LGBTQ Books in Religious Rights Row
US Supreme Court justices spent a lot of time last week discussing the meaning of LGBTQ-themed books that parents in a Maryland public school district say interfere with the religious rearing of their children. One book, “Uncle Bobby’s Wedding,” was a focal point of the April 22 arguments in...
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Obamacare Is Back at Supreme Court in Preventive Care Fight
Obamacare is back before the Supreme Court in a challenge to its no-cost coverage requirements for certain preventive health services. The justices will weigh the constitutionality of the US Preventive Services Task Force, which recommends the tests and treatments insurers should cover, when they...
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Justices Walking 'Tightrope' With Modest Trump Victories
The US Supreme Court's attempt to avoid a confrontation with President Donald Trump has real world costs, said Georgetown Law professor Stephen Vladeck. Vladeck spoke with Cases and Controversies hosts Kimberly Robinson and Greg Stohr about the flurry of recent rulings from the justices in...
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Trio of Religious Liberty Cases Getting Heard at Supreme Court
Supreme Court justices from across the ideological spectrum appeared ready to side with a religious group seeking an unemployment tax exemption, in the first of three church-state disputes on tap in coming weeks. "I thought it was pretty fundamental that we don't treat some religions better than...
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Supreme Court Backs 'Ghost Gun' Rule, Considers Agency Limits
The federal government appeared likely to win a high-stakes appeal over a multibillion-dollar telecommunications fund while securing a win on Biden-era regulations on build-at-home "ghost guns." Several justices during arguments March 26 in FCC v. Consumers' Research, appeared hesitant to...
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Justices to Weigh if Congress Can Hand Over Rulemaking Power
The Supreme Court will consider a case at the end of March that could limit Congress’ ability to let federal regulators determine what public health and safety standards are necessary. Depending on what the court decides, any statute that grants discretion to an agency could be open for…
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Supreme Court in 'Eye of Storm' Before Taking on Major Cases
After a slow start, Supreme Court justices will hear consequential disputes as they head into second half of the term. "This might be the eye in the storm that this was kind of a bit of a slower term," said Goodwin partner Brian Burgess. "There's some big, big cases ahead." Burgess highlights…
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High Court Ruling on Nuclear Waste Storage Site Hard to Predict
A fight over plans for a privately owned nuclear waste storage facility in Texas seemed to divide the US Supreme Court as the justices wrestled with a federal agency’s regulatory authority and who can challenge it. Cases and Controversies hosts Greg Stohr and Lydia Wheeler unpack Wednesday’s...
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Supreme Court Confronts Bid to Open Up Gunmakers' Liability
The US Supreme Court hears argument March 4 in a case over gun industry protections from lawsuits. The dispute involving Mexico and Smith & Wesson Brands Inc. centers on whether exceptions to the 2005 Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act open manufacturers to court challenges. Mexico alleges...
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Supreme Court Pulled Into First Trump Fight Over Executive Power
The Supreme Court- has been pulled into its first dispute over a Trump administration action with more cases likely coming its way. Acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris asked the justices in an emergency request to toss out a temporary restraining order that stopped President Donald Trump from...
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Trump Will Force the Supreme Court to Face its Biggest Fear: Essay
The US Supreme Court is confronting the stark reality that, unlike the other two branches of government, the court has no real power to enforce its decisions. Should someone — whether government official or private citizen — refuse to comply, the justices have no army or constitutional spending...
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Justices to Weigh Evidence Rule in Reverse Discrimination Suit
The US Supreme Court will hear arguments in a reverse discrimination case when the justices return to the bench at the end of the month. A heterosexual woman is asking the court to revive her lawsuit against the Ohio Department of Youth Services where she's worked since 2004 after the US Court of...
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Trump Actions Spark Potential Legal Challenges for Supreme Court
President Donald Trump’s executive orders have sparked a flurry of legal challenges that tee-up constitutional questions about the breadth of executive power the US Supreme Court may be forced to settle. Daniel Cotter, a partner at Dickinson Wright who writes a column on the Supreme Court for the...
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Supreme Court Mulls Test for Reasonable Force in Police Killings
Supreme Court justices seemed to agree courts should look at the totality of circumstances when analyzing whether a police officer's use of deadly force was reasonable. During arguments Wednesday, the US Supreme Court appeared ready to rule the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit had used…
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Justices Mull Scrutiny Test In Porn Site Age Verification Case
Several justices on the Supreme Court seemed eager this week to debate the constitutionality of a Texas law that requires porn sites to verify the age of users to keep kids from viewing obscene content online. But the court was only asked in the case argued Wednesday to answer whether the US…
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Social Media, National Security Collide in TikTok Argument
The much-anticipated argument of the future of TikTok in the US will be heard by the Supreme Court on Friday. Cases and Controversies hosts Kimberly Robinson and Lydia Wheeler preview the case with Knight First Amendment Institute staff attorney Xiangnong (George) Wang. The Biden administration...
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Broadway, Books, and Big Rulings Cap Supreme Court Year
After an eventful 2024, the justices are now on winter break until Jan. 10. "Cases and Controversies" hosts Kimberly Robinson, Lydia Wheeler, and Greg Stohr review all the biggest news stories from the justices in 2024, from Justice Samuel Alito's flag controversy to Justice Ketanji Brown…
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Justices Lean Into Agency Deference in Environmental Challenge
Justices from across the ideological spectrum appeared primed to limit the scope of environmental impact reviews, but it's unclear if they need a new test to do so. Cases and Controversies hosts Kimberly Robinson and Greg Stohr breakdown the Dec. 10 arguments in Seven County Infrastructure...
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Supreme Court Weighs Transgender Case Broader Impact
Justices on both sides of the US Supreme Court’s ideological line seemed concerned about a future ruling on gender-affirming care for minors reaching far beyond Tennessee and transgender kids. Whether an appeals court erred in how it scrutinized the constitutionality of state laws that purport to...
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High Court Vaping Case Tests FDA's Regulatory Powers
A case testing the federal government's ability to regulate potentially harmful tobacco products will kick off arguments at the US Supreme Court in December. The Biden Administration is fighting to keep off the market new liquids for e-cigarettes sold under flavors like "Blackberry Lemonade" and...
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Nvidia Highlights Justices' Struggle in Drawing Lines
The US Supreme Court struggled with where to draw the appropriate lines in bread-and-butter cases involving Nvidia Corp., criminal law, and immigration deadlines. In the securities case, the court looked for what Chief Justice John Roberts called a "sweet spot" in the Nvidia investor suit…
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Justices Search for Line in Meta Investor Suit
The US Supreme Court struggled with how to ensure investors get accurate information without exposing companies to massive liability, in the multi-billion-dollar investor suit against Facebook’s parent company, Meta. The case centers on the fallout from Cambridge Analytica's unauthorized misuse…
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Biden Supreme Court Case Flips Possible if Trump Wins
Donald Trump is likely to flip Biden administration positions in disputes at the US Supreme Court over certain health-care treatments for transgender minors and federal regulations for build-at-home “ghost guns” should he win the White House. “These changes in position are not frequent, but we do...
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Is a Bush v. Gore Sequel Possible This Year?
The US Supreme Court is less likely to be the deciding factor in the tight presidential election absent a game-changing dispute in a single state as was the case in 24 years ago when the election went to the justices in Bush v. Gore. Notre Dame law professor Derek Muller joins Cases and...
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Injury Divides Supreme Court in Lawsuit Over CBD Oil
A truck driver consumed CBD oil, failed a drug test, and was fired from his job, but can he sue the companies that make the product for three times his lost wages? That was the question before the Supreme Court in a case that tests the scope of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations...
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Capital Defendant Seeks Rare Win at Supreme Court
Oklahoma death row inmate Richard Glossip appears likely to achieve a rare victory at the Supreme Court despite a conservative majority that’s often hostile to capital defendants. One factor setting Glossip’s case apart from others is that the state’s Republican attorney general sided with him in...
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Diverse Groups Team Up On Civil Rights Attorneys' Fees
Supreme Court justices kick off their new term with arguments on guns and the death penalty, but a case about attorneys’ fees in civil rights cases has grabbed the attention of a diverse set of outside parties. Pooja Chaudhuri, of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, joins Cases and...
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'Ghost Guns' Fight Ahead in New Supreme Court Term
The Supreme Court kicks off its new term on Oct. 7 and the justices will hear arguments the first week in a dispute over “ghost gun” kits and an appeal from a death row inmate in Oklahoma. With about 27 cases granted for argument so far, the term is light on potential blockbusters. “There are a…
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Gorsuch, Jackson Books Top Busy Supreme Court Summer
Emergency requests, book tours, and security threats kept the justices busy while the US Supreme Court was on its summer recess. Get up to speed with Cases and Controversies hosts Kimberly Robinson, Lydia Wheeler, and Greg Stohr before the court kicks off its new term on Oct. 7. Do you have...
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Blockbusters Bring Down Curtain on Supreme Court Term
The US Supreme Court closed out a blockbuster term with rulings that are likely to shield former President Donald Trump from facing a jury until after the election and further undercut the power of federal regulators. In decisions that split 6-3 along the court's ideological line, the justices…
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Supreme Court Nears Term End with Blockbuster Rulings
The US Supreme Court closed in on the end of its term with big rulings gutting the way federal agencies wield power, temporarily allowing emergency abortions in Idaho, and embracing a public camping ban that targets homeless people. The court is expected to wrap up the release of opinions in…
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Gun Ban Upheld in Opinion Dump Before Court Ends Term
The US Supreme court will release opinions Wednesday through Friday this week. The end of the term appears in sight with things usually wrapping up by the end of June. There are 14 decisions in argued cases still to hand down following the release of nine opinions last week. Those included an 8-1...
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Justices Rule on Guns, Abortion as End of Term Nears
The US Supreme Court issued its highly anticipated rulings in cases involving the abortion drug mifepristone and so-called bump stocks, with cases on presidential immunity, the administrative state, and the Jan. 6 Capitol attack pending. Cases and Controversies hosts Kimberly Robinson and Lydia...
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Supreme Court to Crank Out Opinions as Term End Nears
The US Supreme Court still has a lot left to do before it can close the term. Out of the 61 cases argued between October and April, the justices still have 29 to decide and they include some potential blockbusters. The court is expected to rule by the end of June on two abortion-related disputes...
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Programming Note & UnCommon Law Episode: AI Trained on Famous Authors’ Copyrighted Work. They Want Revenge – Part 1
Cases and Controversies is on hiatus for a bit while we create some great new episodes for you. Until then, we're pleased to offer a special presentation of our ABA Silver Gavel award-winning series, UnCommon Law. Generative AI tools are already promising to change the world. Systems like…
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Official Act Is Sticking Point in Trump Immunity Claim
Donald Trump may still get a victory even if the Supreme Court rejects his claim for blanket immunity from criminal prosecution. Several key justices seemed inclined during arguments on Thursday to send Trump’s case back to the trial court to determine whether he was acting in his official…
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Idaho Abortion Ban Getting Supreme Court Review
The Supreme Court will hear its second abortion case of the term, this time on Idaho’s ban and the reach of federal law in anti-abortion states. The Biden administration argued that the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act requires hospitals to provide an abortion when there is a...
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US Supreme Court Considers Novel Charges Over Jan. 6
The Supreme Court will consider whether prosecutors went too far in charging Jan. 6 rioters with an Enron-era statute, in a case that could have implications for the criminal prosecution of former President Donald Trump. Former Boston Police officer Joseph Fischer, who participated in the Capitol...
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Homeless Dispute Getting Rare Supreme Court Hearing
A fight over an Oregon city’s attempt to outlaw homelessness would make headlines in any other term. But the case, said to be the first of its kind in decades and set for argument April 22, has flown under the radar. The justices are being asked if the Eighth Amendment ban on cruel and unusual...
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Supreme Court Abortion Pill Argument Light on Merits
Arguments in the challenge to the abortion drug mifepristone suggest the Supreme Court will nix the dispute on technical standing grounds. Justices from across the ideological spectrum suggested the anti-abortion doctors at the center of the case were asking too much. Cases and Controversies…
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About this show
Bloomberg Law's Cases and Controversies brings you the latest from the Supreme Court. Each week we preview oral arguments at the Court or feature in-depth interviews. We explore critical legal issues with Supreme Court advocates, judges, law professors, lawyers, and legal journalists.
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