A motions panel of the Ninth Circuit Court on Friday set a fast schedule for reviewing a plea to put on hold, for several months, a federal judge’s ruling striking down California’s Proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriage.  In a scheduling order, the panel ordered briefing completed by Monday morning — a little more than ...

The Supreme Court on Monday released a revised calendar of oral arguments for the first session of the new Term, beginning Monday, Oct. 4.  No cases from the previous version have been dropped, and no new cases have been added.  The only changes were to rearrange the order of the cases, to different time slots on ...

The Supreme Court, without noted dissents, on Friday refused to block the start next Tuesday of a war crimes trial of a young Canadian detainee at Guantanamo Bay — Omar Khadr.  The brief order, noting that Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., had submitted the issue to the full Court, gave no explanation fpr tje ...

U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn R. Walker will release later Wednesday his ruling in Perry v Original post: Gay marriage ruling due

The Supreme Court on Monday released the first of its summer orders lists, made up of routine actions, including denials of stays or bail and denials of rehearing petitions.  It is expected there will be two more such lists during the Court’s summer recess.  The new Term begins Oct. 4. Read the original:  First summer orders

UPDATE Friday p.m.  A federal judge on July 22 ordered Jason Pepper’s release from prison while the Supreme Court considers his appeal.  (Thanks to Doug Berman of Sentencing Law and Policy blog for the alert and the link to the release order.) ——————– The Supreme Court on Thursday named a New York City lawyer and ...

Without waiting until it writes new rules to carry out the Supreme Court’s controversial January ruling lifting campaign finance curbs,  the Federla Election Commission on Thursday approved formation of two new groups that will raise and spend unlimited amounts of money to try to directly influence congressional elections this year. One of the new groups ...

In a still secret order, the D.C. Circuit Court on Thursday summarily overturned a federal judge’s order that would have barred the transfer of an Algerian national detained at Guantanamo Bay to his home country, where he fears torture or even death from terrorist groups or from the government there.  Because the order remains under ...

Analysis The Supreme Court finished a Term this week without deciding another case on detainees’ rights, but there very likely is another Guantanamo Bay case in its future — perhaps its near future.  A test of wills is unfolding (though, so far, mostly in secret documents) between a no-nonsense trial court judge and an appeals court ...

Analysis The Supreme Court’s latest foray into the rights of student religious organizations on state-operated college campuses might have added to the recent pattern of expanding those rights.  But, along the way toward such a decision, a legal team’s stipulation narrowed the case down to a dispute over factual concessions, and the student group lost, having ...