Ketanji Brown Jackson joins Supreme Court

Ketanji Brown Jackson has been sworn in as the nation's 116th Supreme Court justice.

She was nominated by President Joe Biden to replace Stephen Breyer, who retired.

Professional background as diverse as any justice

For the past 9 years, Jackson served as a federal judge - both as a district court judge and on the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals.

Prior to that she served as vice chair of the U.S. Sentencing Commission (USSC). She also worked as a public defender - making her the first former public defender since Thurgood Marshall to serve on the Supreme Court.

She also had been a law clerk to Breyer.

Senate confirmation mostly along party lines

Jackson was confirmed by the Senate on April 7, 2022 with a 53-47 vote

Click here to read the White House announcement of Jackson's nomination.

Stephen Breyer to retire from Supreme Court

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer will retire from the court.

Breyer is expected to leave after the court's current term ends, with a new justice being seated by the start of the next term in October. Senate approval is required for the nominee to become a member of the court.

Until 2017, Supreme Court confirmations were subject to a filibuster. That changed when the Senate - then controlled by Republicans - disallowed it for Supreme Court nominees in order to confirm Justice Neil Gorsuch.

For more, read the Vox article.

Senate confirms Barrett for Supreme Court

The Senate has confirmed Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. The vote was 52-48.

Barrett was nominated by President Donald Trump exactly one month ago to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who had died 8 days earlier.

She was nominated despite having only three years experience as a judge. She had been appointed to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in 2017 by Trump. She has virtually no experience as a practicing attorney.

Since being nominated, several facts about her have come out.

From 2015 to 2017 she served on the board of a private school that did not allow children of same-sex parents and discouraged LGBT teachers.

She failed to disclose on her Senate disclosure several talks she gave on topics including abortion. Supreme Court nominees are required to disclose all public talks they have given in their professional careers.

Click here to see how your senators voted.

Ginsburg replacement could overturn decades of progress

President Donald Trump has nominated Judge Amy Coney Barrett to fill the Supreme Court seat of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The nomination comes 8 days after Ginsburg died on Sept. 18.

Barrett was appointed by Trump to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in 2017. If she is confirmed by the Senate, it would bring the nation's highest court to a 6-3 conservative majority and could threaten health care for millions of Americans and abortion rights.

Both Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have said they hope to have Barrett confirmed before the Nov. 3 presidential election, meaning she potentially could sway any cases related to the election.

ObamaCare threatened

The Supreme Court plans to hear a case challenging ObamaCare on Nov. 10.

Barrett wrote in a 2017 law review article that, in the case of a previous lawsuit challenging ObamaCare:

"Chief Justice Roberts pushed the Affordable Care Act beyond its plausible meaning to save the statute. He construed the penalty imposed on those without health insurance as a tax, which permitted him to sustain the statute as a valid exercise of the taxing power; had he treated the payment as the statute did - as a penalty - he would have had to invalidate the statute as lying beyond Congress's commerce power."

It's unclear what her position would be on the current case.

Right to abortion could be taken away

Prior comments by Barrett indicate she might be willing to roll back abortion rights - or even overturn Roe v. Wade.

She has significant involvement with a conservative religious group that opposes abortion.

Felons can own guns, but not vote

Legislatures may prohibit dangerous people from owning guns, but their power extends only to people who are dangerous, Barrett wrote in dissent of a case involving whether a convicted felon could be prohibited from possessing a gun.

"Founding-era legislatures did not strip felons of the right to bear arms simply because of their status as felons," she wrote.

In the same dissent, she compared restrictions on felons to those that are "virtue-based".

"Such restrictions applied to civic rights like voting and jury service, not to individual rights like the right to possess a gun," she wrote.

Timing raises questions of role in election

Confirming Barrett before the Nov. 3 election, would raise questions about what role she would play in any election lawsuits. Any such lawsuit is likely to be ultimately decided by the Supreme Court.

Trump already has repeatedly called the election "rigged" without evidence, and has said the results "will end up before the Supreme Court."

The urgency contrasts wth Republican Senators blocking President Barack Obama's last Supreme Court nominee for eight months, claiming the position shouldn't be filled in an election year.

Many announced their intention to approve Trump's pick before he even named Barrett, and with less than two months to go before the election.

For more on some of Barrett's opinions, read this New Republic article and this Reuters summary.

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg dies

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has died.

It is the president's obligation to nominate judges when there is a vacancy.

Ginsburg's death, however, has ignited a controversy between Republicans and Democrats. When Justice Antonin Scalia died in February 2016, the Senate's Republican majority refused to hold hearings on Merrick Garland - President Barack Obama's nominee to replace Scalia.

"The American people are perfectly capable of having their say on this issue, so let's give them a voice. Let's let the American people decide. The Senate will appropriately revisit the matter when it considers the qualifications of the nominee the next president nominates, whoever that might be," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said at the time.

Ginsburg's death comes much closer - less than two months - to the upcoming presidential election.

McConnell has said the Senate will vote on whoever President Donald Trump nominates to replace Ginsburg.

Court to review ethics complaints against Kavanaugh

New Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh is the subject of several ethics complaints regarding his confirmation hearings.

The judicial misconduct complaints were filed with the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals, which Kavanaugh served on before being confirmed to the Supreme Court.

They relate only to statements Kavanaugh made during his confirmation hearings and not to his performance as a judge, Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson said in a press release.

Normally the complaints would be handled by the court Kavanaugh served on. However, Henderson referred the case to the Supreme Court because one of the judges on Kavanaugh's former court is Merrick Garland.

Garland's nomination to the Supreme Court by President Barack Obama was not acted on by Senate Republicans. Garland had recused himself from the Kavanaugh investigation.

Though Chief Justice John Roberts did not initially act on the complaints, he now has transferred them to the 10th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, Colorado.

The only method to remove a Supreme Court justice is through impeachment by the House of Representatives.

For more, read the Forbes editorial.

Click here to read the statement from Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson regarding her forwarding the complaints to Chief Justice John Roberts.

Click here to read Roberts' request to transfer the inquiry.

Senate confirms Brett Kavanaugh to Supreme Court

The Senate has confirmed Brett Kavanaugh as the 114th Supreme Court justice.

Kavanaugh was nominated by President Trump to succeed Justice Anthony Kennedy, who resigned in June.

Controversy looking into Kavanaugh's background

The Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearings were filled with controversy from the start, when the Trump administration refused to release 100,000 pages of documents that could provide insight into Kavanaugh's judicial philosophies.

The administration claimed executive privilege, while thousands of documents that were provided to the committee were labeled confidential, meaning the public could not see them.

Several of these eventually were released to the public after Democratic Sen. Cory Booker said he would release them anyway - and the Republican-led committee reacted by declassifying them.

They included emails from Kavanaugh's time as an attorney in the George W. Bush administration, including an email thread on racial inequality.

How truthful has Kavanaugh been?

They also included emails showing that Kavanaugh - during his 2004 and 2006 confirmation hearings to the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals - significantly understated his role in the nomination of controversial Judge Charles Pickering to an appeals court.

In his earlier confirmation hearing, Kavanaugh testified that he had no knowledge of Republican Senate aides improperly obtaining electronic Democratic strategy documents. During this hearing Sen. Patrick Leahy produced emails indicating that Kavanaugh had received some of the illegally obtained intelligence.

Did Kavanaugh discuss Russia investigation with Trump's law firm?

During her questioning of Kavanaugh, Sen. Kamala Harris asked if he had discussed Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation in Russian influence in the 2016 presidential election with the law firm founded by one of Trump's former attorneys.

Harris said she had "reliable" information about such a meeting, but did not elaborate. Kavanaugh evaded the question during Harris' first round of questions, though the following day he directly denied it.

Despite the large number of documents that weren't released - and the large number that were released late in the confirmation hearings - Senate Republicans pressed for a quick vote on the nomination.

FBI Investigation into sexual allegations

A vote was delayed, however, when it was learned that three women had accused Kavanaugh of sexual assault. The accusations led to one of the women, Christine Blasey Ford, and Kavanaugh both testifying about her allegations.

Kavanaugh testified that he first heard of the claims of another accuser, Deborah Ramirez, when he read an article about it in the New Yorker. However, text messages reported by NBC News show him working to quash the story before then.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) interviewed 10 possible witnesses (an 11th declined to cooperate) to the various accusations. The results of the limited investigation were not made available to the public.

The Senate then voted 50-48 (Sen. Lisa Murkowski voted "Present" and Sen. Steve Daines was absent) to confirm Kavanaugh.

For more on whether Kavanaugh's testimony might be considered perjury, read the Vox story

Click here to see how each senator voted.

Kavanaugh won't say whether Trump can pardon himself

At the Senate confirmation hearing for President Trump's nominee to succeed Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court, Brett Kavanaugh refused to answer two basic questions.

Can law enforcement subpoena a president and can a president pardon himself?

Though Kavanaugh called the questions hypothetical, they could have tangible significance as Trump faces several legal problems that could result in cases being decided by the Supreme Court.

The answers might be found in 100,000 pages of documents related to his tenure as a lawyer for the George W. Bush administration. However, the White House has refused to release them, claiming executive privilege.

The White House previously released 400,000 pages of related documents. It released 42,000 more pages just hours before the hearings began.

Despite that leaving no time for Senators to review the documents, Senate Republican leadership refused to delay the confirmation hearing. This is in contrast to Republicans' request for a delay in the 2010 nomination hearing for Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan.

Kavanaugh also would not answer a question about whether he had discussed Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election with anyone from Kasowitz Benson & Torres - a law firm that has represented Donald Trump.

Trump nominates Brett Kavanaugh for Supreme Court

President Trump has nominated Brett Kavanaugh to succeed Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court. Kennedy resigned in June.

As a judge, Kavanaugh has one of the most conservative voting records on the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals, according to an analysis by the Washington Post. His opinions also have espoused views of expanded presidential powers.

Among his decisions (not all majority) on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals...

For more, read the New York Times story and the New York Times analysis of Kavanaugh's positions on issues.

Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy Resigns

Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy has announced he is resigning from the Court.

Appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1987, Kennedy has long been considered the swing vote on certain politically ideological issues.

At times he has taken a liberal approach to individual freedoms, such as same-sex marriage, while taking a more conservative approach to issues such as campaign finance.

In recent years, however, his votes consistently have sided with the more conservative justices.

Kennedy's departure might not cause a sudden change in how the court decides issues, but replacing the 81-year-old Kennedy with a justice 25 years younger could solidify a conservative vote on the Supreme Court for decades longer.

Relationship with Trump

Extending Kennedy's conservative legacy is something that President Trump has expressed a desire to do. Neil Gorsuch - Trump's nominee to replace Justice Antonin Scalia, was a law clerk to Kennedy. And two judges that Trump has listed as a possible replacement for Kennedy - Brett M. Kavanaugh and Raymond M. Kethledge - also clerked for him.

Trump's relationship with Kennedy also extends to Kennedy's son. Justin Kennedy oversaw Deutsche Bank's global real estate lending at the time Trump was developing real estate. During that time, Deutsche Bank loaned Trump more than $1 billion.

For more, read the Politico story.

For more on Kennedy's relationship with Trump, read the New York Times story.

Senate confirms Gorsuch to Supreme Court

The Senate has confirmed Neil Gorsuch to be Supreme Court justice.

Gorsuch will fill the seat vacated by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia.

Gorsuch's confirmation will go down as one of the most controversial in the Court's history. Though Scalia died in Feb. 2016 and President Barack Obama nominated federal judge Merrick Garland the following month to replace him, Senate Replubicans refused to hold confirmation hearings.

Sen. Ted Cruz said that if Democrat Hillary Clinton were to be elected rather than Trump, the Senate might indefinitely block nominations to the court.

President Trump nominated Gorsuch less than two weeks after taking office. When Senate Democrats filibustered the nomination, Senate Republicans acted to change the Senate rules to disallow the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees.

They confirmed Gorsuch the following day.

For more, read the Washington Post story.

Click here to see how each senator voted.

President nominates Neil Gorsuch to Supreme Court

President Trump has nominated federal appeals court judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. Gorsuch now must be confirmed by the Senate.

Gorsuch, 49, has served on the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver since 2006. He was appointed by President George W. Bush.

He earned degrees from Columbia University, Harvard Law School and Oxford University, and served as a law clerk to Justices Anthony Kennedy and Byron White.

Gorsuch has taken stands on several issues...

He has not ruled on or commented about abortion.

The Supreme Court seat was left vacant by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in February 2016.

Then-President Barack Obama nominated Judge Merrick Garland to replace Scalia, but Senate Republicans refused to give Garland a hearing.  

For more, read the Denver Post story.

Republicans may indefinitely block Supreme Court justices

Sen. Ted Cruz has said that Republicans could indefinitely prevent nominees to the Supreme Court from being confirmed.

The Senate already has refused to act on federal judge Merrick Garland - President Barack Obama's nominee to replace Justice Antonin Scalia. The Supreme Court has been without a full team of nine justices since Scalia died in February.

If the Senate maintains its block on Garland, the next president - most likely Democrat Hillary Clinton or Republican Donald Trump - will nominate a replacement for Scalia.

If Clinton wins the presidential election, a refusal to consider nominees could become more of an impact should any of the current eight justices resign from the court or die.

For more, read the Politico.com story.

President nominates Merrick Garland to Supreme Court

President Obama has nominated federal judge Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court. Merrick is a judge for the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals. He would replace Justice Antonin Scalia, who died in February.

In order to become the country's 113th Supreme Court justice, Garland must be confirmed by the Senate.

Senate Republicans have said they will not consider any nominee to the Court since this is Obama's last year in office. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called Garland to tell him that the Senate would not take action on his nomination, the New York Times reported.

For more, read the New York Times story.

To read more about Merrick Garland, read the profile of him at SCOTUSblog.com.

Senate Republicans say they'll refuse to consider new justices

Some of the more powerful Republicans in the Senate have said they would refuse to consider anyone President Obama nominates to fill the Supreme Court seat left vacant by Antonin Scalia's death.

Obama still has almost a year left in his term as president. In that time, the Supreme Court will be considering several cases that will affect Americans.

The Constitution gives the president the authority to appoint Supreme Court justices. Nominees must be approved by the Senate before becoming part of the court.

For more, read the New York Times story.

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia has died

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia has died at the age of 79.

He was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1986.

President Obama announced that he will nominate a justice to replace Scalia on the court. The nominee must be confirmed by the Senate.

For more, read the NY Times story.