For questions related to the Supreme Court of the United States of America.
Questions tagged [us-supreme-court]
217 questions
22
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What happens if the US Supreme Court ties 4-4?
What is the result of a 4-4 split in a US Supreme Court case?
user3851
16
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5 answers
Could the right to "life" in the constitution be used by the supreme court to reject a federal law forbidding abortion bans?
I saw a question on here asking about how hard it would be to pass a Federal law that prevents states from banning abortion, and the discussion was mostly about whether the federal government had the jurisdiction to create a law that supersedes laws…
Steven Sagona
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Does the Supreme Court simply rubberstamp the prevailing social consensus?
In Dred Scott v. Sandford, 60 U.S. (19 How.) 393 (1857) the US Supreme Court ruled that slavery was legal.
In Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 (1896), the US Supreme Court ruled that segregation was legal.
In Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. 644…
sizinake
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10
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1 answer
What happens if a Supreme Court member dies before a decision is announced?
Suppose that the Supreme Court has finished hearing oral arguments to a case, the Justices are in the process of writing up their opinions, and one of them suddenly dies (or resigns, or becomes incapacitated) before the opinion is officially made…
dan04
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8
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What is the nature of these “internal documents” from the U.S. Supreme Court?
The media have been reporting on the contents of Justice John Paul Stevens' documents, which have now been made public. This article for instance includes excerpts from what seem to be correspondence between the justices—sometimes with an informal…
adam.baker
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8
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What is the significance of a SCOTUS order being unsigned?
The Supreme Court today rejected Donald Trump’s request that the High Court block House Democrats from viewing his tax returns. The order was brief, unsigned and noted no dissents.
What is the significance of it being unsigned?
Al Lelopath
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7
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Dissenting justices' views on second question in Obergefell
Obergefell v. Hodges was a recent case in which the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage was a constitutional right. The Court considered two questions:
Does the Fourteenth Amendment require a state to license a marriage between two people of…
Julian Rosen
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5
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1 answer
Where would one find the briefing schedule/deadlines for amicus curiae for a SCOTUS case?
Say I wanted to file an amicus curiae for an upcoming SCOTUS case; where would I go to find the deadline to file? I've looked on places like SCOTUS blog, Ballotpedia, Oyez, Wikipedia, and found nothing. Am I searching wrong?
COOKIES
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4
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SCOTUS opinion with multiple authors
In most cases, a supreme court opinion has one justice listed author, though one or more other justices may join. However, in the recent case Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization, the single dissenting opinion is attributed to three justices.…
User
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Is a Supreme Court ruling the same as a law
When the U.S. Supreme Court decides something, does it apply everywhere right away or do we have to wait until laws are passed?
Either way, what part of the Constitution says that, or which laws? Links please.
Emmanuel
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3
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What is the precedent for what a Supreme Court nominee can or cannot say during their hearing with the Senate Committee on the Judiciary?
Senators have asked Brett Kavanaugh about a wide number of issues these last two days. A number of exchanges have become very predictable:
Q: How do you feel about a past decision? A: It is precedent. Q: Sure, but precedent can be overturned based…
Mark White
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Is this an exercise of the US Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction?
I was checking the US Supreme Court’s website for recent opinions and came across one for State of Montana v. State of Wyoming and State of North Dakota. This opinion looks very different than the others I’ve read in the past. Specifically:
The…
templatetypedef
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What does Justice Anthony Kennedy mean by 'you're recused'?
I refer to 71:31.
71:31 And Hugo Black stands up and stalks out
71:34 of the room, which is our polite way of saying, you're recused.
71:38 And so, the argument went on.
71:41 And at the end of the argument, the attorney
71:43 said, now, I…
user89
2
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1 answer
Besides Sudan, have any other foreign countries argued before the Supreme Court of the United States?
This term the Supreme Court ruled in the case Republic of Sudan v. Harrison, in which a foreign country, namely Sudan, appeared before the Court to argue its case. Has this ever happened before?
Purple P
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What did SCOTUS signify by 'metaphysical doubt'?
Legal Writing in Plain English (2nd edn, 2013). po. 214 Bottom - 215 Top. Link to old edition.
If the evidence is merely colorable, or is not sufficiently probative, summary
judgment is proper.29 As the Supreme Court has made clear, a nonmovant…
user89