Supreme Court

Louisiana had de FDA aangeklaagd in een poging de regels van het regelgevende agentschap voor het op afstand voorschrijven van mifepristone in te perken. Het Amerikaanse Hooggerechtshof bevestigde donderdag in een besluit via de 'shadow docket' de landelijke toegang tot mifepristone, een medicijn voor abortus, via postorder. Louisiana klaagde de US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in oktober aan in een poging de regels van het agentschap voor het op afstand voorschrijven van mifepristone te beperken, met het argument dat dit interfereerde met het abortusverbod van de staat. Lees verder...

Shawn Montgomery, wiens geparkeerde voertuig werd geraakt door een chauffeur die te hard reed, stelt dat de grootste Amerikaanse vrachtbroker aansprakelijk zou moeten zijn. Het Hooggerechtshof stond donderdag toe dat een man een groot logistiek bedrijf aanklaagt nadat hij een deel van zijn been verloor bij een ongeluk met een semi-trailer, een beslissing die rimpelingen kan veroorzaken in de hele transportsector. Het hoogste rechtscollege van de VS oordeelde unaniem in het voordeel van Shawn Montgomery, wiens geparkeerde voertuig in 2017 op een snelweg in Illinois werd geraakt door een vrachtwagenchauffeur die te hard reed. Lees verder...

• Tate Reeves gaf woensdagochtend aan dat hij een speciale wetgevende sessie annuleert die volgende week gepland stond om de districten van de Hoge Raad van de staat te hertekenen. • De Republikein Reeves merkte echter op dat hij verwacht dat de staat op korte termijn de vier congresdistricten zal herzien voor de verkiezingen van 2027. • Tijdens een optreden op SuperTalk radio, een conservatief radionetwerk, zei Reeves ook dat het voor de staat moeilijk zou zijn om de congresdistricten tijdig in het voordeel van de Republikeinen te hertekenen voor de komende tussentijdse verkiezingen in november.

• Rechters stelden dat de beslissing te wijten was aan 'ongepaste externe invloeden op de jury' door een griffier tijdens het proces • Het Hooggerechtshof van South Carolina heeft woensdag de moordveroordelingen van Alex Murdaugh, de in diskrediet gebrachte advocaat uit South Carolina, vernietigd vanwege 'schokkende inmenging in de jury' en beval een nieuw proces voor de doodslag op zijn vrouw en zoon in 2021. • In een unanieme uitspraak verklaarden de rechters dat "hoewel we ons bewust zijn van de tijd, het geld en de inspanningen die zijn besteed aan dit langdurige proces, we geen andere keuze hebben dan de afwijzing van Murdaugh's verzoek om een nieuw proces te vernietigen" vanwege wat zij beschreven als "ongepaste externe invloeden op de jury" door een griffier tijdens het proces, aldus CNN.

Nieuwe kieskaarten veranderden vier door Republikeinen gecontroleerde zetels om Democraten een voorsprong te geven in de redistricting-strijd aangewakkerd door Trump

• Democratisch kamerlid Ted Lieu omschreef de beslissing van het Hooggerechtshof van Virginia om een staatsreferendum over de herindeling van congreskieskringen te vernietigen als niet alleen fout, maar schandelijk. • De uitspraak verwierp een door kiezers goedgekeurde kaart die de Republikeinen met één zetel zou hebben bevoordeeld bij de tussentijdse verkiezingen, waardoor de huidige voorsprong van de Democraten (6-5) behouden blijft. • De Democraten gaan in beroep bij het Amerikaanse Hooggerechtshof terwijl ze verdere juridische stappen voorbereiden, waaronder een verzoek om de invoering van nieuwe kaarten uit te stellen.

• The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last month that voting districts can no longer be drawn along racial lines under the Voting Rights Act of 1965, shifting focus to partisan considerations. • Signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965, the Act originally aimed to dismantle barriers for Black voters, but the decision now permits states to redraw maps based on political affiliations. • The ruling has triggered a rapid effort in several states to reconfigure electoral districts, potentially reshaping congressional representation ahead of future elections.

• Virginia's Supreme Court invalidated a voter-approved congressional redistricting map on Friday that would have given Democrats significant gains in the 2026 midterm elections. • The map would have provided Democrats an advantage in 10 House districts while leaving only one safe Republican seat, potentially delivering Democrats as many as four additional congressional seats. • The ruling represents a major setback for House Democrats and a significant victory for Republicans as the midterm elections approach, with implications for control of Congress.

Organizers, including Selma foot soliders, say ruling is latest chapter in long battle over Black disenfranchisement in USThe supreme court’s recent decision to gut the Voting Rights Act is an affront to everyone who marched, bled and died to make that law possible, civil rights activists said.“When we look at the supreme court’s action against the Voting Rights Act, it’s really a kneecap – a way to discriminate, to silence voters who fought so hard for this right,” said Sheyann Webb-Christburg, who, at eight years old, marched with civil rights leaders in Selma, Alabama, in 1965. Continue reading...

• Virginia's Supreme Court ruled on Friday to invalidate a new congressional map passed by voters in April that favored Democrats, handing a major win to Republicans ahead of midterm elections. • The rejected map would have created 10 House districts advantageous to Democrats, leaving only one safe Republican seat, according to CBS News analysis. • The decision reverses a voter initiative and bolsters Republican chances in Virginia's congressional races, as noted by Fox News legal correspondent Shannon Bream and CBS election law expert David Becker.

The chief justice defends court’s impartiality after decisions on abortion, presidential immunity and voting rightsUS chief justice John Roberts has insisted supreme court judges are not “political actors” amid outrage over its recent decision undermining the Voting Right Act, and other moves that have benefited Donald Trump and his allies.“I think, at a very basic level, people think we’re making policy decisions, we’re saying we think this is how things should be, as opposed to what the law provides,” Roberts told a conference for judges and lawyers in Hershey, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday, according to the Associated Press. “I think they view us as purely political actors, which I don’t think is an accurate understanding of what we do.” Continue reading...

• Chief Justice John Roberts publicly criticized the intense rhetoric targeting the Supreme Court on May 6, 2026. • His remarks address growing partisan attacks amid high-profile rulings on elections and immunity. • The statement aims to defend judicial independence as public trust in the court hits historic lows.

• The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 to uphold the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force’s authority to recommend no-cost preventive services under the Affordable Care Act. • The decision overturned a district judge’s injunction that had blocked the administration from enforcing grant flow restorations related to the task force. • The ruling preserves mandates for insurers to cover recommended screenings and vaccines without patient cost-sharing, impacting millions of Americans.

• The Union Cabinet approved increasing the Supreme Court's sanctioned strength from 34 to 38 judges, adding four additional judicial positions. • This expansion aims to address growing judicial backlogs and improve the court's capacity to handle pending cases more efficiently. • The move is seen as a significant step toward reducing case disposal timelines and strengthening India's judicial system.

Louise Arbour will serve as Canada’s representative of King Charles and carry out ceremonial and constitutional dutiesCanada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, has appointed a former supreme court justice and war crimes prosecutor as the country’s new governor general, saying her appointment would reflect the importance of global institutions.Louise Arbour, a celebrated jurist, served as United Nations commissioner and prosecuted war crimes in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, will serve as Canada’s representative of King Charles III. Continue reading...

• The Supreme Court has struck down key provisions of the Voting Rights Act, eliminating federal oversight requirements that previously protected minority voting rights. • Republican-controlled states are moving swiftly to redraw congressional maps in response, with Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey, and Mississippi legislators calling special sessions to adjust districts in their favor. • President Trump personally urged Tennessee Governor Bill Lee to redraw the state's map to give Republicans one additional seat, while Alabama seeks to eliminate one of the state's two Democratic-held districts.

Ketanji Brown Jackson blasted the decision, saying the court has hastened it ruling only twice before in 25 yearsThe US supreme court went out of its way on Monday to help Louisiana Republicans redraw their congressional maps before this year’s midterm elections by allowing a recent ruling that gutted a key part of the Voting Rights Act to take effect ahead of schedule.The procedural move comes less than a week after the court’s landmark decision striking down Louisiana’s congressional map and gutting section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Usually, the court waits 32 days to formally issue its judgment to the lower court. Last week, Louisiana asked the court to speed up that process, citing the urgency with which it needed to redraw its congressional maps. On Monday, the court agreed to do so. Continue reading...

Order signed by justice Samuel Alito allows people seeking abortions to obtain the pill at pharmacies or by mail for nowThe US supreme court on Monday restored broad access to the abortion pill mifepristone, blocking a ruling that had threatened to upend one of the main ways abortion is provided across the nation.The order signed by justice Samuel Alito temporarily allows women seeking abortions to obtain the pill at pharmacies or through the mail, without an in-person visit to a doctor. Continue reading...

• Abortion rights advocates petitioned the Supreme Court to reverse lower court restrictions on mail-order mifepristone access. • The case follows appeals court limits on the pill used in most medication abortions nationwide. • A favorable SCOTUS ruling could preserve telehealth options amid state bans.

• The Supreme Court of India granted bail to Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera in a case involving alleged derogatory remarks against a Union minister. • The court flagged possible political motivations behind the FIR filed against Khera, raising questions about the timing and intent of the legal action. • This ruling highlights ongoing tensions between the ruling BJP and opposition Congress ahead of key elections, potentially influencing public discourse on judicial independence.

• The Trinamool Congress (TMC) moved the Supreme Court on Friday for an urgent hearing challenging the Election Commission of India's decision to appoint only central government employees as counting supervisors for West Bengal Assembly elections. • Chief Justice of India Surya Kant directed an urgent hearing for Saturday, with the plea to be heard by a bench of Justices PS Narasimha and Joymalya Bagchi, indicating high-priority consideration of the electoral dispute. • The challenge reflects ongoing political tensions in West Bengal regarding electoral fairness and governance, with TMC opposing what it views as potential bias in vote counting procedures.

State’s governor and attorney general move to postpone midterm 2026 primaries just a day after supreme court ruling guts Voting Rights ActLouisiana postpones primaries as states rush to redraw districts after supreme court rulingHere’s more of that statement from Louisiana attorney general Liz Murrill and Republican governor Jeff Landry:Yesterday’s historic Supreme Court victory for Louisiana has an immediate consequence for the State. The Supreme Court previously stayed an injunction against the State’s enforcement of the current Congressional map. By the Court’s order, however, that stay automatically terminated with yesterday’s decision. Accordingly, the State is currently enjoined from carrying out congressional elections under the current map. We are working together with the Legislature and the Secretary of State’s office to develop a path forward. Continue reading...

• Hundreds gathered at the U.S. Supreme Court on April 29, 2026, for arguments on Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians and Syrians, with justices scrutinizing President Trump's authority to end the program. • The bench appeared skeptical of broad executive power to revoke deportation amnesties, per reports from the hearing. • A ruling could impact thousands facing deportation and test limits on immigration executive actions ahead of midterms.

Ruling has gutted provision intended to prevent racial discrimination in voting. Plus, oil tops $126 a barrel to reach highest level since 2022Good morning.The US supreme court has gutted a major section of the Voting Rights Act through a landmark decision on Louisiana’s congressional map, in a major upheaval in US civil rights law that threatens to weaken the voting power of minorities.How have lawmakers reacted? Terri Sewell and Shomari Figures, who are now at risk of losing their seats in Alabama’s Black congressional districts, have decried the decision as sending the nation “backwards”.How did the ruling come to pass? It is the culmination of justices John Roberts and Samuel Alito’s joint campaign to roll back civil rights legislation.How could midterm maps be changed by redistricting? While the supreme court decision leaves little time to redraw maps ahead of the midterms, here is what midterm maps could look like if both parties achieve all their current redistricting ambitions. Continue reading...

• The Supreme Court decided on April 29, 2026, whether Louisiana's new congressional map constitutes an unconstitutional racial gerrymander, marking a significant ruling on voting rights and district boundaries. • The case, Louisiana v. Callais, examined Louisiana's 2022 redrawn congressional districts that were previously challenged in federal court under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. • This decision affects ongoing redistricting battles across the country as states prepare for the 2026 midterm elections, with implications for both Democratic and Republican seat counts.

Decision gives mapmakers in Republican states power to crack districts into pieces and dilute votes into oblivionThe Voting Rights Act was a political peace compact written in John Lewis’s blood.The Callais v Landry decision by the US supreme court, which set aside much of section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, whitewashed that blood from history, along with that of thousands of other Americans who fought segregationist white supremacists at lunch counters and bus stations and courthouses for political equality. Continue reading...

Terri Sewell and Shomari Figures are at risk of losing their seats in Alabama’s Black congressional districts after rulingThe lawmakers who represent Alabama’s two Black congressional districts, who are now at risk of losing their seats after the supreme court effectively decimated the Voting Rights Act, said the decision sends the US “backwards”.The 6-3 ruling in Louisiana v Callais on Wednesday weakens a key provision of the Voting Rights Act, opening the door for Republicans to eliminate majority-minority congressional districts across the south, and representatives Terri Sewell and Shomari Figures stand in the crosshairs. Continue reading...

Justices in unanimous decision revive federal suit brought by anti-abortion ‘crisis pregnancy centers’ in the stateSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxThe US supreme court sided on Wednesday with the operator of Christian faith-based anti-abortion “crisis pregnancy centers” in New Jersey that is trying to impede a state investigation into whether the facilities engage in deceptive practices.The justices, in a unanimous decision, revived a federal lawsuit brought by First Choice Women’s Resource Centers challenging a 2023 subpoena from the state attorney general seeking information on the organization’s donors and doctors. A lower court had thrown out the lawsuit. Continue reading...