As the Court keeps hearing fewer than 60 arguments each term, we should reconsider the wisdom of leaving just two months to fully resolve the last argued cases.
Or the court could simply stop shutting down for three months every summer, space out its oral arguments over the entire year (e.g., eight sessions, one every six to seven weeks), and get rid of the arbitrary "term" distinction that causes the end-of-year compression in the first place.
While I agree with your point about the Trump administration “has gotten a lot of what it *wanted*” from SCOTUS, I wouldn’t think that would stop it from trying to push the legal envelope as it so loves to do. The SPLC litigation, for example. Perhaps it’s just getting choosy about which laws to offend.
"it held only that the lower court didn’t give sufficient weight under the correct doctrinal test to one specific fact"
I love your work but that's a really poor summary of the judgement! There were two reasons to reverse, excluding some circumstances is reversible error in itself but regardless even with those circumstances excluded it was still clear the Office had reasonable suspicion. Really this should have been a straightforward 9-0 reversal of a lower court who has totally botched it.
The Court’s calendar is a holdover from a less litigious era where courts took the summer off. It’s time to recognize those days are over and not coming back. The Court should be a full time job and in session every day of the week, every month of the year (just like ordinary lawyers and other workers). Too hard for the oldsters? Retire!
The Court has an academic work schedule, giving the Justices time to write children's books and to moonlight. They might hire additional clerks and work like the rest of Americans, so that they can stay in touch. Perhaps ChatGpt can write opinions while they are away.
SCOTUS needs more accountability around both the timing and quality of its decisions. Rules I’d like to see:
1. Decisions must be released by the end of the second month after the Court hears the case (e.g., by April 30th for any case argued in February).
2. Make the written decisions way shorter. State the decision/key holding, the basic reasoning and the test going forward (where applicable). There is no need to respond to the dissents as the decision has been made and the dissents are irrelevant as to what the law/test is going forward. As an example, the majority decision in Dobbs could have been under 5 pages and not the 100+ pages it was.
3. Stop the concurrences. Shorter opinions may automatically help on this point. Much like the dissents, concurrences are irrelevant as to what the law and test are going forward.
Or the court could simply stop shutting down for three months every summer, space out its oral arguments over the entire year (e.g., eight sessions, one every six to seven weeks), and get rid of the arbitrary "term" distinction that causes the end-of-year compression in the first place.
Perhaps the Court needs some relaxation time … to go out and club a few wooly mammoths.
While I agree with your point about the Trump administration “has gotten a lot of what it *wanted*” from SCOTUS, I wouldn’t think that would stop it from trying to push the legal envelope as it so loves to do. The SPLC litigation, for example. Perhaps it’s just getting choosy about which laws to offend.
"it held only that the lower court didn’t give sufficient weight under the correct doctrinal test to one specific fact"
I love your work but that's a really poor summary of the judgement! There were two reasons to reverse, excluding some circumstances is reversible error in itself but regardless even with those circumstances excluded it was still clear the Office had reasonable suspicion. Really this should have been a straightforward 9-0 reversal of a lower court who has totally botched it.
The Court’s calendar is a holdover from a less litigious era where courts took the summer off. It’s time to recognize those days are over and not coming back. The Court should be a full time job and in session every day of the week, every month of the year (just like ordinary lawyers and other workers). Too hard for the oldsters? Retire!
The Court has an academic work schedule, giving the Justices time to write children's books and to moonlight. They might hire additional clerks and work like the rest of Americans, so that they can stay in touch. Perhaps ChatGpt can write opinions while they are away.
Solid reporting, as always, but a few rare typos. "Unaninous" probably stood in for "unanimous"; not the only typo in the piece.
(I would have emailed this privately but there is no way for me to do so -- apologies.)
SCOTUS needs more accountability around both the timing and quality of its decisions. Rules I’d like to see:
1. Decisions must be released by the end of the second month after the Court hears the case (e.g., by April 30th for any case argued in February).
2. Make the written decisions way shorter. State the decision/key holding, the basic reasoning and the test going forward (where applicable). There is no need to respond to the dissents as the decision has been made and the dissents are irrelevant as to what the law/test is going forward. As an example, the majority decision in Dobbs could have been under 5 pages and not the 100+ pages it was.
3. Stop the concurrences. Shorter opinions may automatically help on this point. Much like the dissents, concurrences are irrelevant as to what the law and test are going forward.