The U.S. Constitution was crafted in 1787 both to establish a new central government and to limit it. Some of the limitations are direct, some are subtle and some are hidden. The chief instrument of ...

The Relist Watch column examines cert petitions that the Supreme Court has “relisted” for its upcoming conference. A short explanation of relists is available here. Most surprisingly to me, the court ...

Discover what the separation of powers is in the U.S. Constitution. Learn about its three branches, checks and balances, and why it matters for American democracy. Do you know that the separation of ...

In Employment Division v. Smith, Justice Scalia identified the concept of hybrid rights: a restriction that targets two constitutional rights would be reviewed with heightened scrutiny. For example, a ...

During oral argument in the Trump immunity case, Justice Kavanaugh articulated a strong understanding of the "clear statement" rule. Under this principle, statutes should be read to not apply to the ...

Separation of powers is a topic that you just know is important but, given how short life surely is, that was an event that you might find an excuse to avoid. Still, there’s a lot to be said about the ...

Please note that SCOTUS Outside Opinions constitute the views of outside contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of SCOTUSblog or its staff. In recent years, the Supreme Court has ...

Federal courts have ruled that President Donald Trump did not have legal authority to impose his worldwide “Liberation Day” tariffs, nor his earlier tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and China. Trump and his ...

Faced with a Congress that would not endorse his expansive regulatory agenda, President Obama famously remarked, “I’ve got a pen and I’ve got a phone.” Almost 10 years later, governing by executive ...