Kavanaugh in the news as the Supreme Court weighs guns, race, and voting rights cases—he’s the conservative justice appointed by Trump in 2018.
The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing cases on Trump-era asylum policies, focusing on the legal definition of 'arrive in' the U.S. and the use of 'metering' to limit asylum applications. Decisions will impact border enforcement and asylum access, with a ruling expected by June 2026.
The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing an appeal in a Mississippi case involving allegations of racial discrimination in jury selection. The case echoes a 2019 ruling that overturned a previous death sentence due to similar bias. The decision could impact future capital cases and jury practices.
Recent memos show the US Supreme Court has been increasingly using secretive, expedited procedures to make major decisions, bypassing traditional deliberation. This shift began in 2016 with the blocking of Obama's climate policy and has since impacted numerous cases, raising concerns about transparency and judicial independence.
The Supreme Court has left in place lower-court rulings in favor of Joseph Clifton Smith, who has spent roughly half his life on death row after a 1997 murder conviction. The Court has not issued a decision on how to handle multiple IQ scores near the 70 threshold in intellectual disability determinations.
Kevin Warsh has been sworn in as chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve at a White House ceremony on May 22, 2026. President Trump has said Warsh will be "totally independent." Markets are repricing risks as inflation remains above target and the US‑Iran war is pushing bond yields and oil prices higher.
The Supreme Court has ruled Mississippi's jury selection in Pitchford’s capital trial violated Batson v. Kentucky, giving Pitchford a potential new trial after decades on death row; the ruling follows heightened scrutiny of race-based jury practices and echoes earlier Flowers rulings.