Law360's The Term - News & Analysis on the Supreme Court

The U.S. Supreme Court took up a case this week that could be the end of the road for a nearly 40-year precedent requiring judges to defer to federal agencies when interpreting statutes that are ambiguous – otherwise known as Chevron doctrine. On this week’s episode of The Term, we talk through how the issue landed at the court, and how far it might go in rethinking the precedent. Also this week, partisan politics were on full display at a Senate Judiciary committee hearing on whether Congress should mandate formal ethics rules for the justices.

The Supreme Court this week grappled with an important procedural issue – when legal issues need to be reasserted after trial for appeal – that’s a must-watch for trial attorneys everywhere. On this week’s episode of The Term we talk through the case’s oral arguments, including comments from justices who served as trial judges or practiced in the courtroom themselves. Also this week, big updates on the most recent high court ethics debacle– this one involving Justice Neil Gorsuch– news of which coincided with Chief Justice John Roberts declining to appear in Congress.

When do menacing and unsavory statements cross the line from free speech to a "true threat" unprotected by the First Amendment? That’s the question the Supreme Court faced this week as they considered the case of a Colorado man convicted of stalking who says his First Amendment rights were violated when he was denied the right to explain the intent behind thousands of online messages he sent to a singer. We’ll talk through the questions the justices had at oral arguments, plus dive into the justices’ unanimous opinion allowing federal courts to hear challenges to the structure of government agencies that could have huge ramifications.

How did some of the world's biggest tech companies come to benefit from a legal supershield making it almost impossible to sue them? The strange saga of Section 230 began 30 years ago with a notorious penny stock firm later made famous by Hollywood, and has now wound its way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

This week, in a special partnership episode between The Term and our investigative podcast series Law360 Explores, we track down the story of how a law passed with little fanfare decades ago became an aegis for a fledgling internet industry, and why many critics now want to pierce its armor.

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is once again under scrutiny for potential ethics violations following a bombshell report by ProPublica that he has been lavished with luxury trips by a Republican billionaire for more than 20 years. The Term podcast discusses the brewing controversy on this week's episode.

In a new book, veteran Supreme Court journalist Joan Biskupic takes readers into the cloistered chambers of the court from the Trump years to the Dobbs leak, revealing secret deal-making and brimming tensions between the justices at a tumultuous time for the institution. Biskupic discusses her reporting on this week's episode of The Term.

A federal law making it a crime to encourage illegal immigration appeared to set off alarm bells for some Supreme Court justices, who worried during a hearing Monday that it could be wielded against charities or even families who urge their "abuelita" to stay in the country. Law360's The Term breaks down the case on this week's episode.

The nation's most revered courtroom sounded like an elementary school classroom at times Wednesday, as the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court discussed a trademark battle over a poop-themed dog toy. On this week's episode, Law360's The Term discusses the bizarre case, which saw one justice ask whether the toy "purportedly contained some sort of dog excrement or urine."

Tom Goldstein is retiring from his U.S. Supreme Court practice after 25 years and more than 40 arguments — but perhaps bigger than his legal imprint is how his unusual methods changed the Supreme Court bar forever. On this week's episode of The Term, we talk with Tom about the criticism he faced early in his career as an advocate, why he started the invaluable SCOTUSblog and what he has planned next for shaking up the legal industry.

The Supreme Court's conservative justices seemed to agree that the Biden administration has exceeded its authority with its massive student debt relief plan, but it's still unclear whether they believe six Republican states and two individuals have standing to challenge it in court. Law360's The Term recaps more than three hours of arguments on this week's episode, plus a new case threatening the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.