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Wolford v. Lopez, No. 24-1046
Argued on 01/20/26.
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Question Presented:
New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen , 597 U.S. 1, 33 (2022), holds that "the Second Amendment guarantees a general right to public carry" of arms, meaning ordinary, law-abiding citizens may "'bear' arms in public for self-defense." In this case, the Ninth Circuit sustained a Hawaii law that makes it a crime for a concealed carry permit holder to carry a handgun on private property unless he has been "given express authorization to carry a firearm on the property by the owner, lessee, operator, or manager of the property." H.R.S. § 134-9.5. That holding is in acknowledged direct conflict with the Second Circuit's holding in Antonyuk v. James , 120 F.4th 941 (2d Cir. 2024), a decision that struck down an identical State law in the same procedural posture as this case. The Ninth Circuit also sustained a multitude of other location bans on carry by permit holders, relying solely on post-Reconstruction Era and later laws. That doctrinal approach is in direct conflict with the Third Circuit's decision in Lara v. Commissioner Pennsylvania State Police , 125 F.4th 428 (3d Cir. 2025), the Fifth Circuit's decision in United States v. Connelly , 117 F.4th 269 (5th Cir. 2024), the Eighth Circuit's decision in Worth v. Jacobson , 108 F.4th 677 (8th Cir. 2024), and, most recently, the Eleventh Circuit's en banc decision in NRA v. Bondi , No. 21- 12314, 2025 WL 815734 at *5 (11th Cir. March 14,2025) (en banc), all of which hold that primary focus must be on Founding generation laws and tradition in applying the text, history and tradition test Bruen mandates. The questions presented are: 1. Whether the Ninth Circuit erred in holding, in direct conflict with the Second Circuit, that Hawaii may presumptively prohibit the carry of handguns by licensed concealed carry permit holders on private property open to the public unless the property owner affirmatively gives express permission to the handgun carrier? 2. Whether the Ninth Circuit erred in solely relying on post-Reconstruction Era and later laws in applying Bruen 's text, history and tradition test in direct conflict with the holdings of the Third, Fifth, Eighth and Eleventh Circuits?
Oral Argument Links:
Docket Links:
Chapters:
(00:00:00) Case Call
(00:00:06) ORAL ARGUMENT OF ALAN A. BECK
(00:32:07) ORAL ARGUMENT OF SARAH M. HARRIS,
(01:06:32) ORAL ARGUMENT OF NEAL K. KATYAL
(01:49:49) REBUTTAL ARGUMENT OF ALAN A. BECK
Disclosure, Disclaimer, and Credits:
Independent feed. NOT affiliated with the Supreme Court of the United States or any other entity.
Audio files from and links to the Supreme Court of the United States' website.
Image credit to Ian Hutchinson, https://unsplash.com/photos/U8WfiRpsQ7Y
Galette v. NJ Transit Corp., No. 24-1021
Argued on Jan 14 2026.
For New Jersey Transit Corporation, et al.: Michael Zuckerman, Deputy Solicitor General, Trenton, N. J. For Galette and Colt, et al.: Michael B. Kimberly, Washington, D. C. VIDED.
Question Presented:
Whether the New Jersey Transit Corporation is entitled to interstate sovereign immunity under the Federal Constitution, as held by the highest court of Pennsylvania in square conflict with the highest court of New York.
Oral Argument Links:
Docket Links:
Chapters:
(00:00:00) Case Call
(00:00:07) ORAL ARGUMENT OF MICHAEL ZUCKERMAN
(00:36:01) ORAL ARGUMENT OF MICHAEL B. KIMBERLY
(01:06:44) REBUTTAL ARGUMENT OF MICHAEL ZUCKERMAN
Disclosure, Disclaimer, and Credits:
Independent feed. NOT affiliated with the Supreme Court of the United States or any other entity.
Audio files from and links to the Supreme Court of the United States' website.
Image credit to Ian Hutchinson, https://unsplash.com/photos/U8WfiRpsQ7Y
Little v. Hecox, No. 24-38
Argued on Jan 13 2026.
For petitioners: Alan M. Hurst, Solicitor General, Boise, Idaho; and Hashim M. Mooppan, Principal Deputy Solicitor General, Department of Justice, Washington, D. C. (for United States, as amicus curiae.) For respondent: Kathleen R. Hartnett, San Francisco, Cal.
Question Presented:
Women and girls have overcome decades of discrimination to achieve a more equal playing field in many arenas of American life-including sports. Yet in some competitions, female athletes have become bystanders in their own sports as male athletes who identify as female have taken the place of their female competitors-on the field and on the winners' podium. The Idaho Legislature addressed that injustice by enacting the Fairness in Women's Sports Act, which ensures that women and girls do not have to compete against men and boys no matter how those men and boys identify. The Act-one of 25 such state laws around the country-is consistent with longstanding government policies preserving women's and girls' sports due to the "average real differences" between the sexes. Clark ex rel. Clark v. Ariz. Interscholastic Ass'n, 695 F.2d 1126, 1131 (9th Cir. 1982). Breaking with this Court's precedents, its own caselaw, other circuit decisions, and biological reality, the Ninth Circuit panel here upheld an injunction against the Act because it prevents "transgender women and girls"-meaning males who identify as women and girls-from competing in "women's student athletics." App.4a-5a. The question presented is: Whether laws that seek to protect women's and girls' sports by limiting participation to women and girls based on sex violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Oral Argument Links:
Docket Links:
Chapters:
(00:00:00) Case Call
(00:00:04) ORAL ARGUMENT OF ALAN M. HURST
(00:40:59) ORAL ARGUMENT OF HASHIM M. MOOPPAN
(01:07:15) ORAL ARGUMENT OF KATHLEEN R. HARTNETT
(01:49:51) REBUTTAL ARGUMENT OF ALAN M. HURST
Disclosure, Disclaimer, and Credits:
Independent feed. NOT affiliated with the Supreme Court of the United States or any other entity.
Audio files from and links to the Supreme Court of the United States' website.
Image credit to Ian Hutchinson, https://unsplash.com/photos/U8WfiRpsQ7Y
West Virginia v. B. P. J., No. 24-43
Argued on Jan 13 2026.
For petitioners: Michael R. Williams, Solicitor General, Charleston, W. Va.; and Hashim M. Mooppan, Principal Deputy Solicitor General, Department of Justice, Washington, D. C. (for United States, as amicus curiae.) For respondent: Joshua A. Block, New York, N. Y.
Question Presented:
Like everywhere else, West Virginia schools offer separate sports teams for boys and girls. The West Virginia Legislature concluded that biological boys should compete on boys' and co-ed teams but not girls' teams. This separation made sense, the Legislature found, because of the "inherent physical differences between biological males and biological females." A parent sued on behalf of her child, B.P.J., arguing that the State must allow biological boys who identify as girls to compete on girls' teams. After extensive discovery, the district court disagreed, entering summary judgment for the State on claims under the Equal Protection Clause and Title IX. Yet a divided Fourth Circuit panel granted an injunction pending appeal. B.P.J. then beat and displaced hundreds of girls in track and field. Ultimately, the same divided panel ruled in B.P.J.'s favor on the Title IX claim and vacated the district court's judgment for the defendants on the equal-protection claim. Judge Agee dissented, criticizing the majority for "inappropriately expand[ing] the scope of the Equal Protection Clause and upend[ing] the essence of Title IX." App.44a. He hoped this Court would "take the opportunity with all deliberate speed to resolve these questions of national importance." App.74a The questions presented are: 1. Whether Title IX prevents a state from consistently designating girls' and boys' sports teams based on biological sex determined at birth. 2. Whether the Equal Protection Clause prevents a state from offering separate boys' and girls' sports teams based on biological sex determined at birth.
Oral Argument Links:
Docket Links:
Chapters:
(00:00:00) Case Call
(00:00:05) ORAL ARGUMENT OF MICHAEL R. WILLIAMS
(00:30:05) ORAL ARGUMENT OF HASHIM M. MOOPPAN.
(00:47:32) ORAL ARGUMENT OF JOSHUA A. BLOCK
(01:19:10) REBUTTAL ARGUMENT OF MICHAEL R. WILLIAMS
Disclosure, Disclaimer, and Credits:
Independent feed. NOT affiliated with the Supreme Court of the United States or any other entity.
Audio files from and links to the Supreme Court of the United States' website.
Image credit to Ian Hutchinson, https://unsplash.com/photos/U8WfiRpsQ7Y
Chevron USA Inc. v. Plaquemines Parish, No. 24-813
Argued on Jan 12 2026.
For petitioners: Paul D. Clement, Alexandria, Va.; and Aaron Z. Roper, Assistant to the Solicitor General, Department of Justice, Washington, D. C. (for United States, as amicus curiae.) For respondents: J. Benjamin Aguiñaga, Solicitor General, Baton Rouge, La.
Question Presented:
This petition arises from Louisiana parishes' efforts to hold petitioners liable in state court for, inter alia , production of crude oil in the Louisiana coastal zone during World War II. Petitioners removed these cases from state court under 28 U.S.C. §1442 (a)(1), which as amended in 2011 provides federal jurisdiction over civil actions against "any person acting under [an] officer" of the United States "for or relating to any act under color of such office." The Fifth Circuit unanimously held that petitioners satisfy the statute's "acting under" requirement by virtue of their WWII-era contracts to supply the federal government with high-octane aviation gasoline ("avgas"). But the panel divided on the "relating to" requirement, with the two-judge majority holding that petitioners' wartime production of crude oil was "unrelated" to their contractually required refinement of that same crude into avgas because the contracts did not contain any explicit "directive pertaining to [petitioners'] oil production activities." App.38. Judge Oldham dissented, explaining that the majority's approach reinstates a variant of the "causal nexus" requirement that multiple circuits (and the U.S. Congress) have expressly rejected. The Fifth Circuit denied rehearing en banc by a vote of 7 to 6. The questions presented are: 1. Whether a causal-nexus or contractual-direction test survives the 2011 amendment to the federal-officer removal statute. 2. Whether a federal contractor can remove to federal court when sued for oil-production activities undertaken to fulfill a federal oil-refinement contract.
Oral Argument Links:
Docket Links:
Chapters:
(00:00:00) Case Call
(00:00:05) ORAL ARGUMENT OF PAUL D. CLEMENT
(00:32:56) ORAL ARGUMENT OF AARON Z. ROPER
(00:50:22) ORAL ARGUMENT OF J. BENJAMIN AGUIÑAGA
(01:14:13) REBUTTAL ARGUMENT OF PAUL D. CLEMENT
Disclosure, Disclaimer, and Credits:
Independent feed. NOT affiliated with the Supreme Court of the United States or any other entity.
Audio files from and links to the Supreme Court of the United States' website.
Image credit to Ian Hutchinson, https://unsplash.com/photos/U8WfiRpsQ7Y
FS Credit Opportunities Corp. v. Saba Capital Master Fund, No. 24-345
Argued on Dec 10 2025.
For petitioners and BlackRock respondents in support of petitioners: Shay Dvoretzky, Washington, D. C.; and Max E. Schulman, Assistant to the Solicitor General, Department of Justice, Washington, D. C. (for United States, as amicus curiae.) For Saba respondents: Paul D. Clement, Alexandria, Va.
Question Presented:
The courts of appeals have split 2-1 over whether Congress created an implied private right of action in Section 47(b) of the Investment Company Act (ICA), which provides: (1) A contract that is made, or whose performance involves, a violation of this subchapter ... is unenforceable by either party .... (2) To the extent that a contract described in paragraph (1) has been performed, a court may not deny rescission at the instance of any party unless such court finds that under the circumstances the denial of rescission would produce a more equitable result than its grant and would not be inconsistent with the purposes of this subchapter. 15 U.S.C. § 80a-46(b)(1)-(2). The Third and Ninth Circuits, relying on statutory text and structure, hold that Section 47(b) does not create an implied private right of action, and a panel of the Fourth Circuit has agreed in an unpublished opinion. Only the Second Circuit-where plaintiffs may be able to sue most investment funds subject to the ICA, given New York's and the New York Stock Exchange's roles in financial operations- holds the opposite based on an "inference": parties may bring a lawsuit under Section 47(b), even though Congress never said so. The question presented is whether Section 47(b) of the ICA, 15 U.S.C. § 80a-46 (b), creates an implied private right of action.
Oral Argument Links:
Docket Links:
Chapters:
(00:00:00) Case Call
(00:00:07) ORAL ARGUMENT OF SHAY DVORETZKY
(00:29:46) ORAL ARGUMENT OF MAX E. SCHULMAN
(00:45:07) ORAL ARGUMENT OF PAUL D. CLEMENT
Disclosure, Disclaimer, and Credits:
Independent feed. NOT affiliated with the Supreme Court of the United States or any other entity.
Audio files from and links to the Supreme Court of the United States' website.
Image credit to Ian Hutchinson, https://unsplash.com/photos/U8WfiRpsQ7Y
Hamm v. Smith, No. 24-872
Argued on Dec 10 2025.
For petitioner: Robert M. Overing, Principal Deputy Solicitor General, Montgomery, Ala.; and Harry Graver, Assistant to the Solicitor General, Department of Justice, Washington, D. C. (for United States, as amicus curiae.) For respondent: Seth P. Waxman, Washington, D. C.
Question Presented:
Like most States, Alabama requires that offenders prove an IQ of 70 or less to satisfy the intellectual-functioning prong of Atkins v. Virginia . This case was not close: Smith scored 75, 74, 72, 78, and 74 on five full-scale IQ tests. There is no way to conclude from these five numbers that Smith's true IQ is likely to be 70 or below. So the courts below required Smith to prove only that his IQ " could be " 70 and required the State to bring evidence "strong enough" to "foreclose" and "rule out the possibility" of intellectual disability. The first question presented is: 1. Whether, under a proper application of Atkins , a State can require a claimant to prove an IQ of 70 or less by a preponderance of the evidence. Evaluating multiple IQ scores is "complicated," and "this Court has not specified how" to do it. In the State's view, five scores are more accurate than one, and there are ways to account for that fact. The courts below disagree. The district court relied on Smith's 72 ± 3 to find that his IQ "could be" 69. On remand, the Eleventh Circuit's "holistic approach" asked whether Smith had scores of "about" 75 or less. Counting four out of five scores between 72 and 75, the court found "consistent evidence" that Smith "may" qualify as mildly disabled. Thus, the court "followed the law's requirement," in its view, to "move on" to Smith's adaptive deficits. The second question presented is: 2. Whether courts evaluating multiple IQ scores must find that every valid score of "about" 75 or less supports an Atkins claim.
Oral Argument Links:
Docket Links:
Chapters:
(00:00:00) Case Call
(00:00:06) ORAL ARGUMENT OF ROBERT M. OVERING
(00:43:02) ORAL ARGUMENT OF HARRY GRAVER
(01:19:40) ORAL ARGUMENT OF SETH P. WAXMAN
(01:59:46) REBUTTAL ARGUMENT OF ROBERT M. OVERING
Disclosure, Disclaimer, and Credits:
Independent feed. NOT affiliated with the Supreme Court of the United States or any other entity.
Audio files from and links to the Supreme Court of the United States' website.
Image credit to Ian Hutchinson, https://unsplash.com/photos/U8WfiRpsQ7Y
NRSC v. FEC, No. 24-621
Argued on Dec 09 2025.
For petitioners: Noel J. Francisco, Washington, D. C. For respondents in support of petitioners: Sarah M. Harris, Principal Deputy Solicitor General, Department of Justice, Washington, D. C. For Court-appointed amicus curiae in support of judgment below: Roman Martinez, Washington, D. C. For intervenors: Marc E. Elias, Washington, D. C.
Question Presented:
A political party exists to get its candidates elected. Yet Congress has severely restricted how much parties can spend on their own campaign advertising if done in cooperation with those very candidates. 52 U.S.C. § 30116(d). In an opinion by Chief Judge Sutton, a 10-judge majority of the en banc Sixth Circuit agreed that these so-called "coordinated party expenditure limits" stand in serious tension with recent First Amendment doctrine. App.10a-15a. It nevertheless upheld them as constitutional, both on their face and as applied to coordinated political advertising ("party coordinated communications"), believing the case to be controlled by FEC v. Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee , 533 U.S. 431 (2001) ( Colorado II ). In doing so, the majority acknowledged that in the 23 years since Colorado II , this Court "has tightened the free-speech restrictions on campaign finance regulation," that "tension has emerged between the reasoning of Colorado II and the reasoning of later decisions of the Court," and that relevant facts have "changed, most notably with 2014 amendments" to the limits and "the rise of unlimited spending by political action committees." App.3a-4a, 11a. But it thought "any new assessment of the validity of the limits" remained this Court's "province, not ours." App.14a-15a. The question presented is: Whether the limits on coordinated party expenditures in 52 U.S.C. § 30116 violate the First Amendment, either on their face or as applied to party spending in connection with "party coordinated communications" as defined in 11 C.F.R. § 109.37.
Oral Argument Links:
Docket Links:
Chapters:
(00:00:00) Case Call
(00:00:07) ORAL ARGUMENT OF NOEL J. FRANCISCO
(00:46:29) ORAL ARGUMENT OF SARAH M. HARRIS
(01:17:27) ORAL ARGUMENT OF ROMAN MARTINEZ
(01:42:29) ORAL ARGUMENT OF MARC E. ELIAS
(02:07:33) REBUTTAL ARGUMENT OF NOEL J. FRANCISCO
Disclosure, Disclaimer, and Credits:
Independent feed. NOT affiliated with the Supreme Court of the United States or any other entity.
Audio files from and links to the Supreme Court of the United States' website.
Image credit to Ian Hutchinson, https://unsplash.com/photos/U8WfiRpsQ7Y
Trump, President of United States v. Slaughter, No. 25-332
Argued on Dec 08 2025.
Certiorari to the C. A. District of Columbia Circuit. For petitioners: D. John Sauer, Solicitor General, Department of Justice, Washington, D. C. For respondents: Amit Agarwal, Washington, D. C.
Question Presented:
The parties are directed to brief and argue the following questions: (1) Whether the statutory removal protections for members of the Federal Trade Commission violate the separation of powers and, if so, whether Humphrey ’ s Executor v. United States , 295 U. S. 602 (1935), should be overruled. (2) Whether a federal court may prevent a person ’ s removal from public office, either through relief at equity or at law.
Oral Argument Links:
Docket Links:
Chapters:
(00:00:00) Case Call
(00:00:06) ORAL ARGUMENT OF GEN. D. JOHN SAUER
(01:03:35) ORAL ARGUMENT OF AMIT AGARWAL
(02:27:03) REBUTTAL ARGUMENT OF GEN. D. JOHN SAUER
Disclosure, Disclaimer, and Credits:
Independent feed. NOT affiliated with the Supreme Court of the United States or any other entity.
Audio files from and links to the Supreme Court of the United States' website.
Image credit to Ian Hutchinson, https://unsplash.com/photos/U8WfiRpsQ7Y
Olivier v. City of Brandon, No. 24-993
Argued on Dec 03 2025.
For petitioner: Allyson N. Ho, Dallas, Tex. For United States, as amicus curiae: Ashley Robertson, Assistant to the Solicitor General, Department of Justice, Washington, D. C. For respondents: G. Todd Butler, Flowood, Miss.
Question Presented:
Gabriel Olivier is a Christian who feels called to share the gospel with his fellow citizens. After being arrested and fined for violating an ordinance targeting "protests" outside a public amphitheater, Olivier brought a § 1983 suit under the First and Fourteenth Amendments to declare the ordinance unconstitutional and enjoin its enforcement against him in the future. The Fifth Circuit, applying its precedent construing this Court's decision in Heck v. Humphrey , 512 U.S. 477 (1994), held that Olivier's prior conviction barred his § 1983 suit because even the prospective relief it seeks would necessarily undermine his prior conviction. The Fifth Circuit acknowledged the "friction" between its decision and those of this Court and other circuits. Over vigorous dissents, the Fifth Circuit denied rehearing en banc by one vote. The questions presented are: 1. Whether, as the Fifth Circuit holds in conflict with the Ninth and Tenth Circuits, this Court's decision in Heck v. Humphrey bars § 1983 claims seeking purely prospective relief where the plaintiff has been punished before under the law challenged as unconstitutional. 2. Whether, as the Fifth Circuit and at least four others hold in conflict with five other circuits, Heck v. Humphrey bars § 1983 claims by plaintiffs even where they never had access to federal habeas relief.
Oral Argument Links:
Docket Links:
Chapters:
(00:00:00) Case Call
(00:00:06) ORAL ARGUMENT OF ALLYSON N. HO
(00:37:05) ORAL ARGUMENT OF ASHLEY ROBERTSON
(00:54:26) ORAL ARGUMENT OF G. TODD BUTLER
Disclosure, Disclaimer, and Credits:
Independent feed. NOT affiliated with the Supreme Court of the United States or any other entity.
Audio files from and links to the Supreme Court of the United States' website.
Image credit to Ian Hutchinson, https://unsplash.com/photos/U8WfiRpsQ7Y
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