Justice Souter’s book list

Lawyers for a Democratic appointee to the Federal Trade Commission on Monday urged the Supreme Court to allow her to continue to serve despite President Donald Trump’s attempt to fire her. “If the President is to be given new powers Congress has expressly and repeatedly refused to give him,” Slaughter’s lawyers wrote in a 40-page filing, “that decision should come from the people’s elected representatives. At a minimum,” they contended, “any such far-reaching decision to reverse a considered congressional policy judgment should not be made on the emergency docket.”

The dispute is the latest chapter in Trump’s test of his authority to terminate the board members at federal agencies that Congress created to be independent of the president. In late May, the Supreme Court cleared the way for Trump to fire Democratic appointees on the Merit Systems Protection Board and the National Labor Relations Board, who – like Slaughter – could only be removed “for cause.” A majority of the court then pointed to that ruling in July, when it allowed Trump to remove three of the five members of the Consumer Product Safety Commission while their challenges to their firings continued.

Courtly Observations is a recurring series by Erwin Chemerinsky that focuses on what the Supreme Court’s decisions will mean for the law, for lawyers and lower courts, and for people’s lives.

Please note that the views of outside contributors do not reflect the official opinions of SCOTUSblog or its staff.

As SCOTUSblog readers are likely aware, tariffs are taxes charged on goods bought from other countries. In February, President Donald Trump imposed dozens of new tariffs. Now the Supreme Court will decide whether he had the legal authority to do so.

Lawyers for groups challenging the Trump administration’s efforts to freeze billions of dollars in foreign-aid funding on Friday afternoon urged the Supreme Court to leave in place a ruling by a federal judge in Washington, D.C., that requires the government to commit to spending $4 billion in funds by Sept. 30. President Donald Trump asked Congress in late August to claw back the funds – a maneuver known as a “pocket rescission” – and has told the justices that his administration may not commit the money as U.S. District Judge Amir Ali has ordered.

Justice, Democracy, and Law is a recurring series by Edward B. Foley that focuses on election law and the relationship of law and democracy.

Please note that the views of outside contributors do not reflect the official opinions of SCOTUSblog or its staff.

Confusion abounds over the Supreme Court’s call for reargument in Louisiana v. Callais, the latest chapter in the dispute over Louisiana’s efforts to draw a new congressional map in the wake of the 2020 census. As explained in more detail elsewhere on SCOTUSblog, the justices heard oral arguments in March on whether the drawing of a second majority-Black district was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. But on the last day before the justices’ summer recess, the court issued an order setting the case for oral arguments in the 2025-26 term.

The Supreme Court has been on summer recess for more than two months, but you wouldn’t know it if you’ve been following the emergency docket. Since late June, the justices have issued dozens of orders and opinions in response to emergency applications, many of which came from the Trump administration. Just this week, for example, the justices announced their decisions in three emergency docket cases, including a major dispute over immigration stops in Los Angeles and surrounding counties.