Petitions of the week

Anti-abortion activists ask justices to overrule ban on expressive activity outside clinics

The Petitions of the Week column highlights some of the cert petitions recently filed in the Supreme Court. A list of all petitions we’re watching is available here.

In its 2000 decision in Hill v. Colorado, the Supreme Court upheld a Colorado law enacted to prevent groups or individuals who oppose abortion from protesting, handing out materials, or speaking to patients, doctors, or staff outside of medical facilities that offer the procedure. Two years ago, when the court overruled the constitutional right to abortion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, Justice Samuel Alito wrote in his majority opinion that Hill has “distorted” the First Amendment. This week, we highlight petitions that ask the court to consider, among other things, whether to overrule Hill.

Abortion opponents have brought the question to the court in challenges to two cities’ bans on activism outside of clinics and hospitals.

WHAT WE'RE READING

The morning read for Friday, Nov. 1

Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles and commentary related to the Supreme Court. Here’s the Friday morning read:

• US Supreme Court girds for rush of election-related litigation (Andrew Chung, Reuters)
• Thousands of ballots are at stake as the Supreme Court considers Pennsylvania voting rules (Marc Meredith & Michael Morse, NBC News)
• Supreme Court rejects Cornel West’s last-ditch bid for PA voter recognition (Maureen Groppe, USA Today)
• South Carolina to execute Richard Moore despite objections from judge and jurors: ‘Grant him mercy’ (Sam Levin, The Guardian)
• Loper Bright Remand Is Early Test for Agency Rules Post-Chevron (Taylor Mills, Bloomberg Law)

WHAT WE'RE READING

The morning read for Thursday, Oct. 31

Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles and commentary related to the Supreme Court. Here’s the Thursday morning read:

• Eastern Utah wants an oil railroad. The nation’s highest court will decide how feds should judge its environmental impacts. (Anastasia Hufham, The Salt Lake Tribune)
• Supreme Court allows Virginia to strike possible noncitizens from voting (Ann E. Marimow, Justin Jouvenal, & Gregory S. Schneider, The Washington Post)
• U.S. citizens are among the voters removed in Virginia’s controversial purge (Jude Joffe-Block, NPR)
• Justices Cause Confusion With No Voting Purge Ruling Explanation (Kimberly Strawbridge Robinson, Bloomberg Law)
• Cornel West asks Supreme Court to make PA polling sites advertise him as a write-in option (Maureen Groppe, USA Today)

WHAT WE'RE READING

The morning read for Wednesday, Oct. 30

Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles and commentary related to the Supreme Court. Here’s the Wednesday morning read:

• Supreme Court allows Virginia to purge voter rolls ahead of election (Lawrence Hurley, NBC News)
• Supreme Court allows Virginia to resume its purge of voter registrations (Mark Sherman, The Associated Press)
• Supreme Court Declines to Remove R.F.K. Jr. From Ballot in Two Key States (Abbie VanSickle, The New York Times)
• There’s no such thing as a guaranteed Supreme Court vacancy (Joan Biskupic, CNN)
• Hawaii Takes Aim at the Supreme Court’s Most Chaotic Gun Rights Ruling (Matt Ford, The New Republic)

EMERGENCY DOCKET

Supreme Court leaves RFK, Jr., on ballots in Wisconsin, Michigan

The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to order the removal of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s name from ballots in Wisconsin and Michigan. Kennedy suspended his campaign in August and endorsed former President Donald Trump. But election officials in Wisconsin and Michigan rebuffed Kennedy’s request to withdraw his name from the ballot. That led to litigation in both battleground states, where Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are locked in extremely tight races.

There were no public dissents from the decision to deny Kennedy’s request in the Wisconsin case. Justice Neil Gorsuch dissented from the denial of relief in the Michigan case.