Breaking News

Monday round-up

On Wednesday, the Court will hear oral arguments in Town of Greece v. Galloway, a challenge to a New York town’s practice of opening its town council meetings with a prayer.  Lyle Denniston previewed the case yesterday for this blog; other previews come from David Savage of the Los Angeles Times, Bill Mears of CNN, and Robert Barnes of The Washington Post.  Garrett Epps weighs in at The Atlantic, describing the case as one in which “the Supreme Court will need to decide whether a Town Council meeting—which passes ordinances, grants zoning variances, hears employee grievances, and decides on police promotions—is more like the Senate or the Division of Motor Vehicles.”  And, discussing the case in the ABA Journal, Erwin Chemerinsky suggests that “[u]nderlying [it] is the even larger issue of the meaning of the establishment clause.”

On Friday the United States filed an amicus brief in Fisher v. University of Texas, the challenge to the university’s use of affirmative action in its undergraduate admissions process that is now on remand to the Fifth Circuit.  Lyle reported on the filing for this blog; Josh Gerstein did the same for Politico.  Scott Jaschik also has coverage for Inside Higher Ed.

Briefly:

  • At Jost on Justice, Kenneth Jost discusses the last-minute switch of advocates in Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, the challenge to Michigan’s ban on affirmative action at public universities.
  • At Pro Publica, Kara Brandeisky and Mike Tigas track the status of state voting laws since the Court’s decision earlier this year in Shelby County v. Holder, invalidating the provision of the Voting Rights Act used to determine which states and local governments must comply with the Act’s preapproval requirement.

Recommended Citation: Amy Howe, Monday round-up, SCOTUSblog (Nov. 4, 2013, 7:39 AM), https://www.scotusblog.com/2013/11/monday-round-up-192/