Today marks Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s birthday; born in 1965, he has been serving on the Supreme Court since 2018. The Supreme Court recently announced the cases it will hear during its April session, which is scheduled from April 20-22 and April 27-29.
In other significant actions, the Court denied a request for a stay of execution from Kendrick Simpson, who faces execution in Oklahoma today. Moreover, a decision is awaited on the interim docket case concerning California’s parental notification policies when students elect to use different names or pronouns, as detailed here.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is moving towards a repeal of the Obama administration’s “endangerment finding”, and experts anticipate the resulting legal battle to escalate to the Supreme Court ambitiously during President Trump’s tenure. Meanwhile, data revealing an unprecedented surge in tariff revenue exemplifies the fiscal implications pending a Supreme Court decision, according to CNBC.
A recent ruling by a 5th Circuit panel upholding the mass detention policy has seen judges creatively bypassing this ruling to maintain decisions against the government, a situation outlined in Politico. Challenges to Alabama’s sex offender residency ban and potential extensions of the death penalty also stir debates on their constitutional validity, as discussed by Courthouse News Service.
Lastly, attentions also focus on Adams v. Sacramento County, where tensions over laws concerning public employees’ free speech rights—particularly speech touching on controversial subjects like racism—come to a head. The justices are considering the petition for review, which stems from a chain of events following a district and appellate court ruling overshadowing Kate Adams’ First Amendment claims. The SCOTUSblog provides a closer examination of these unfolding issues.