SCOTUS Watch

News reports show why, contra Alito (with Thomas) dissenting, the Supreme Court was correct to drop its late-night order regarding the usage of the Alien Enemies Act and so on. They had buses ready for the airport. Sorry, Alito, not premature. 

Order List 

Last week's Relist Watch flagged a post office dispute with competing petitions. This week's Order List took the U.S. case and turned down the petition on the other side. Otherwise, it was run-of-the-mill housekeeping sort of thing. 

Opinion 

The one opinion was summarized by Mark Joseph Stern on Bluesky this way:

The Supreme Court's first and only opinion today is a technical but important 5–4 win for immigrants. Gorsuch holds that a voluntary departure deadline which falls on a weekend or holiday extends to the next business day. Roberts and the three liberals join. 

The majority first explained why it was appropriate to decide the merits. The majority then acknowledged there were different reasonable ways to interpret the provision involved, but went in one direction using a "customary interpretive tool." 

This led to three different opinions (Thomas, Alito, and Barrett) dissenting over the power of the Supreme Court to hear the question and the merits.  

One or more additional opinions are due next Tuesday.  

Orders 

The Supreme Court addressed a lower court ruling that Kavanaugh had held up by a temporary "administrative stay." The Court let the ruling stand with Thomas, Alito, and Kavanaugh (without comment), saying they would not do so.  

As noted by the lower court:

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has eight times rejected a proposed summary of a proposed constitutional amendment, preventing its proponents from circulating a petition and collecting signatures needed to place it on the ballot.  

The Supreme Court generally does not intervene in lower court matters, so the most notable thing here is the three dissenters. The amendment involves limits on qualified immunity and has a good chance of passing. If so, that's appreciated.  

There are also proposed amendments to the rules of Appellate, Bankruptcy, and Civil Procedure submitted by Chief Justice Roberts to Congress as authorized by law. 

Late Friday Watch: The Supreme Court again dropped a late order, early Friday evening. It asked for further briefing in a pending case, including dropping two 19th-century cases to discuss.  

SCOTUSblog Watch

Tom Goldstein, the founder of SCOTUSblog, is currently in some legal trouble arising from his gambling habit. This led to concerns about the website. There is some news:

The site is being acquired by The Dispatch, a right-of-center political news and commentary start-up founded by the conservative journalists Jonah Goldberg and Stephen Hayes. 

Amy Howe is one of the regulars who are sticking around. The main coverage will continue to be free with "plans to develop paid products for legal professionals in the coming months." 

Well, we will see how that goes.