The Taxes Are Back in Town: Weekly Brief for May 11

President Trump’s tax returns? Check. “Faithless” members of the Electoral College? Yep. Whether half of Oklahoma is actually Native American land? Check that one too. And the Establishment Clause’s “ministerial” exception? You got it. The Supreme Court heard oral arguments this week on all of these issues, rounding out what was perhaps the biggest argument week of the term (and also the Court’s last). Given the stature of these cases, you’d be forgiven if you didn’t notice the Court also released one decision this week (it was pretty innocuous). Here’s a recap of the action at our nation’s highest court this past week.

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This Week’s Brief: March 9

After two busy weeks, the past seven days were much quieter. The Court is now between its February and March sittings, so no cases were argued this week. The Justices released an orders list on Monday, adding an Eighth Amendment case to next term’s docket. The Court allowed the Trump Administration to temporarily enforce its “remain in Mexico” policy after lower courts had issued preliminary injunctions. Finally, Justice Sotomayor announced that she will recuse herself from one of the two “faithless elector” cases to be argued in April. Here’s your brief for the week of March 9.

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