Ours is a jurisprudence of constant change—and the Supreme Court is at the center of it. Recognizing the need to stay current with rapidly evolving areas of the law, The George Washington Law Review is proud to host a platform for scholastic exchange on Supreme Court decisions: On the Docket. This forum features responsive legal commentary on Supreme Court opinions as they are released. We invite members of the bench, the bar, and the academy to contribute to the discussion. With a strong tradition of promoting intellectual discourse, our goal is to provide timely insight on the present-day development of the law. Thank you, and welcome to On the Docket.

October Term 2023

Previews for the 2023 October Term of the Supreme Court

After a consequential two years in which the law of gun rights, substantive due process, religious liberty, and affirmative action, among others, was made anew, the Supreme Court's October 2023 Term features a wide array of cases that will refine the scope of its "history and tradition" approach in the Second Amendment context, contemplate the intersection of social media and the First Amendment, reconsider the foundations of the modern administrative state, and much more.

October Term 2022

Preview of the November 2022 Supreme Court Arguments

October 31 Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. University of North Carolina No. 21-707, M.D.N.C. Preview by Rebekah Bass, Member Can race-conscious admissions policies stand up to the strict scrutiny of the Fourteenth Amendment? That is the issue presented in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. University of North Carolina....
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Preview of Sackett v. EPA

October 3 Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency No. 21-454, 9th Cir. Preview by Robert L. Glicksman, J.B. & Maurice C. Shapiro Professor of Law, George Washington University Law School When do wetlands qualify as “waters of the United States” subject to regulation under the federal Clean Water Act (the CWA...
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Preview of the October 2022 Supreme Court Arguments

October 3 Delaware v. Pennsylvania and Wisconsin No. 22-1045, Original Preview by John Tuley, Member In Delaware v. Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, the Court will decide whether MoneyGram’s “Official Checks,” which are used to pay third parties, constitute a “money order, traveler’s check, or other similar written instrument (other than a...
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October Term 2021

Preview of the Late March 2022 Supreme Court Arguments

March 28 Southwest Airlines, Co. v. Saxon 21-309, 7th Cir. Preview by Erica Hackett, Online Editor The issue in Southwest Airlines, Co. v. Saxon is whether airline baggage ramp supervisors are exempt from the Federal Arbitration Agreement (FAA). The FAA requires that courts enforce arbitration agreements, however it exempts “contracts...
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Copyright’s Legal Mistake

March 22, 2022 Unicolors, Inc v. H&M Hennes & Mauritz, LP, 142 S. Ct. 941 (2022) (Breyer, J.) Response by Jasper L. Tran† Geo. Wash. L. Rev. On the Docket (Oct. Term 2021) Slip Opinion | SCOTUSblog Copyright’s Legal Mistake Not every Supreme Court case is monumental.1 While some have certainly changed...
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Preview of the March 2022 Supreme Court Arguments

March 21 Berger v. North Carolina State Conf. of NAACP 21-248, 4th Cir. Preview by Erica Hackett, Online Editor The issue in this case is whether the President Pro Tempore of the North Carolina State Senate and the Speaker of the State House may intervene in litigation regarding a North...
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Preview of the February 2022 Supreme Court Arguments

February 22 Denezpi v. United States No. 20-7622, 10th Cir. Preview by Reid Ostrom, Online Editor The Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment provides that no person shall “be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb.” U.S. Const. amend. V. In...
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Preview of the January 2022 Supreme Court Arguments

January 10 Gallardo v. Marstiller No. 28-1263, 11th Cir. Preview by Jacob Orgel, Online Editor In Gallardo v. Marstiller, the Supreme Court is set to determine the extent of third-party tort liability state that Medicaid agencies can tap into for recovery on medical expenses provided to Medicaid recipients. Petitioner Gianna...
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Preview of the December 2021 Supreme Court Arguments

December 1 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization No. 19-1392, 5th Cir. Preview by Joshua Keyser, Senior Online Editor In Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the Supreme Court will consider what is already being called the “most important abortion case in a generation.” Edward Whelan, John Roberts and the...
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Preview of the November 2021 Supreme Court Arguments

The Supreme Court’s November calendar has been in flux as litigation surrounding the controversial Texas statute S.B. 8 has raced to the Court’s attention. Be sure to check this post for updates, as future shifts in the calendar may well be in store. November 2 Houston Community College System v....
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Preview of the October 2021 Supreme Court Arguments

For the first time in a year and a half, the Supreme Court will convene to hear oral arguments in person! Justice Kavanaugh has reportedly tested positive for COVID-19 despite being vaccinated, but oral arguments are still scheduled to proceed as planned. October 4 Mississippi v. Tennessee No. 143, Original...
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October Term 2020

Unconstitutional Appointment of Patent Death Squad

June 29, 2021 United States v. Arthrex Inc., 594 U.S. __ (2021) (Roberts, C.J.) Response by Jasper L. Tran Geo. Wash. L. Rev. On the Docket (Oct. Term 2020) Slip Opinion | SCOTUSblog Unconstitutional Appointment of Patent Death Squad Can legal scholarship change the law?1 Apparently so—a recent exemplar appears...
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A Car, A Contract… Or An Indictment?

May 25, 2021 Niz-Chavez v. Garland, 593 U.S. ___ (2021) (Gorsuch, J.). Response by Ana Corina “Cori” Alonso-Yoder Geo. Wash. L. Rev. On the Docket (Oct. Term 2020) Slip Opinion | SCOTUSblog A Car, A Contract… Or An Indictment? Conservatives split on the meaning of deportation documents in Niz-Chavez v....
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Preview of the February/March 2021 Supreme Court Arguments

February 22 Florida v. Georgia No. 142, Original Preview by Austin Martin, Senior Online Editor This case concerns a decades-long dispute over rights to the waters flowing from Georgia into Florida’s Apalachicola Bay. The states previously reached the Supreme Court in 2018 when Florida claimed that its portion of the...
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Preview of the January 2021 Supreme Court Arguments

January 11 Pham v. Guzman Chavez No. 19-897, 4th Cir. Preview by Nick Contarino, Online Editor The Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”) sets out a comprehensive scheme for the detention and removal of noncitizens unlawfully located in the territory of the United States. 8 U.S.C. § 1101 et seq. (2018) The...
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Preview of the December 2020 Supreme Court Arguments

November 30 Trump v. New York No. 20-366, S.D.N.Y. Preview by Emma Eisendrath, Member Members of the U.S. House of Representatives are apportioned based on population counts conducted every ten years. This case is about whether apportionment calculations may exclude undocumented immigrants. On July 21, 2020, President Trump issued a...
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Preview of the November 2020 Supreme Court Arguments

November 2 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service v. Sierra Club, Inc. No. 19-547, 9th Cir. Preview by Nick Contarino, Online Editor The Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) submitted a regulation to the Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service (“Services”) for the Services’ review under the Endangered Species Act...
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Preview of the October 2020 Supreme Court Arguments

October 5 Carney v. Adams No. 19-309, 3d Cir. Preview by Austin Martin, Senior Online Editor Delaware’s Constitution requires that the judiciary be politically balanced. The “bare majority provision” restricts Delaware’s three business courts—the Supreme Court, Superior Court, and Court of Chancery—from individually or collectively having more than a single-judge...
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October Term 2019

On the Docket’s Preview of the May Supreme Court Arguments

This month’s oral arguments are truly historic. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Court will not be meeting in person, but rather hearing arguments remotely via telephone, where the Justices will ask questions in order of seniority. Most intriguing, this month’s arguments will be available for live streaming—an unprecedented move...
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Kansas v. Glover: Just Common Sense?

We have no idea why Officer Mehrer decided to check on Glover’s license plate. Might it matter after all? Can a jurisdiction instruct its officers to run the license plate of every automobile they come across and to assume that any owner whose license has been suspended or revoked should be stopped to see if the owner is driving? What is the common-sense answer?

It Could Have Been Worse, But a Statute Designed to “Break Down All Discrimination” Against African Americans Deserves Better than Comcast Corporation v. National Association of African American-Owned Media

The year after the Civil War, the federal government made a commitment to Black people in this country. In simple but sweeping language, the Civil Rights Act of 1866 mandates that “[a]ll persons within the jurisdiction of the United States shall have the same right . . . to make and enforce contracts . . . as is enjoyed by white citizens.”

Kansas v. Garcia: The Court Greenlights State Prosecutions of Unauthorized Workers

Propelled to office on his celebrity and a populist platform, the Republican president’s “Make America Great Again” slogan rallied his conservative base and positioned him to sign sweeping immigration legislation during his second term in office. If that last bit sounds off, it may help to clarify that the president in question was Ronald Reagan, the year was 1986, and the legislation was the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA).

On the Docket’s Preview of the February Supreme Court Arguments

February 24 United States Forest Service v. Cowpasture River Preservation Association; Atlantic Coast Pipeline, LLC v. Cowpasture River Preservation Association No. 18-1584 & 18-1587, 4th Cir. Preview by Taylor Dowd, Senior Online Editor Is the Appalachian Trail, the 2,200-mile-long stretch running from Georgia to Maine, “land,” or just a footpath...
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On the Docket’s Preview of the October Supreme Court Arguments

October 7 Kahler v. Kansas No. 18-6135, Kan. Preview by Michael Fischer, Online Editor In response to several high-profile cases wherein defendants were found not guilty by reason of insanity, the State of Kansas passed legislation in 1995 which effectively abolished the insanity defense for criminal defendants. Thirteen years later,...
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October Term 2018

October Term 2017

October Term 2016

October Term 2015