July 25, 2025

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SCOTUS Freezes North Dakota District Map

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday temporarily stayed an Eighth Circuit ruling that would have dismantled North Dakota’s 2021 legislative map and barred private lawsuits under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.

• The order freezes an appellate decision in a lawsuit filed by the Spirit Lake Nation, Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa and three tribal citizens accusing the map of diluting Native American votes.
• Until the justices issue a final ruling, private plaintiffs in all seven Eighth Circuit states may continue to challenge voting practices under the Act.

Supreme Court to Review Federal Ban on Marijuana Users’ Gun Ownership

Supreme Court to Weigh Gun Ban for Cannabis Consumers

The U.S. Supreme Court has scheduled a private conference on September 29 to consider whether to grant review in U.S. v. Cooper, a case challenging Section 922(g)(3), the federal statute that bars “unlawful” drug users—including marijuana consumers—from possessing firearms. Lower courts have split over the law’s scope, with the Eighth, Third and Fifth Circuits issuing divergent rulings on whether individual risk assessments are required.

Key points:

Cooper follows an appeals court vacating a three-year sentence for gun possession by an active marijuana user.

In U.S. v. Baxter, the Eighth Circuit questioned the ban’s constitutionality as applied to a defendant found with both a firearm and marijuana.

A Supreme Court decision could resolve conflicting standards on whether courts must make individualized factual determinations before disarming cannabis users.

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Justices Divide Over Immigration and Criminal Justice Rulings

Washington, D.C. – As the Supreme Court closed its term, the justices issued sharply contrasting rulings in immigration cases versus a slate of criminal justice disputes. On June 27, the Court eliminated nationwide injunctions, a key tool for lower courts to halt executive actions, prompting Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s fiery dissent warning that “no right is safe.”

Meanwhile, the justices handed down over a dozen narrower criminal justice decisions. From clarifying supervised-release sentences in Esteras v. United States to reviving lawsuits by an FBI raid victim in Martin v. United States, the Court bolstered individual rights in several high-profile cases but also upheld government victories in others.

Republicans, Independents Regain Trust in Supreme Court Post-Dobbs

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A new AP-NORC poll finds that Republicans and independents have become notably more confident in the Supreme Court since its 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade. While a third of Americans still express “hardly any confidence,” that share has fallen from 43% to 33% over three years.

Partisan shifts drive the trend: only 8% of Republicans now say they have low confidence—down from 20%—and independents with low confidence declined from 45% to 30%. Democrats’ mistrust remains elevated but eased slightly. Despite this warming, concern that the Court wields too much power is rising, particularly among Democrats, with 4 in 10 Americans now voicing that worry.

Justice Kagan Criticizes Unexplained Emergency SCOTUS Orders

WASHINGTON, D.C. — At the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference, Justice Elena Kagan sounded the alarm over the Supreme Court’s growing use of its emergency docket to decide high-stakes disputes without explanation. In recent weeks, the Court granted two key stays—allowing the Trump administration to remove Consumer Product Safety Commissioners and to dismantle the Department of Education—through one-sentence, unsigned orders that provided no rationale.

Kagan urged her colleagues to restore transparency by explaining why emergency appeals are granted. Noting that such orders bypass full briefing and oral argument, she warned that unexplained interventions risk eroding public trust in an independent judiciary.

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Supreme Court Freezes North Dakota Map in Native American Voting Rights Case