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The Trump administration is asking #SCOTUS to put back into effect its executive order giving the USPS more control over mail-in voting. Today's bonus "One First" explains why this is a purely procedural dispute at this juncture (about standing/ripeness)—albeit one the government should still lose:

Bonus 241: The Mail-In Voting ApplicationsWhat the Court was asked to do on Monday is narrower than much of the coverage suggests—and a grant of relief would be far less significant than it may appear.www.stevevladeck.com

President Trump had (loudly) promised that he would ask #SCOTUS to grant rehearing of its June 30 decision blocking his executive order purporting to limit birthright citizenship. The deadline for such a request was yesterday—and ... crickets.

In Cisco, #SCOTUS not only (unpersuasively) eviscerated the Alien Tort Statute, but it effectively neutered a 22-year-old precedent for no other reason than that the Republican appointees disagree w/ it. Today’s “One First” goes deep into the ruling—and why stare decisis is really *is* for suckers:

240. The Rise and Fall of the Alien Tort StatuteThe Court's June 23 ruling in Cisco was significant not only for what it means for human rights accountability, but for the justices' approach to stare decisis.www.stevevladeck.com

On Tuesday, the full Fifth Circuit granted DOJ's request for a "precedential stay" of district court rulings holding that the Due Process Clause requires bond hearings for immigration detainees w/in 90 days of their arrest. Today's "One First" explains why that's a really big (and problematic) deal:

Bonus 239: The Fifth Circuit's "Precedential Stay" in Sosnava RodriguezThe Fifth Circuit once again did the government's bidding on immigration detention—this time through an unexplained procedural move I've never seen before.www.stevevladeck.com

I don’t mind at all that there are people who don’t get that this is a quote from “Animal House.” But the assumption that I must be an idiot who doesn’t know anything (and the confident replies to that effect) is everything that is wrong with social media.

“Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?”

Well, when you put it like that...

A&M may be generating most of the anti-academic freedom headlines, but this is a pretty bleak sign of how things are going at my old employer, too: www.statesman.com/news/educati...

UT border surveillance scholar was a shoo-in for tenure. UT denied him.American Studies scholar Iván Chaar López fears UT’s unexplained tenure denial violated his academic freedom amid scrutiny of controversial fields.www.statesman.com

I've been teaching my National Security Law students about the "Alien Terrorist Removal Court" for 20 years. Now that the Trump administration is using it for the first time (ever), today's "One First" looks at what it actually *does,* why it exists, and where we should (and shouldn't) be concerned:

239. The Alien Terrorist Removal CourtThe Trump administration has activated a secret 30-year-old court that's never been used. Here's what we know, and why we should (and shouldn't) be worried.www.stevevladeck.com

I just posted my draft of this year’s Harvard Law Review #SCOTUS Foreword—“The Court Against the Courts.” It analyzes the challenges, obstacles, and threats district courts have faced in cases involving the Trump administration—and documents how & why the Court bears responsibility for much of it:

My social media team (i.e., Karen) had some free time this afternoon…

Really excited to share that I’m writing the Foreword to the Harvard Law Review’s annual #SCOTUS issue this November (covering the October 2025 Term and … other recent developments)—and that I’ll be sharing details about the piece’s contents (and a link to the draft) in tomorrow’s “One First.”

One First | Steve Vladeck | SubstackA weekly newsletter aiming to make the Supreme Court’s rulings, procedures, and history more accessible to all. Click to read One First, a Substack publication with hundreds of thousands of subscriber...www.stevevladeck.com

Usually, I’m the one who comes to @ksvesq.bsky.social’s rescue when her work travel goes sideways. Today, it was all Karen coming to mine.

Yoda PatienceALT: Yoda Patiencestatic.klipy.com

Justices Kagan and Barrett are testifying before Congress today—about the Court’s budget. It’ll be the first time a justice has appeared before the legislature since 2019—even though the practice used to be (and *ought* to be) a lot more common: www.stevevladeck.com/p/228-justic...

228. Justices Testifying Before CongressJustices may soon testify at a Senate hearing for the first time since 2011. The practice used to be more common; there are good reasons for bringing it back.www.stevevladeck.com

After losing in courts across the country, the Trump administration has successfully steered nationwide litigation over gender-affirming medical care for minors to a single Texas judge in a single Texas district court. In "One First," me on how this happened (and why it's allowed but shouldn't be):

238. Venue Engineering & Medical Care for Transgender MinorsAfter losing in courts across the country, DOJ and the FTC have steered litigation over gender-affirming medical care for minors to a single Texas judge.www.stevevladeck.com

TBH, it's not a very good likeness of me (or Karen)... (H/T: GULC alumna Maria Lowe.)

Today's bonus "One First" looks at the three categories of Trump-related cases most likely to dominate #SCOTUS's docket in its October 2026 Term: (1) immigration detention; (2) appropriations/spending fights; & (3) congressional subpoenas (in a world in which Democrats retake at least one chamber):

Bonus 237: Looking Toward OT2026The Court's docket for its October 2026 Term doesn't yet have the kind of high-profile, Trump-related disputes that dominated OT2025. But they're coming.www.stevevladeck.com

#SCOTUS hasn’t granted rehearing in a case after it was decided on the merits docket since 1965, and it hasn’t done so to *fully* reconsider a ruling since 1956. In other words, “sure, Jan.” More in my “One First” explainer here: www.stevevladeck.com/p/90-petitio...

90. Petitions for RehearingThe aftermath of the Trump immunity case provides a useful foil for one of the nerdier niches of Supreme Court practice, followed by some some (unrelated) thoughts about Saturday’s newswww.stevevladeck.com