WJI's Daily Reads for June 1, 2022

LaCrosse Tribune: LaCrosse County Circuit Judge Ramona Gonzalez reverses retirement decision.

Reuters: Federal court governing body approves plan for free searching of PACER court records.

NBC: U.S. Justice Department appeals order tossing airplane mask mandate.

The New York Times: U.S. Supreme Court blocks Texas law barring social media companies from filtering speech.

The court’s brief order was unsigned and gave no reasons, which is typical when the justices act on emergency applications. The order was not the last word in the case, which is pending before a federal appeals court and may return to the Supreme Court.

The vote was 5 to 4, with an unusual coalition in dissent. The court’s three most conservative members — Justices Samuel A. Alito Jr., Clarence Thomas and Neil M. Gorsuch — filed a dissent saying they would have let stand, for now at least, an appeals court order that left the law in place while the case moved forward. Justice Elena Kagan, a liberal, also said she would have let the order stand, though she did not join the dissent and gave no reasons of her own.

CNN: Supreme Court investigators seeking cell phone records and affidavits from law clerks.

Lawyers outside the court who have become aware of the new inquiries related to cell phone details warn of potential intrusiveness on clerks' personal activities, irrespective of any disclosure to the news media, and say they may feel the need to obtain independent counsel.

"That's what similarly situated individuals would do in virtually any other government investigation," said one appellate lawyer with experience in investigations and knowledge of the new demands on law clerks. "It would be hypocritical for the Supreme Court to prevent its own employees from taking advantage of that fundamental legal protection."

Empirical SCOTUS: Who are the most frequent dissenters at SCOTUS?

The New York Times: How politicians and policymakers are misreading SCOTUS gun-control caselaw.

Politico: Court battles over ballots in Pennsylvania Republican primary.