Senior writer at Slate covering courts and the law. Co-host of the Amicus podcast. Dad.https://bsky.app/profile/mjsdc.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/mjsdc.bsky.social/post/3mlog6dltgc2mYesterday's 6–3 Supreme Court order ushering in a racist Alabama gerrymander broke two promises that Alito made *12 days earlier* in Callais and shamelessly broke the court's own (bogus) rule against late intervention in an ongoing election. https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2026/05/supreme-court-alabama-voting-sotomayor-dissent-alito.html12 May 2026 18:28 +0000at://did:plc:6h7b2i6ttw3l4t7pvbvxdith/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlog6dltgc2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/mjsdc.bsky.social/post/3mlm32o72gk2bWe've already run through steps 1-4 on this latest round—pulling for 5 to come through soon [contains quote post or other embedded content]11 May 2026 20:04 +0000at://did:plc:6h7b2i6ttw3l4t7pvbvxdith/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlm32o72gk2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/mjsdc.bsky.social/post/3mlm27kpftk2bVirginia Democrats have filed a long shot emergency application asking SCOTUS to stay the Virginia Supreme Court's decision against the new, voter-approved congressional map. https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28113281-25a-application-for-stay/11 May 2026 19:49 +0000at://did:plc:6h7b2i6ttw3l4t7pvbvxdith/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlm27kpftk2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/mjsdc.bsky.social/post/3mllzs6wwlk2bJustice Alito has extended his administrative stay of the 5th Circuit ruling against mifepristone. Mifepristone remains available via telemedicine and mail, for now. New deadline is Thursday.11 May 2026 19:41 +0000at://did:plc:6h7b2i6ttw3l4t7pvbvxdith/app.bsky.feed.post/3mllzs6wwlk2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/mjsdc.bsky.social/post/3mllx65vdoc2rIf this lawsuit succeeds, it may compel Democrats to "unpack" Illinois' majority-minority congressional districts—a process that could eliminate the state's three remaining Republican seats by spreading out Democratic voters more efficiently. Seems strategically dumb. [contains quote post or other embedded content]11 May 2026 18:54 +0000at://did:plc:6h7b2i6ttw3l4t7pvbvxdith/app.bsky.feed.post/3mllx65vdoc2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/mjsdc.bsky.social/post/3mllmbzkdr22rI'm back from parental leave until I take a much longer break in August! Kinda seems like everything went to shit over the past two weeks?11 May 2026 15:40 +0000at://did:plc:6h7b2i6ttw3l4t7pvbvxdith/app.bsky.feed.post/3mllmbzkdr22rhttps://bsky.app/profile/mjsdc.bsky.social/post/3mlli2zw42c2sIn 2022, the North Carolina Supreme Court's Democratic majority banned partisan gerrymandering under the state constitution. Republicans then won control of the court and spontaneously reversed that decision, re-legalizing gerrymandering. I suspect this is the model Virginia Democrats will follow.11 May 2026 14:24 +0000at://did:plc:6h7b2i6ttw3l4t7pvbvxdith/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlli2zw42c2shttps://bsky.app/profile/mjsdc.bsky.social/post/3mkzs4tekis2eOne more week of parental leave (for now). This is how your email finds me.04 May 2026 13:36 +0000at://did:plc:6h7b2i6ttw3l4t7pvbvxdith/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkzs4tekis2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/mjsdc.bsky.social/post/3mkurf7itj227Yep. It isn’t 2023. Telemedicine abortion remains broadly available everywhere: •Domestic providers can switch to a miso-only regime; slightly less effective but still extremely safe •International providers will still mail mifepristone uninterrupted The field has been planning for this moment. [contains quote post or other embedded content]02 May 2026 13:40 +0000at://did:plc:6h7b2i6ttw3l4t7pvbvxdith/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkurf7itj227https://bsky.app/profile/mjsdc.bsky.social/post/3mkuosdl3dk2aToro’s morning apple02 May 2026 12:53 +0000at://did:plc:6h7b2i6ttw3l4t7pvbvxdith/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkuosdl3dk2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/mjsdc.bsky.social/post/3mkt7rociqs2nTerrific thread. I’ll just add: 1. I think there’s a good chance the Supreme Court will stay this decision, allowing providers to keep mailing mifepristone for the time being. 2. The Trump administration didn’t want this! Its plan was to wait until after the midterms to crack down on mifepristone. [contains quote post or other embedded content]01 May 2026 22:52 +0000at://did:plc:6h7b2i6ttw3l4t7pvbvxdith/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkt7rociqs2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/mjsdc.bsky.social/post/3mknmf3xjac2bDon't think I've ever seen @rickhasen.bsky.social this angry. "The Supreme Court itself has shown itself to be the enemy of democracy. [Democrats] have to consider reform of the Supreme Court itself, a conclusion I had been resisting until the court made this unavoidable." https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2026/04/scotus-voting-rights-section-two-ruling-history-worst-century.html29 Apr 2026 17:22 +0000at://did:plc:6h7b2i6ttw3l4t7pvbvxdith/app.bsky.feed.post/3mknmf3xjac2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/mjsdc.bsky.social/post/3mknlici2m22xI'm on parental leave this week and next, so of course Callais came down today. Just a few top-line thoughts: 1. Don't believe Alito's claim that the majority is merely tinkering with precedent. In effect, this decision pretty much eliminates what remained of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.29 Apr 2026 17:05 +0000at://did:plc:6h7b2i6ttw3l4t7pvbvxdith/app.bsky.feed.post/3mknlici2m22xhttps://bsky.app/profile/mjsdc.bsky.social/post/3mki3cfede22eProgramming note: Celebrated the birth of our second son this weekend. 😊His big brother is over the moon, as are we! Everybody is happy and healthy. I’ll be taking off the next two weeks, then back through July, after which I’ll be off again for a while. Good luck out there!27 Apr 2026 12:33 +0000at://did:plc:6h7b2i6ttw3l4t7pvbvxdith/app.bsky.feed.post/3mki3cfede22ehttps://bsky.app/profile/mjsdc.bsky.social/post/3mkbd4vfvj22qContinuing his campaign for SCOTUS, Judge James Ho claims that other countries have "weaponized" mass migration against the U.S., citing a Breitbart conspiracy theorist for the proposition that Mexico is pushing migrants into the U.S. to reclaim old territory. https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/28072757/tx.pdf [contains quote post or other embedded content]24 Apr 2026 20:04 +0000at://did:plc:6h7b2i6ttw3l4t7pvbvxdith/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkbd4vfvj22qhttps://bsky.app/profile/mjsdc.bsky.social/post/3mkanu2rmss2xI am begging someone, anyone, to answer Steve's question: Where did Baude get the idea that the government only faces "irreparable injury" when a lower court blocks its action, and not when the Supreme Court blocks it? Was this idea pulled out of thin air to defend Roberts' memos? It's mystifying. [contains quote post or other embedded content]24 Apr 2026 13:43 +0000at://did:plc:6h7b2i6ttw3l4t7pvbvxdith/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkanu2rmss2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/mjsdc.bsky.social/post/3mk6fbv5ahc2uMan, this is absolutely huge, and I cannot believe Trump gets to claim it. There's no reason Biden's Justice Department couldn't have done this. Or Obama's! [contains quote post or other embedded content]23 Apr 2026 16:05 +0000at://did:plc:6h7b2i6ttw3l4t7pvbvxdith/app.bsky.feed.post/3mk6fbv5ahc2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/mjsdc.bsky.social/post/3mk67ucnqhk2jFantastic, comprehensive piece, and I have no idea how Steve remains so calm while refuting all this nonsense. The sanewashing of the shadow docket is infuriating! [contains quote post or other embedded content]23 Apr 2026 14:27 +0000at://did:plc:6h7b2i6ttw3l4t7pvbvxdith/app.bsky.feed.post/3mk67ucnqhk2j