Topic

The Supreme Court

Landmark decisions, emerging doctrine, and the cases shaping American law — analyzed by leading constitutional scholars and practitioners.

80 courses · 76 briefs

The Supreme Court of the United States sets the boundaries of American law on issues from individual rights to federal power. Each term brings cases that reshape entire areas of practice — and the Court's evolving approach to precedent, standing, and the shadow docket has itself become a subject of intense legal debate.

These courses and briefs offer expert analysis of the Court's most significant decisions and the legal principles behind them, taught by the constitutional law scholars and appellate advocates who study the Court most closely.

Courses

80 on-demand CLE courses on this topic

59:58

Briefs

76 legal briefs on this topic

4:59

POLICEQUALIFIEDIMMUNITY?

Prof. Fred Smith, Jr. · Stanford Law

Why suing a police officer for damages turns on "clearly established law," and the three ways to show it

Can politicians lie about their opponents?

2:13

POLITICALLIESLEGAL?

Prof. Barbara McQuade · Michigan Law

Why defamation's "actual malice" standard is the main legal limit on lies in political campaigns

15:28

GUN MAKERS'IMMUNITY

Prof. Jody Madeira · Indiana Maurer Law

How the PLCAA shields gun makers and sellers from lawsuits, and the exceptions victims have used to sue.

Garland v. Cargill (on Bump Stocks) Explained

11:221.1K views

BUMP STOCKS:GARLAND v.CARGILL

Prof. Joseph Blocher · Duke Law School

Why the Supreme Court said a bump stock is not a "machinegun" under federal law, and what Congress can do.

19:244.1K views

U.S. v.RAHIMI

Prof. Joseph Blocher · Duke Law School

Why the Supreme Court upheld disarming people under domestic violence orders, and how it refined Bruen.

13:231.8K views

MENTALILLNESS &GUN RIGHTS

Prof. Jody Madeira · Indiana Maurer Law

Who federal law disarms for mental health reasons, how red flag laws differ, and how rights are restored.

Restricting Guns in Cases of Domestic Violence

12:551.2K views

GUNS ANDDOMESTICVIOLENCE

Prof. Jody Madeira · Indiana Maurer Law

How federal and state law disarm domestic abusers, the boyfriend loophole, the stalking gap, and Rahimi.

9:30

SECONDAMENDMENTORIGINALISM

Prof. Jake Charles · Pepperdine Caruso Law

What originalism means, how it shaped Heller and Bruen, and the main arguments for and against it.

11:03

ARE GUNLAWSRACIST?

Prof. Darrell A. H. Miller · UChicago Law

From the Black Codes to the Mulford Act: how race shaped American gun laws and what that history means today.

1st v. 2nd: What Happens When Amendments Collide?

15:37737 views

1ST v. 2NDAMENDMENT

Prof. Joseph Blocher · Duke Law School

Is carrying a gun speech? Can protests be gun-free? How courts handle clashes between speech and gun rights.

What Weapons Get 2nd Amendment Protection?

11:071.5K views

WHICHWEAPONS AREPROTECTED?

Prof. Jake Charles · Pepperdine Caruso Law

Common use, "dangerous and unusual," stun guns, and the open question of AR-15s under the Second Amendment.

10:42548 views

FIREARMPREEMPTIONLAWS

Prof. Darrell A. H. Miller · UChicago Law

How states block local gun rules, what punitive preemption adds, and what gun sanctuaries can and cannot do.

6:001.1K views

GUNBACKGROUNDCHECKS

Prof. Jake Charles · Pepperdine Caruso Law

Who must run a gun background check, what NICS screens for, and why many private sales are exempt.

11:0574K views

FELONGUN BANS:LEGAL?

Prof. Jake Charles · Pepperdine Caruso Law

Civic virtue or dangerousness? How courts weigh lifetime gun bans for people with felony records after Bruen

8:27

MUSICSAMPLINGRIGHTS

Prof. Joseph Fishman · Vanderbilt Law

What counts as sampling, the de minimis circuit split, fair use, and why sample licenses can cost so much.

7:333.2K views

McDONALDv. CHICAGO

Prof. Darrell A. H. Miller · UChicago Law

How the 2010 case applied the Second Amendment to state and local governments through incorporation

9:21969 views

GUN LAWSAT THEFOUNDING

Prof. Darrell A. H. Miller · UChicago Law

Militia rules, gunpowder storage, and the Statute of Northampton: why 18th-century gun laws matter today

8:30828 views

2ND-CLASSRIGHT?

Prof. Joseph Blocher · Duke Law School

Do courts give the right to bear arms less respect than other rights? What the record shows.

8:59843 views

GUN-FREEZONES:THE LIMITS

Prof. Joseph Blocher · Duke Law School

Right after Bruen, a look at what makes a place sensitive enough to ban guns, and why it is hard to say

13:324.3K views

DC v.HELLER

Prof. Joseph Blocher · Duke Law School

The 2008 case that recognized an individual right to keep a handgun at home, and the limits it described.

Do you have to comply with police orders?

7:373.8K views

MUST YOUOBEYPOLICE?

Prof. Rachel Harmon · UVA Law

Unlawful orders, the right to resist, and why 'comply now, complain later' often leaves no way to complain.

4:22954 views

THESHADOWDOCKET

Dahlia Lithwick · Slate

How emergency orders decided without full briefing or argument became a major channel of Supreme Court power.

6:21

SOCIAL MEDIAAS COMMONCARRIERS?

Prof. Eric Goldman · Santa Clara Law

Can states force Facebook or YouTube to carry everyone? Common carriage and must-carry laws after Moody.

Due Process – Can a Litigant Appoint His Judge?

6:14734 views

PICKINGYOUR OWNJUDGE?

Alicia Bannon · Brennan Center for Justice

Must a judge step aside when a litigant appointed her? Caperton's "serious risk of actual bias" test.

7:243.3K views

THELEMONTEST

Prof. Sarah Barringer Gordon · Penn Carey Law

What Lemon v. Kurtzman required, why it fell out of favor, and where it stands after Kennedy v. Bremerton.

5:353.7K views

MAJORQUESTIONSDOCTRINE

Prof. Lisa Heinzerling · Georgetown Law

How a passing argument in agency cases became a clear-statement rule in West Virginia v. EPA.

7:333.5K views

TEXT,HISTORY &TRADITION

Prof. Joseph Blocher · Duke Law School

How Bruen replaced the two-part framework for gun laws, and why history can be hard to apply

12:4520K views

NYSRPA v.BRUEN

Prof. Jake Charles · Pepperdine Caruso Law

How the Supreme Court recognized a right to carry in public and replaced balancing with a history test

Sensitive Places under the Second Amendment

16:001.2K views

GUNS INSENSITIVEPLACES

Prof. Joseph Blocher · Duke Law School

Where can guns be banned? How courts use history and analogy to decide which places are sensitive.

7:33

MORE THANTWOPARENTS?

Prof. Douglas NeJaime · Yale Law School

From Michael H. v. Gerald D. to three-parent judgments: how parentage law recognizes multi-parent families.

14:281.2K views

SURROGACYLEGALRISKS

Prof. Douglas NeJaime · Yale Law School

Parentage judgments, interstate birth certificates, surrogate autonomy, and gestational vs. genetic surrogacy.

FTC Act Section 5 Unfairness Balancing Test

6:06

FTCUNFAIRNESSTEST

Prof. Neil Richards · WashU Law

Why a leading privacy scholar argues the FTC's unfairness test lets substantial consumer harm slip through.

6:301.5K views

LIMITEDTORTIN NJ

Edward P. Capozzi · Brach Eichler

How New Jersey's limited tort option restricts pain-and-suffering suits after a crash, and when you can sue.

Brain Injury Liability at Birth (Illinois)

16:51

BRAININJURYAT BIRTH

Patrick A. Salvi II · Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard

When a newborn's brain injury is malpractice in Illinois: proving negligence, causation, and lifelong damages.

4:54

POLICEBRAINSCANS?

Prof. Emily Murphy · UC Law San Francisco

Cognitive liberty, the Fourth and Fifth Amendments, and why today's fMRI needs a cooperative subject.

8:5613K views

State Laws Restricting Vaccine Mandates

Prof. Dorit Reiss · UC Law San Francisco

How states limit vaccine requirements by government agencies, businesses, and private employers

8:462.6K views

Federal and State COVID-19 Vaccination Mandates

Prof. Dorit Reiss · UC Law San Francisco

Can governments and employers require a vaccine authorized only for emergency use? The 2021 debate.

Returning to the Office — Employer Legal Liability

7:31

BACK TOTHE OFFICE:WHO'S LIABLE?

Sara Kalis · Morgan Lewis

An employer's duty to keep the workplace safe, and how to handle requests to keep working remotely.

6:504.2K views

CAN YOURECORDPOLICE?

Prof. Rachel Harmon · UVA Law

The First Amendment right to film police, and when officers can limit it at crime scenes, stops, and arrests.

5:087.3K views

POLICEDEADLYFORCE

Prof. Rachel Harmon · UVA Law

The Fourth Amendment limits on police deadly force under Tennessee v. Garner, and why many states go further.

7:132.6K views

STANDARDESSENTIALPATENTS

Raghav Bajaj · Latham & Watkins

How patents become essential to standards like Wi-Fi and 5G, and why FRAND terms and patent pools matter.

Can you be arrested for giving the finger to police?

0:525.7K views

ARRESTEDFOR THEFINGER?

Prof. Rachel Harmon · UVA Law

Why the First Amendment protects rude gestures and harsh words aimed at police officers

4:055.7K views

Can Hospital Workers Be Fired for Refusing to Vaccinate?

Prof. Dorit Reiss · UC Law San Francisco

Employer vaccine requirements for health workers and the ADA, Title VII, and union limits that apply

4:28865 views

DHS v.THURAISSIGIAM

Profs. Cristina Rodríguez & Adam Cox · Yale Law · NYU Law

How the Supreme Court limited habeas review and due process for asylum seekers in expedited removal.

2:551K views

WHAT ISDAPA?

Profs. Cristina Rodríguez & Adam Cox · Yale Law · NYU Law

The deferred-action program for parents of citizens and green card holders, and why the courts blocked it.

18:25635 views

OHIO v.AMEX

Julie Elmer · Freshfields

How the Supreme Court's two-sided market ruling reshaped antitrust market definition for platforms.

CARES Act Fraud and Whistleblower Protections

5:161K views

CARES ACTFRAUD &WHISTLEBLOWERS

Marisa T. Darden · Benesch

How the False Claims Act, qui tam suits, and whistleblower protections apply to CARES Act relief funds.

"Compassionate Use" and the Law on Unapproved COVID-19 Drugs

3:48507 views

UNAPPROVEDCOVIDDRUGS

Prof. I. Glenn Cohen · Harvard Law School

How FDA expanded access, Right to Try laws, and off-label prescribing govern unproven treatments.

3:461K views

Can the President Overturn States' Quarantine Orders?

Prof. I. Glenn Cohen · Harvard Law School

Harvard's Glenn Cohen on federal versus state power over shutdowns, quarantines, and public health orders.

Can You Be Liable for the Emojis You Use?

2:52815 views

SUED FORAN EMOJI?

Prof. Eric Goldman · Santa Clara Law

Courts read emojis together with words, so a gun emoji or a thumbs-up can carry real legal consequences.

2:572.7K views

THEHECKLER'SVETO

Prof. Nadine Strossen · New York Law School

Why shouting down a speaker you oppose undermines free speech, and how the heckler's veto doctrine began.

A First Amendment Right to Social Media?

3:4631K views

A RIGHT TOSOCIALMEDIA?

Nadine Strossen · New York Law School

Why there is no constitutional right to stay on Facebook or X, and why platform access still matters

Litigation Strategy: Identifying the Decisive Issues

2:542.9K views

FINDING THEDECISIVEISSUES

John B. Quinn · Quinn Emanuel

John Quinn on finding what a jury will believe early, and why early spending is a client's best investment

4:013K views

COMBATINGTECHABUSE

Eboni K. Williams · Lawyer & TV Host

How abusers misuse tracking, hacking, harassment, and control, and the safety and legal tools for survivors.

1:54

TRADEMARKA COLOR?

Prof. Barbara Kolsun · Cardozo Law

Tiffany blue, Louboutin red, and when a single color can work as a trademark

When can the U.S. prosecute crimes committed abroad?

3:435.5K views

PROSECUTINGCRIMESABROAD

Alex Spiro · Quinn Emanuel

How U.S. criminal law reaches citizens, foreign nationals, and conduct overseas, from bank cases to bribery

3:5414K views

CAN THEPOLICELIE?

Alex Spiro · Quinn Emanuel

When police may lie in questioning, how courts judge voluntariness, and why false confessions happen.

3:286.9K views

WHAT ISCRIMINALIMMUNITY?

Prof. I. Bennett Capers · Fordham Law

Use immunity, transactional immunity, and why prosecutors, not judges, decide who gets a deal

Can universities ban hate speech on campus?

4:042.5K views

BANNINGHATE SPEECHON CAMPUS?

Lee Rowland · Natl. Coalition Against Censorship

Why public universities cannot ban offensive speech, and where harassment law draws the line on campus.

2:22774 views

CAN APRESIDENTOBSTRUCT?

Prof. I. Bennett Capers · Fordham Law

What counts as obstruction, why a sitting president is not indicted, and how presidential immunity applies.

Do student athletes have a right to "take a knee?"

3:131.5K views

ATHLETESTAKINGA KNEE

Lee Rowland · Natl. Coalition Against Censorship

Can a public school punish a student athlete for kneeling during the anthem? The First Amendment answer.

What are your rights to protest in public?

3:381.9K views

YOURRIGHT TOPROTEST

Lee Rowland · Natl. Coalition Against Censorship

Streets, sidewalks, and parks: when you need a permit to protest and what counts as unlawful obstruction.

Can you be fired for speech outside the office?

2:212.5K views

FIREDFOR YOURSPEECH?

Lee Rowland · Natl. Coalition Against Censorship

Why the First Amendment does not stop a private employer from firing you for what you say on your own time.

What counts as “incitement” under the First Amendment?

4:598.2K views

SPEECHORINCITEMENT?

Lee Rowland · Natl. Coalition Against Censorship

How Brandenburg and Claiborne Hardware set a high bar before speech can be punished as incitement

What crimes can trigger impeachment of the president?

1:57634 views

IMPEACHABLECRIMES?

Judge Andrew Napolitano · Former NJ Superior Court Judge

Treason, bribery, and high crimes and misdemeanors: the standard for impeaching presidents and judges.

Can deportation be punishment for crime?

1:08795 views

DEPORTATIONASPUNISHMENT?

Judge Andrew Napolitano · Former NJ Superior Court Judge

Why deportation is a civil consequence of a conviction rather than part of the criminal sentence.

What if a nominee withdraws pre-election?

2:422.1K views

WHAT IF ANOMINEEDROPS OUT?

Prof. Richard Pildes · NYU Law

Party rules, state ballot deadlines, and the Electoral College: how a presidential nominee gets replaced.

3:4915K views

RIGHT TORECORDPOLICE?

Prof. Jocelyn Simonson · Brooklyn Law School

Most federal appeals courts now protect filming police in public, but buffer laws and immunity still matter.

1:472.6K views

MONEYLAUNDERING

Prof. William H. Simon · Columbia Law School

A Columbia law professor explains the two elements that turn moving money into a federal crime.

1:341.7K views

WHO OWNSYOURSPERM?

Prof. I. Glenn Cohen · Harvard Law School

Frozen sperm, consent, and whether a child conceived after death can inherit.

4:0641K views

STOP ANDFRISK?

Prof. Daniel Capra · Fordham Law

How Terry v. Ohio's reasonable-suspicion rules permit stops and frisks, and why NYC's program was struck down.

Can the police use race when deciding who to stop?

2:351K views

RACE &POLICESTOPS?

Prof. Daniel Capra · Fordham Law

Why a pretextual traffic stop is valid under the Fourth Amendment whenever the officer has probable cause.

When must you answer a police officer's question?

2:39492K views

MUST YOUANSWERPOLICE?

Prof. Daniel Capra · Fordham Law

Consensual encounters, Terry stops, ID requests, and searches: what you must do and what you can refuse.

Can President Trump continue to run his businesses?

1:382.8K views

TRUMP'SBUSINESSESIN OFFICE?

Judge Andrew Napolitano · Former NJ Superior Court Judge

Why conflict-of-interest laws skip the president, and where the Emoluments Clauses fit in.

2:27

WHO CAN THEPRESIDENTPARDON?

Judge Andrew Napolitano · Former NJ Superior Court Judge

How far the presidential pardon reaches, from uncharged crimes to self-pardons, and what it erases.

3:14705 views

VOTERINTIMIDATION

Suraj Patel · Attorney

Threats at the polls, armed officials, and lies about when to vote: what counts as voter intimidation.

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The Supreme Court

Courses

The Power of the Party

The Fall of Weil

Gerrymandering Without Limits

Class, Not Race – Diversity after SFFA

Governmental Power and Constitutional Liberty

Trans Inclusion in the Legal Profession

Policing the Police

Press Freedom vs. Privacy

Shadow Immigration and the Power of the Presidency

Pseudoscience and Dubious Forensics

Mass Shootings: Which Gun Laws Work

Mass Incarceration: Causes and Reforms

Hate Speech and the First Amendment

Players v. League: Battling the Sports Monopolies

Abandoned DNA & the Ownership of Sperm

From Super PACs to Dark Money

When Religious Freedom Harms Children

Personal Data and Information Privacy

Negotiation Strategy and Gender

The Mismatch Critique of Affirmative Action

Bending the Knee

The AI Threat to Privacy

Defending Words

Scroll Control

Confronting the Disinformation Engine

Trump Trials – A Survey in Legal Ethics

Gun Rights under Rahimi & Cargill

Criminal Lab Grown Meat

A Race to the 2nd Amendment

Red Flag Laws & Domestic Violence Orders

Deadly Force as Self Defense

Injustice by Forensics

Opioid Bankruptcy

Model Minority & Associates

Understanding SFFA v. Harvard

Police Commands & Police Coercion

Inside the Shadow Docket

Economic Incentives for Diversity

Lady Justice

Free Speech on the Law School Campus

Recusal & the Bounds of Judicial Bias

God & Football after Bremerton

WV v. EPA and the Major Questions Doctrine

Gun Law after Bruen

Assisted Reproduction and Parental Rights

A Credibility Gap in Cases of Rape

Poor People Science & Wrongful Convictions

Combatting Crypto Money Laundering

The Leaked Opinion, Dobbs v. Jackson

Law of Bourbon

Ethics and Batson

Mine — Examining the Law of Ownership

Powers of the Modern CFIUS

Line Prosecutors v. Main Justice

Prosecutorial Discretion – Police Killings and Sexual Abuse

Jailhouse Law—Lawyering as an Inmate

Free Speech vs Hate Speech on Campus

Interpreting Emoji

#MeToo Challenges in the Legal Profession

Qualified Immunity of the Police

The Case for Holistic Defense

The Problem with Bail

Used Car Battles

Dud Cars and Lemon Laws

Cyberbullying and the First Amendment

Mutual Funds Structure and Risk

Diversity in Justice

Donald Trump and the Weight of Presidential Speech

#TrumpTweets - Redefining Presidential Twitter

Food Labels - What Are You Eating?

The Price of Death - Compensating Victims

Cruelty on the Farm - Food Safety and Animal Welfare

The Language Conundrum - Access to Justice

A Different Path to the Bench

Police Technology - From Body Cameras to Facial Recognition

The Weapons of a Hostile Takeover

Individual Liberty in Post-9/11 America

Lawyer Ads Gone Wrong