U.S. Supreme Court

A lesser golden plover sits in a section of wetland June 4, 2006, in Barrow, Alaska. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

New federal water pollution rule draws mixed reaction

BY: - August 30, 2023

A federal rule limiting agencies’ power to regulate water pollution will severely restrict protections for waters and wetlands throughout the country, but could also be subject to challenges from conservative groups that maintain the new rule exerts more federal jurisdiction than the U.S. Supreme Court intended in a May decision. With the rule published Tuesday […]

The U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. (Laura Olson/States Newsroom)

Nebraska, South Dakota, Iowa join fight against legal doctrine on federal regulatory authority

BY: - August 7, 2023

LINCOLN — Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers recently joined counterparts in 26 other states in urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn or clarify a legal precedent that could have major implications for federal regulatory authority. Nebraska, South Dakota and Iowa are among the 27 states that joined a July 24 filing to the Supreme […]

Amazon Public Relations Manager Scott Seroka explains a sorting system during a tour of the company's Sioux Falls fulfilment center on Feb. 16, 2023. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

Impact of landmark sales tax case difficult to calculate five years later

BY: - July 21, 2023

South Dakota has pulled in more than $416 million in sales tax revenue from “remote sellers” since winning a case in the U.S. Supreme Court over the right to collect it. That figure, however, does not represent the financial impact of South Dakota vs. Wayfair, which five years ago paved the way for states all […]

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The U.S. Supreme Court on June 21, 2021, in Washington, D.C. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Protection of domestic violence victims is at stake in US Supreme Court case

BY: and - July 10, 2023

On June 30, the U.S. Supreme Court decided to grant review in U.S. v. Rahimi, a case from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. The sole issue presented for the court’s review is the constitutionality of the federal law that prohibits possession of firearms by people subject to protective orders issued under […]

Student loan borrowers stage a rally in front of the White House to celebrate President Biden cancelling student debt and to begin the fight to cancel any remaining debt on Aug. 25, 2022, in Washington, D.C. (Paul Morigi/Getty Images for We the 45m)

US Supreme Court rules against Biden administration student loan debt relief plan

BY: - June 30, 2023

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday ruled that the Biden administration does not have the legal authority to enact a one-time student debt relief program, dealing a blow to the 40 million Americans who would have qualified. Last year, the Biden Administration rolled out a debt forgiveness plan for borrowers with federal student […]

Protestors near the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., after a ruling by the court striking down the use of affirmative action in college acceptance decisions, on Thursday, June 29, 2023. (Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)

‘This is not a normal court,’ says Biden as GOP opponents praise affirmative action ruling

BY: - June 29, 2023

WASHINGTON — Thursday’s U.S. Supreme Court decision that effectively scrambles the role affirmative action plays in the college admissions process cannot let the country slide “backwards,” President Joe Biden said just hours after the majority justices released their opinion. Meanwhile, Republicans seeking to challenge him in 2024 praised the decision. Issues of race and higher […]

Abortion supporters march down Adams Street near the state Capitol in Phoenix, Arizona, on Oct. 8, 2022. The march was part of a series of rallies and marches organized by the Women’s March Foundation across the country a month before the November midterms. (Gloria Rebecca Gomez/Arizona Mirror)

After Dobbs, abortion access is harder, comes later and with a higher risk

BY: - June 20, 2023

In April, a Reddit user in Alabama posted a breathless message to the abortion subreddit the morning after learning she was pregnant. She guessed she was early, two or three weeks maybe. “there’s a clinic in GA about 3 hours away. They said they will do it as long as no heartbeat is found on […]

People protest in response to the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization ruling in front of the U.S. Supreme Court on June 24, 2022, in Washington, D.C. The Court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health overturned the landmark 50-year-old Roe v. Wade case and erased a federal right to an abortion. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

A year after Dobbs: Congress takes a back seat on federal abortion policy

BY: - June 19, 2023

WASHINGTON — One year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to an abortion, the courts rather than a divided Congress are leading the way on decisions on reproductive rights that would affect the entire nation. Congress has not enacted federal legislation to either preserve reproductive rights or to restrict abortion in the […]

The U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. (Seth Tupper/South Dakota Searchlight)

Native Americans cheer Supreme Court’s upholding of Indian Child Welfare Act, push for more action

BY: - June 15, 2023

After the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Indian Child Welfare Act in a 7-2 vote released Thursday, Native American advocates in South Dakota applauded the decision and said the state should go further to protect Native children. ICWA is a 1978 federal law giving preference to Native tribes in the case of foster care placement […]

The sun sets on a wetland northwest of Hartford, South Dakota. (Joshua Haiar/SD Searchlight)

U.S. Supreme Court rejects Biden wetlands regulation, ruling for Idaho couple

BY: - May 25, 2023

UPDATED 5 p.m. Central, 5/25/23 The U.S. Supreme Court in a major environmental decision on Thursday overturned the Environmental Protection Agency’s definition of wetlands that fall under the agency’s jurisdiction, siding with an Idaho couple who’d said they should not be required to obtain federal permits to build on their property that lacked any navigable […]

In this photo illustration, packages of mifepristone tablets are displayed at a family planning clinic on April 13, 2023, in Rockville, Maryland. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Arguments on landmark abortion pill case to be heard Wednesday in appeals court

BY: - May 16, 2023

WASHINGTON — The lawsuit over access to the abortion pill goes before the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans on Wednesday, the next step on a path that will likely end at the U.S. Supreme Court.  The three-judge panel will decide whether to keep, overturn, or alter a ruling from U.S. District Court […]

The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected an Iowa organization’s challenge to a law imposing restrictions on the sale of pork in California. (Photo by Keith Weller/USDA Agricultural Research Service)

U.S. Supreme Court rejects pork producers’ challenge of California law

BY: - May 11, 2023

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday rejected an Iowa organization’s challenge to a law imposing restrictions on the sale of pork in California. The decision marks a significant defeat for Iowa pork producers who have long argued that California’s law, backed by animal-welfare advocates, would disrupt the agricultural industry by allowing states to dictate the […]