Today in Supreme Court History: September 14

McCarthy v. Briscoe, 429 U.S. 1316 (decided September 14, 1976): under 28 U.S.C. §1253, one can appeal directly to the Supreme Court from a three-judge District Court decision, but only if the decision was on Constitutional grounds; Powell denies motion to stay order because it was based on equitable doctrine of laches (this was Eugene McCarthy’s attempt to get on the ballot in Texas as a third party candidate; the Court later allowed him on, 429 U.S. 1317) (I voted for him that year, though I shouldn’t have)

Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc. v. Federal Election Comm’n, 542 U.S. 1305 (decided September 14, 2004): Rehnquist refuses to stay operation of the McCain-Feingold Act, which barred corporations from using general funds for “electioneering”, allegedly in violation of First Amendment Freedom of Speech; the Court had already held McCain-Feingold “facially Constitutional”, the three-judge District Court had already denied the injunction, and “All Writs Act” allowing the Court to issue any order in aid of its appellate jurisdiction is only to be used in “exigent” circumstances (the Court later changed its mind about McCain-Feingold and ruled it unconstitutional in Citizens United, 2010)

Yeshiva University v. YU Pride Alliance, 143 S.Ct. 1 (decided September 14, 2022): Court denies stay sought by Jewish university of New York state court order requiring it to give equal treatment to LGBTQ student club because stay can first be sought in state court; vigorous dissent by Alito, joined by Thomas, Gorsuch and Barrett: “Does the First Amendment permit a State to force a Jewish school to instruct its students in accordance with an interpretation of Torah that the school, after careful study, has concluded is incorrect?  The answer to that question is surely ‘no’.”  (After losing motion for summary judgment in state court and pursuing discovery, university finally gave in and allowed the club in March 2025, but . . . “Yeshiva University Reverses Itself and Bans L.G.B.T.Q. Club”, New York Times, May 12, 2025.  Looks like litigation will start up again.)