unitary executive theory: Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts attends inauguration ceremonies in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Law and Justice

The Unitary Executive Theory in All of Its Historical Perversity

by Jack Rakove September 24, 2026September 24, 2026

A misinformed idea underlies much of the work of John Roberts’s Supreme Court.

Podcast

Vote By Mail Is Safe—For Now

by Anne Kim September 23, 2026September 23, 2026

Vote-by-mail ballots are shown in sorting trays on August 5, 2020, at the King County Elections headquarters in Renton, Washington.

Newsletter

The Precarious Future of Vote by Mail

by Anne Kim September 20, 2026September 18, 2026

Many Democrats are hot to remake the Supreme Court. But it’s the lifetime appointment that just kept Trump from meddling with the midterms.

Law and Justice

The Supreme Court Still Works as the Founders Intended

by Bill Scher September 18, 2026September 18, 2026

Courtroom sketch depicting Supreme Court justices, from left, Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch, Sonia Sotomayor, Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Elena Kagan, Brett Kavanaugh, and Ketanji Brown Jackson, listening to arguments on Wednesday, November 5, 2025, in Washington.

Books

The Case for a Shadow Court

by Garrett Epps September 17, 2026September 18, 2026

Election subversion? Why Trump would have a hard time stealing the midterm elections.

Politics

Can Trump Steal the Midterms? Six Takeaways from Our Election Investigation

by Matthew Cooper July 16, 2026July 16, 2026

Review: Revenge for the Sixties: Sam Alito and the Triumph of the Conservative Legal Movement by Peter S. Cannellos. Simon & Schuster, 384 pp.

Books

What Makes Sam Alito So Angry?

by Rodger D. Citron July 7, 2026July 8, 2026

Newsletter

A Narrowing Vision of America

by Anne Kim July 5, 2026July 4, 2026

Senator Bernie Sanders and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani stand together in Brooklyn, where the Democratic voters' anti-establishment fury has moved from protest to power.

Politics

Democratic Voters Have Had Enough

by David Atkins July 3, 2026July 2, 2026

In a setback for trans rights, SCOTUS upheld bans on transgender athletes in women’s sports, sidestepping evidence and narrowing its own logic on trans discrimination.

Law and Justice

The Supreme Court’s Latest Blow to Trans Rights

by Alison Gash July 3, 2026July 2, 2026

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Supreme Court

The Unitary Executive Theory in All of Its Historical Perversity

Vote By Mail Is Safe—For Now

The Supreme Court Still Works as the Founders Intended

The Case for a Shadow Court

Can Trump Steal the Midterms? Six Takeaways from Our Election Investigation

What Makes Sam Alito So Angry?

Democratic Voters Have Had Enough

The Supreme Court’s Latest Blow to Trans Rights

A Feminist Humanist’s Last Word

If You Don’t Like Polls, Follow the Money

Before the Fall

The Supreme Court Still Works as the Founders Intended

The Case for a Shadow Court

Never Forgetting 9/11 Means Learning Lessons

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