SCotUS Today
1. Ohio v. EPA (Gorsuch 5-4)
Dissent: Barrett, Sotomayor, Kagan, Jackson.
This was a case about whether the Supreme Court should temporarily block a rule issued by the Environmental Protection Agency to reduce air pollution from power plants and other industrial facilities while litigation continues. The case arises from the EPA’s interpretation of a law known as the “good neighbor” provision of the Clean Air Act, which requires “upwind” states to reduce emissions that affect the air quality in “downwind” states.
The court grants the states' application to put the rule on hold while the case proceeds in the lower courts.
https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf/23a349_0813.pdf
2. Harrington v. Purdue Pharma (Gorsuch, 5-4)
Dissent: Kavanaugh, Roberts, Sotomayor, Kagan
This was a case about whether the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit was correct to approve a multi-billion-dollar bankruptcy plan for Purdue Pharma, the maker of the highly addictive opioid painkiller OxyContin, that would release members of the Sackler family, which owned the company but did not declare bankruptcy, from any future liability for claims against them. The justices agreed last summer to put the bankruptcy plan on hold while it reviewed the challenge, brought by (among others) the federal government, to the plan’s legality. A bankruptcy judge originally approved the plan in 2021, reasoning that although the confirmation was a “bitter result” it was also the only way to provide funding for communities to address the problems caused by opioids.
The court holds that the bankruptcy code does not authorize this kind of order.
https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf/23-124_8nk0.pdf
3. SEC v. Jarkesy (Chief Roberts, 6-3)
Dissent: Sotomayor, Kagan, Jackson.
This was a case about whether the structure and enforcement powers of the Securities and Exchange Commission violate the Constitution. The case bPost too long. Click here to view the full text.
