On Point blog, page 1 of 41
SCOTUS reverses decision granting new homicide trial and accepts cert. to review geofence warrants; while Justice Jackson dissents from shutting courthouse door to prison inmates.
In its January 2026 orders, SCOTUS reminds the Fourth Circuit about AEDPA deference in reversing decision ordering a new trial and grants certiorari to determine whether a geofence warrant violates the Fourth Amendment, while Justice Jackson dissents from banning frequent inmate filers from commencing a case without paying the filing fee.
SCOTUS applies emergency aid exception to warrant requirement “without further gloss;” declines to adopt probable cause standard
Case v. Montana, USSC No. 24-624, 1/14/2026, affirming Montana v. Case, 2024 MT 165, 417 Mont. 354, 553 P.3d 985; Scotusblog page (with links to briefs and commentary)
SCOTUS unanimously holds that Brigham City v. Stuart‘s objective reasonableness standard for warrantless home entries to render aid applies “without further gloss” and was satisfied here. While SCOTUS affirms the Montana Supreme Court’s judgment, the Court does not adopt the lower court’s reasoning in full.
SCOTUS reverses COA order granting habeas relief because it relied on ground not raised by parties.
Terrence Clark v. Jeremiah Antoine Sweeney, USSC No. 25-52, 11/24/2025; Scotusblog page (with links to briefs and commentary)
SCOTUS reverses Fourth Circuit’s order granting habeas relief because the court relied on ground that was not presented by the parties.
SCOTUS: Mississippi statute mandating screening child witness from defendant violates right to confrontation.
Jeffrey Clyde Pitts v. Mississippi, USSC No. 24-1159, 11/24/2025; Scotusblog page (with links to briefs and commentary)
SCOTUS reverses conviction for child abuse because Mississippi law that requires screening at trial for child witnesses conflicted with the Sixth Amendment’s guarantee to face-to-face confrontation.
SCOTUS stays district court’s order preventing ICE agents from making investigatory stops without individualized reasonable suspicion
Noem v. Perdomo, USSC No. 25A169, 9/8/2025, Scotusblog page
SCOTUS stayed a district court’s order enjoining immigration agents from conducting stops in the Los Angeles area unless the agent has reasonable suspicion that the person stopped is within the United States in violation of immigration law.
SCOTUS: Second habeas petition filed while first petition pending on appeal must clear procedural hurdle before claim may be considered on its merits.
Rivers v. Guerrero, USSC No. 23-1345, 6/12/2025; Scotusblog page (with links to briefs and commentary)
A unanimous SCOTUS held that a habeas petitioner’s second filing asserting a new claim for relief, submitted after the district court entered judgment with respect to the first filing but while the first filing was pending on appeal, qualifies as a “second or successive” petition and must be approved by the court of appeals before considered by the district court.
SCOTUS grants cert to determine whether restitution is penal for purposes of the Ex Post Facto Clause
Holsey Ellingburg, Jr. v. United States, USSC No. 24-557, certiorari granted 4/7/25
SCOTUS added to its 2025-26 docket on April 7, when it granted the petitioner’s cert. petition to address the following:
Whether criminal restitution under the Mandatory Victim Restitution Act (MVRA) is penal for purposes of the Ex Post Facto Clause.
SCOTUS grants cert to determine scope of defendant’s right to discuss matters with counsel during recess in trial testimony.
David Asa Villarreal v. Texas, USSC No. 24-557, certiorari granted 4/7/25
SCOTUS added to its 2025-26 docket this week when it granted the petitioner’s cert. petition to address the following:
Whether a trial court abridges the defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to counsel by prohibiting the defendant and his counsel from discussing the defendant’s testimony during an overnight recess.
SCOTUS’s Most Recent Order List
While we don’t usually cover SCOTUS’s order list unless there’s something special going on, the most recent order clocked in at nearly 60 pages and featured a number of interesting dissents that we thought our readers would be intrigued by.
SCOTUS issues per curiam order clarifying that erroneous admission of prejudicial evidence can violate due process
Andrew v. White, USSC No. 23-6573 (per curiam), 1/21/25, vacating Andrew v. White, 62 F.4th 1299 (10th Cir. 2023); Scotusblog page (with links to briefs and commentary)
In a rare defense win (of sorts) on federal habeas in the US Supreme Court, SCOTUS clarifies that its decision in Payne v. Tennessee “clearly established” the rule that when “evidence is introduced that is so unduly prejudicial that it renders the trial fundamentally unfair, the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment provides a mechanism for relief.”