Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Supreme Court Delays Ruling On Mississippi's 15-Week Abortion Ban
Mississippi Clarion Ledger: U.S. Supreme Court Delays A Decision On Mississippi's Abortion Law
The U.S. Supreme Court has delayed a decision on whether to review a lower court's ruling preventing the 2018 Mississippi law from going into effect that bans most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The case had been set for conference by the nine-member court last Friday, but was rescheduled. Late Monday, the Center for Reproductive Rights said the court has rescheduled the case for conference this Friday. (Gates, 11/2)
In other Supreme Court developments —
USA Today: Black Lives Matter: Supreme Court Throws Out Case Against Activist
The Black Lives Matter movement got a favorable ruling Monday from the Supreme Court. The justices tossed out a federal appeals court decision that allowed a Black Lives Matter protest organizer to be sued by a police officer injured by an unknown assailant. The 2016 incident in Baton Rouge, La., followed the shooting death of Alton Sterling by a white police officer, which triggered weeks of protests across the U.S. The officer, identified as John Doe, was struck in the face by a rock. He sued DeRay Mckesson, a Black Lives Matter activist, on the theory that he “knew or should have known … that violence would result.” The officer, who suffered injuries to his brain, jaw and teeth, also sued Black Lives Matter. That was tossed out on the theory that BLM is a social movement and cannot be sued. (Wolf, 11/2)
NPR: Justice Barrett Joins Supreme Court Arguments For The First Time
The telephone format allows each justice only a few minutes to ask questions so there was no way to compare Barrett's questioning with other newbies in recent years. During his first argument in 2017, Justice Neil Gorsuch asked 22 questions, a half-dozen in a row, about 10 minutes into his first argument. In 2018, Justice Brett Kavanaugh was more reticent, waiting 20 minutes into his first argument before speaking. But the current pandemic format is in order of seniority, and the time for each justice is short. (Totenberg, 11/2)
