SCOTUSblog: Starts Jun 23, 9:30 AM ET Announcement of opinions for Tuesday, June 23

[mahatmakanejeeves]

The SC will release opinions on Thursday morning too.

Upcoming: Starts Jun 23, 9:30 AM ET
Announcement of opinions for Tuesday, June 23
We will be live blogging as the court potentially releases opinions in one or more argued cases from the current term. Click here for a list of FAQs about opinion announcements.

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[mahatmakanejeeves]

1. Opinions today, in one half-hour

Newsletter
Key takeaways from a jam-packed order list

By Kelsey Dallas
Jun 23, 2026


Carved details along top of Supreme Court building are pictured
(Katie Barlow)

Today is Justice Clarence Thomas’ birthday. Born in 1948, Thomas has served on the court since 1991. He is the second-longest-serving justice of all time.

Plus, today is expected to be an opinion announcement day at the Supreme Court. We will be live blogging beginning at 9:30 a.m. EDT.

At the Court

{snip}

[mahatmakanejeeves]

2. It's 10:00 a.m.

Kelsey Dallas
Mod
10:00 AM
For those just joining - we're expecting the first opinion any minute. There are three boxes today, so we are going to get several decisions.

First opinion is from Barrett, in CIsco Systems v. Doe.
The vote is 6-3
This is a lawsuit brought by practitioners of the Falun Gong religion, who contend that they or family members were victims of human rights abuses committed in China. They contend that Cisco Systems helped the Chinese government and the Chinese Communist Party to create a massive online surveillance system to find Falun Gong practitioners.
Zachary Shemtob
Mod
10:01 AM
https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/24-856_kjfm.pdf
Amy Howe
Mod
10:01 AM
The case as it came to the Supreme Court was about whether the plaintiffs could rely on either the Alien Tort Statute, a 1789 law that allows foreigners to bring lawsuits in U.S. courts for serious violations of international law, or the Torture Victim Protection Act, a 1992 law that allows suits against individuals who subject others to torture while acting on behalf of a foreign government, to sue Cisco for aiding and abetting the human rights abuses.

Justice Kavanaugh has the next in Exxon Mobil v. Corporacion Cimex.
Rory K. Little
Mod
10:06 AM
SS wrote long but already read from the bench in Callais, no? They usually read only one dissent, at most, from the bench....
Amy Howe
Mod
10:06 AM
The vote is 6-3, and the decision of the DC Circuit is reversed and remanded.
Zachary Shemtob
Mod
10:06 AM
https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/24-699_f204.pdf
Amy Howe
Mod
10:06 AM
The question in this case was whether the Helms-Burton Act, a 1996 law that allows U.S. nationals to bring a lawsuit against anyone who “traffics in property” confiscated by the Cuban government after 1959, trumps the normal presumption, under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, that foreign governments cannot be sued in U.S. courts, or whether plaintiffs in lawsuits brought under the Helms-Burton Act must show that they can meet one of the exceptions under the FSIA to that normal presumption.
Zachary Shemtob
Mod
10:06 AM
Again, an ideological split
Mark Walsh
Mod
10:06 AM
Based on a three-box day, it is not a surprise that there are no R numbers yet.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

3. We have Landor, and it is by Gorsuch!

Some religions are more religious than others.

We have Landor, and it is by Gorsuch!
The vote is once again 6-3. Jackson dissents, joined by Sotomayor and Kagan.
Zachary Shemtob
Mod
10:12 AM
https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/23-1197_h3ci.pdf
Amy Howe
Mod
10:12 AM
The court upholds the ruling by the Fifth Circuit.
Mark Walsh
Mod
10:13 AM
Justice Kavanaugh was the only justice who hadn't written (a majority) in the November sitting, which had nine cases.
Amy Howe
Mod
10:13 AM
It holds that holds that a Louisiana man cannot sue prison officials who shaved his head even after he showed them a copy of a court ruling that allowed him to keep his long hair for religious reasons.

Zachary Shemtob
Mod
10:15 AM
https://www.scotusblog.com/2025/11/court-appears-skeptical-of-prison-inmates-religious-liberty-claim/
Rory K. Little
Mod
10:15 AM
And no reference to Bourne at all in the Landor opinions. !

[mahatmakanejeeves]

4. The next decision is Pung v. Isabella County, by Alito,

The next decision is Pung v. Isabella County, by Alito,
Alito sometimes delivers very short summaries
Rory K. Little
Mod
10:16 AM
Wow this is going to be a very heavy reporter's day!
Amy Howe
Mod
10:17 AM
This was a challenge under both the Fifth Amendment’s takings clause (which bars the government from taking private property for public use without paying “just compensation”) and the Eighth Amendment’s ban on excessive fines. It arose when the state foreclosed on a house for failure to pay taxes and sold it for $76,000. The former homeowner got the difference between the taxes he owed ($2200) and the sale price, but then the buyer turned around and sold it again for much more. The former owner argued that he was entitled to the difference between the second sale price (which he says was the fair market value) and the taxes that he owed.
Zachary Shemtob
Mod
10:17 AM
https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p…
https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/25-95_dc8e.pdf
Mark Walsh
Mod
10:17 AM
No R numbers
Amy Howe
Mod
10:17 AM
The court holds that the "proper baseline ... is the price obtained in a tax sale, at least when the sale is fairly conducted in light of our country's history of tax sales."

[mahatmakanejeeves]

5. Final opinion of the day is Blanche v. Lau. It is by Justice Thomas, and the vote is 6-3.

Final opinion of the day is Blanche v. Lau.
It is by Justice Thomas, and the vote is 6-3.
Justice Jackson dissents, joined by Sotomayor and Kagan.
Mark Walsh
Mod
10:18 AM
Justice Alito can be quite succinct in his opinion summaries, and I guess Pung is another example
Amy Howe
Mod
10:18 AM
This is a case about when immigration officers can deny admission (that is, permission to stay in the US indefinitely) to green card holders, as opposed to paroling them – allowing them to enter the US temporarily. The issue comes to the court in a challenge by a Chinese citizen with a green card to the decision by immigration officials to classify him as having been paroled instead of admitted because he had been charged with selling counterfeit clothes. The classification made a difference in terms of the bar that the government would have to meet to deport him.
David Lat
Mod
10:19 AM
So I think 4 out of 5 decisions today were 6-3 splits, Republican appointees vs. Democratic appointees (with Pung as the exception).
Zachary Shemtob
Mod
10:19 AM
https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/25-429_h3ci.pdf
Amy Howe
Mod
10:19 AM
The court holds that federal immigration law does not require a border officer to have clear and convincing evidence that a green card holder has committed a crime involving moral turpitude before deeming the resident an applicant for admission.
Rory K. Little
Mod
10:19 AM
Not posted yet on the SCt's own site? Even they are overwhelmed by this many pages. 😀
Amy Howe
Mod
10:20 AM
The court throws out the Second Circuit's ruling in favor of Lau, the green card holder, and sends the case back to the lower court.
Mark Walsh
Mod
10:20 AM
Yes, posting of opinions was taking a few seconds, but I see them all now, and R numbers.
Amy Howe
Mod
10:20 AM
It notes that "Lau still argues that his crime" -- selling counterfeit clothing -- "was not one involving mural turpitude" and it was not going to decide that issue.
Rory K. Little
Mod
10:21 AM
Yup. Wow. Off to work!
sarah isgur
Mod
10:21 AM
My big takeaways: 1) Lot of 6-3 that are on legal principles and not culture war issues--like causes of action and spending clause. 2) The next couple hand down days are going to be NUTS because all the culture war/political cases are staking up now.
Amy Howe
Mod
10:21 AM
And the court is now finished. This was an unscheduled day, so there were no bar admissions.
Luke
10:21 AM
Amy, do you go into the court to listen to the opinions, or are you somewhere we you can hear the audio of the justices reading the opinion from the bench?
Mark Walsh
Mod
10:22 AM
There will be no bar admissions this Thursday, either, Amy, because it is the last full week of June and the court doesn't do them this late.
Amy HoweMod replied Luke
10:22 AM
Amy, do you go into the court to listen to the opinions, or are you somewhere we you can hear the audio of the… more
I'm in the press room. There is audio of the opinion announcements in the Public Information Office next door, although I can't really hear what they are saying. Someone is usually kind enough to shout out something along the lines of "He's wrapping up" or "she's wrapping up" when a justice is finishing.
Rory K. Little
Mod
10:22 AM
Gorsuch is really hammering on the standard for "consent" (in Landor, and hunter last week). Next arena: consent searches in the Fourth Amendment area?
Kalika
10:22 AM
I saw Thursday is another opinion day. Will they likely also have an opinion day on Monday?
Zachary Shemtob
Mod
10:23 AM
It's looking likely. They could also have one on Friday.
Amy Howe
Mod
10:23 AM
Once again, folks, that's all for opinions today. And honestly, I'm not sure my nerves could take more than this.
Jacob Wright
10:23 AM
How many decisions are left for them to hand down
Zachary Shemtob
Mod
10:23 AM
12
Mark Walsh
Mod
10:23 AM
Someone (normally) goes into the court for SCOTUSblog, but he's out of town today.
Amy Howe
Mod
10:23 AM
I'm covering three of today's cases so I'm going to sign off to get to work. I'll see you back here again on Thursday.
Mark Walsh
Mod
10:23 AM
I am just fine with today's opinions, as I don't have to rush to change my education law presentation. That begins at 11 am Central time.
I will be back in the courtroom on Thursday, and perhaps will have a View from the Courtroom.
Rory K. Little
Mod
10:25 AM
An indication of popular attention? The SF affiliate for NPR had me on hold to discuss today's rulings, but now has decided nothing is worth talking about live. 😀
David Lat
Mod
10:25 AM
Cases NOT decided today include birthright citizenship, the trans athlete cases, power of president to remove officials (Federal Reserve and FTC), election law....
Alex
10:25 AM
Quick opinion count update for the curious:
-Gorsuch has 7
-Barrett, Jackson, Sotomayor, and Thomas have 6
-Kagan has 5
-Alito, Kavanaugh, and Roberts have 3
David Lat
Mod
10:25 AM
TPS not decided today either. Thursday and/or next week's days will be huge....
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