Ed Whelan

1997—Best is worst. Best v. Taylor Machine Works, that is. In this case, the Illinois supreme court, by a vote of 5 to 1, rules unconstitutional Illinois’s 1995 tort-reform act. Among its rulings, …

In a ruling today in Held v. Montana, the court affirmed an August 2023 order by trial judge Kathy Seeley that (1) sixteen Montana children had standing to challenge the constitutionality of Montan…

2007—At a hearing on a settlement agreement requiring New York City to establish policies that prohibit racial profiling, federal district judge Shira Scheindlin encourages plaintiffs to file a new…

1996—In Coalition for Economic Equity v. Wilson, federal district judge Thelton Henderson issues a preliminary injunction barring California officials “from implementing or enforcing Proposition 20…

1988—In Blum v. Witco Chemical Corp., federal district judge H. Lee Sarokin reconsiders whether to enhance an attorney’s fee award by a multiplier to compensate plaintiffs’ attorneys for the risk t…

2025—Happy New Year! Welcome to another year of This Day in Liberal Judicial Activism. I assure longtime readers that you’ll find plenty of new content this year. Plus, the permanent collection sho…

1. Will another Supreme Court vacancy arise? In the immediate aftermath of Donald Trump's election, I speculated that Justice Alito would announce his retirement in the spring of 2025.

On New Year’s Eve, Chief Justice Roberts issued his year-end report on the federal judiciary. The Chief’s elegant essay draws on American history to make some very important points about current th…

That's the title of my new Confirmation Tales post , which presents some challenging trivia questions about Supreme Court justices and judicial confirmations. Here's the first:

2010—Eager to broadcast his show trial against Proposition 8 and traditional marriage, Chief Judge Vaughn Walker undertakes his third inept and illegal effort—all within the space of two weeks—to a…