Elena Kagan

Rule Changes

Leading liberal critic of the Court’s use of the shadow docket to expand presidential removal power

President Donald Trump fired Federal Trade Commission commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter in March 2025 without stating cause, setting off a legal fight over whether presidents can remove members of independent agencies at will. On June 29, 2026, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 for Trump, struck down the FTC's for-cause removal protections and overruled Humphrey's Executor, the 1935 decision that had shielded multi-member commissions from at-will removal.

Updated Oct 19

Rule Changes

As of June 2026: Wrote the dissent for the court's three liberals

For 25 years, a national party could spend only a fixed amount working hand-in-hand with its own candidate. In Ohio in 2022, that cap sat between $130,600 and about $4 million for a Senate race. On June 30, 2026, the Supreme Court erased the limit entirely.

Updated Jun 30

Rule Changes

As of May 2026: Wrote the principal Callais dissent, joined by Sotomayor and Jackson

The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on April 29, 2026, in Louisiana v. Callais. Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the main federal tool minority voters have used for four decades to challenge racially discriminatory maps, now requires plaintiffs to prove intentional discrimination before courts can order a remedy.

Updated May 31

Rule Changes

As of May 2026: Wrote the unanimous opinion

For three decades, the Heck bar let cities enforce questionable speech ordinances with near-impunity: once convicted, someone lost the ability to challenge it in federal court. On March 20, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that this shield doesn't apply when someone simply wants to stop future enforcement — not undo a past conviction.

Updated May 30

Rule Changes

As of May 2026: Authored the majority opinion in GEO Group v. Menocal

GEO Group has spent more than a decade fighting a lawsuit from roughly 60,000 immigration detainees at its Aurora, Colorado facility. They allege they were forced to perform janitorial work for one dollar a day — or nothing — under threat of solitary confinement. On February 25, the Supreme Court ruled 9-0 against GEO's immunity claim; Justice Elena Kagan wrote that the company "must wait" for trial.

Updated May 29

Rule Changes

As of May 2026: Sole dissenter

For 23 years after Congress passed the Helms-Burton Act, every president from Clinton to Obama waived Americans' right to sue companies for using property Cuba seized in 1959. Thursday's 8-1 Supreme Court ruling reinstated the right to sue and revived a $440 million judgment against four cruise lines that docked in Havana between 2016 and 2019.

Updated May 22