Sonia Sotomayor
Associate Justice, U.S. Supreme Court
4 articles
Power
One Supreme Court Ruling, Three State Scrambles: How Callais Reshaped the 2026 Midterm Map in Seventeen Days
[Updated May 20, 2026 with correction: HB 842 was in fact signed by Governor Landry on May 14 as Act 7 of the 2026 Regular Session, before this article ran. See the follow-on dispatch linked in the article.] Five days after the Callais cascade article ran, the bills it anticipated have taken shape on the legis.la.gov docket. The Louisiana Senate passed SB 121 on May 14 along party lines, 27 to 10 — a congressional map that reduces the state's majority-Black districts from two to one and absorbs Representative Cleo Fields' Sixth District into surrounding Republican-leaning territory. The same week, both chambers adopted the conference report on HB 842, which voids the May 16 and June 27 U.S. House ballots, returns the 2026 congressional races to a jungle primary, and sets a November 3 open primary with a December 12 runoff. As of Tuesday morning SB 121 sits with the House and Governmental Affairs Committee awaiting hearing. Litigation has not yet been filed.
Power
Supreme Court Hears Arguments on TPS Terminations for Haiti and Syria — Ruling Threatens 335,000 Holders
The Supreme Court heard 105 minutes of argument on April 29 in consolidated cases challenging the Trump administration's termination of Temporary Protected Status for Haitian and Syrian nationals. The government argued that federal law bars courts from reviewing any TPS termination decision. A ruling is expected by late June or early July 2026.
Power
Sotomayor Apologizes to Kavanaugh for 'Hurtful' Remarks About His Background
Justice Sonia Sotomayor issued a rare public apology after criticizing Brett Kavanaugh at a law school appearance, saying he "probably doesn't really know any person who works by the hour" -- an extremely unusual breach of Supreme Court decorum.
World
Uganda Receives First US Deportation Flight: Eight Non-Citizens Sent to a Country They Have No Ties To
Eight African nationals, none of them Ugandan citizens, arrived at Entebbe airport on April 1 aboard a private charter -- the first transfer under an agreement that allows the US to send denied asylum seekers to countries they have no connection to.