Balls & Strikes
@ballsandstrikes.org
A nonprofit media outlet for progressive, bullshit-free commentary about courts, judges, and the legal system they uphold. Run by @jaywillis.net.
States are asking the Supreme Court for permission to set aside the Constitution in order to execute more people
Alabama Is Asking the Supreme Court For Some Leeway On “Cruel and Unusual Punishment”
In 2002, the Court decided that the Constitution does not allow executions of intellectually disabled people. But states are testing that holding’s limits.
ballsandstrikes.org
December 12, 2025 at 12:45 PM
States are asking the Supreme Court for permission to set aside the Constitution in order to execute more people
The Trump Rally Judge
Emil Bove Will Always Be a Trump Rallygoer First
Trump demands loyalty from his judicial nominees. As Emil Bove demonstrated on Tuesday, his nominees are very comfortable with displaying that loyalty in public.
ballsandstrikes.org
December 11, 2025 at 11:49 PM
The Trump Rally Judge
The Constitution prohibits executions of intellectually disabled people. Now, Alabama is asking the Supreme Court a simple question: What if it didn't?
Alabama Is Asking the Supreme Court For Some Leeway On “Cruel and Unusual Punishment”
In 2002, the Court decided that the Constitution does not allow executions of intellectually disabled people. But states are testing that holding’s limits.
ballsandstrikes.org
December 11, 2025 at 9:38 PM
The Constitution prohibits executions of intellectually disabled people. Now, Alabama is asking the Supreme Court a simple question: What if it didn't?
Trump's political allies are openly promising donors that the Supreme Court is about to make their lives easier
Republicans Are Counting On the Supreme Court to Help Them Buy Elections
The GOP’s strategy for winning political power isn’t persuading voters. It’s controlling the Court.
ballsandstrikes.org
December 11, 2025 at 12:45 PM
Trump's political allies are openly promising donors that the Supreme Court is about to make their lives easier
Immigrants in ICE detention can be denied bond based on something as dubious as the unverified "gang" allegations made by an anonymous cop
How ICE Uses Racist, Nonsensical “Gang Databases” to Keep Immigrants In Jail
An anonymous cop’s allegation that a person was wearing the wrong color shoes can be enough to keep them in detention.
ballsandstrikes.org
December 10, 2025 at 7:26 PM
Immigrants in ICE detention can be denied bond based on something as dubious as the unverified "gang" allegations made by an anonymous cop
The unifying theme of the Supreme Court's campaign finance jurisprudence is "what decision will make it easier for Republican megadonors to buy elections"
Republicans Are Counting On the Supreme Court to Help Them Buy Elections
The GOP’s strategy for winning political power isn’t persuading voters. It’s controlling the Court.
ballsandstrikes.org
December 10, 2025 at 5:36 PM
The unifying theme of the Supreme Court's campaign finance jurisprudence is "what decision will make it easier for Republican megadonors to buy elections"
How ICE uses information from nonsensical, racist "gang databases" to keep detained noncitizens in jail
How ICE Uses Racist, Nonsensical “Gang Databases” to Keep Immigrants In Jail
An anonymous cop’s allegation that a person was wearing the wrong color shoes can be enough to keep them in detention.
ballsandstrikes.org
December 10, 2025 at 12:45 PM
How ICE uses information from nonsensical, racist "gang databases" to keep detained noncitizens in jail
"Multiple district attorneys who prosecuted Harold Wayne Nichols and the jury who sentenced him do not want him executed. He is still scheduled to die this week."
Prosecutors and Jurors Don’t Want Harold Wayne Nichols Executed. Tennessee Plans to Execute Him Anyway
Seven years ago, Hamilton County prosecutors and Nichols’s lawyers reached a deal to re-sentence him to life in prison. The judge refused to accept it.
ballsandstrikes.org
December 9, 2025 at 11:49 PM
"Multiple district attorneys who prosecuted Harold Wayne Nichols and the jury who sentenced him do not want him executed. He is still scheduled to die this week."
"What is Congress?" ask six of America's most famous lawyers
The Supreme Court Wants You to Believe Congress Does Not Exist
The conservative justices aren’t concerned about unaccountable federal agency heads. They are concerned about federal agency heads who aren’t accountable to their favorite president.
ballsandstrikes.org
December 9, 2025 at 9:38 PM
"What is Congress?" ask six of America's most famous lawyers
Would it astonish you to learn that the information on which ICE often relies to keep noncitizens in immigration detention is deeply inaccurate and racist
How ICE Uses Racist, Nonsensical “Gang Databases” to Keep Immigrants In Jail
An anonymous cop’s allegation that a person was wearing the wrong color shoes can be enough to keep them in detention.
ballsandstrikes.org
December 9, 2025 at 7:26 PM
Would it astonish you to learn that the information on which ICE often relies to keep noncitizens in immigration detention is deeply inaccurate and racist
If the Supreme Court's conservative justices WERE political consultants for the Republican Party, what would they be doing differently
The Supreme Court Wants Republicans to Keep the House In 2026
A federal district court found that Texas Republicans’ redistricting proposal is an illegal racial gerrymander. The conservative justices couldn't care less.
ballsandstrikes.org
December 9, 2025 at 5:12 PM
If the Supreme Court's conservative justices WERE political consultants for the Republican Party, what would they be doing differently
The Supreme Court appears to have forgotten an entire brach of government
The Supreme Court Wants You to Believe Congress Does Not Exist
The conservative justices aren’t concerned about unaccountable federal agency heads. They are concerned about federal agency heads who aren’t accountable to their favorite president.
ballsandstrikes.org
December 9, 2025 at 3:05 PM
The Supreme Court appears to have forgotten an entire brach of government
It's not that the Supreme Court cares about "unaccountable agencies." It's that the Supreme Court cares about agencies that are not accountable to Trump
The Supreme Court Wants You to Believe Congress Does Not Exist
The conservative justices aren’t concerned about unaccountable federal agency heads. They are concerned about federal agency heads who aren’t accountable to their favorite president.
ballsandstrikes.org
December 8, 2025 at 11:49 PM
It's not that the Supreme Court cares about "unaccountable agencies." It's that the Supreme Court cares about agencies that are not accountable to Trump
Sometimes the simplest explanation is also the obviously correct one
The Supreme Court Wants Republicans to Keep the House In 2026
A federal district court found that Texas Republicans’ redistricting proposal is an illegal racial gerrymander. The conservative justices couldn't care less.
ballsandstrikes.org
December 8, 2025 at 7:26 PM
Sometimes the simplest explanation is also the obviously correct one
Seven years ago, Hamilton County prosecutors and Harodl Wayne Nichols’s lawyers reached a deal to re-sentence him from death to life in prison. The judge refused to accept it.
Prosecutors and Jurors Don’t Want Harold Wayne Nichols Executed. Tennessee Plans to Execute Him Anyway
Seven years ago, Hamilton County prosecutors and Nichols’s lawyers reached a deal to re-sentence him to life in prison. The judge refused to accept it.
ballsandstrikes.org
December 8, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Seven years ago, Hamilton County prosecutors and Harodl Wayne Nichols’s lawyers reached a deal to re-sentence him from death to life in prison. The judge refused to accept it.
Seven years ago, Hamilton County prosecutors and Nichols’s lawyers reached a deal to re-sentence him to life in prison. The judge refused to accept it. Now, Nichols is scheduled to be executed this week.
Prosecutors and Jurors Don’t Want Harold Wayne Nichols Executed. Tennessee Plans to Execute Him Anyway
Seven years ago, Hamilton County prosecutors and Nichols’s lawyers reached a deal to re-sentence him to life in prison. The judge refused to accept it.
ballsandstrikes.org
December 7, 2025 at 2:49 PM
Seven years ago, Hamilton County prosecutors and Nichols’s lawyers reached a deal to re-sentence him to life in prison. The judge refused to accept it. Now, Nichols is scheduled to be executed this week.
Somehow the Supreme Court's shadow docket jurisprudence is getting even dumber and sloppier
A Thoughtful Child Could Spot the Problem With the Supreme Court’s Sloppy Pro-Gerrymandering Decision
The shadow docket order in the Texas redistricting case provides state lawmakers with step-by-step instructions for drawing discriminatory maps without having to worry about judicial review.
ballsandstrikes.substack.com
December 6, 2025 at 9:22 PM
Somehow the Supreme Court's shadow docket jurisprudence is getting even dumber and sloppier
Prosecutors don't want Harold Wayne Nichols executed. The jury doesn't want Harold Wayne Nichols executed. The judge refused to listen to them.
Prosecutors and Jurors Don’t Want Harold Wayne Nichols Executed. Tennessee Plans to Execute Him Anyway
Seven years ago, Hamilton County prosecutors and Nichols’s lawyers reached a deal to re-sentence him to life in prison. The judge refused to accept it.
ballsandstrikes.org
December 6, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Prosecutors don't want Harold Wayne Nichols executed. The jury doesn't want Harold Wayne Nichols executed. The judge refused to listen to them.
If John Roberts were a Republican political strategist working on keeping the House in 2026, what would he be doing differently
The Supreme Court Wants Republicans to Keep the House In 2026
A federal district court found that Texas Republicans’ redistricting proposal is an illegal racial gerrymander. The conservative justices couldn't care less.
ballsandstrikes.org
December 6, 2025 at 2:49 PM
If John Roberts were a Republican political strategist working on keeping the House in 2026, what would he be doing differently
The Supreme Court's conservative justices are the most powerful Republican political strategists in the country
The Supreme Court Wants Republicans to Keep the House In 2026
A federal district court found that Texas Republicans’ redistricting proposal is an illegal racial gerrymander. The conservative justices couldn't care less.
ballsandstrikes.org
December 5, 2025 at 7:26 PM
The Supreme Court's conservative justices are the most powerful Republican political strategists in the country
One problem with the Supreme Court's refusal to show its work in its pro-Trump shadow docket cases is that lower court judges have plenty of wiggle room to ignore the Supreme Court's pro-Trump shadow docket cases
Federal Judge Has No Interest In Taking Brett Kavanaugh’s Racial Profiling Opinion Seriously
The Trump administration cited Kavanaugh’s infamous concurrence to justify its immigration arrests. Judge Beryl Howell was having none of it.
ballsandstrikes.org
December 5, 2025 at 3:06 PM
One problem with the Supreme Court's refusal to show its work in its pro-Trump shadow docket cases is that lower court judges have plenty of wiggle room to ignore the Supreme Court's pro-Trump shadow docket cases
What unites Republican lawmakers in states across the country is a fervent belief that legal checks on their power are inherently illegitimate
Utah Republicans Are Declaring War On the Utah Supreme Court
Utah Republicans are responding to losses at the Utah Supreme Court by punishing the justices who keep standing in their way.
ballsandstrikes.org
December 5, 2025 at 12:45 PM
What unites Republican lawmakers in states across the country is a fervent belief that legal checks on their power are inherently illegitimate
The Trump administration cited Brett Kavanaugh's solo defense of racial profiling in a recent court case. It didn't go well
Federal Judge Has No Interest In Taking Brett Kavanaugh’s Racial Profiling Opinion Seriously
The Trump administration cited Kavanaugh’s infamous concurrence to justify its immigration arrests. Judge Beryl Howell was having none of it.
ballsandstrikes.org
December 4, 2025 at 9:38 PM
The Trump administration cited Brett Kavanaugh's solo defense of racial profiling in a recent court case. It didn't go well
The Trump administration is pushing out any immigration judges who don't share the president's anti-immigrant politics
Trump Has Never Been Clearer About What an Immigration Judge’s Real Job Is
The president doesn’t want immigration judges who handle cases by the book. He wants immigration judges who will rubber-stamp his mass deportations agenda.
ballsandstrikes.org
December 4, 2025 at 7:26 PM
The Trump administration is pushing out any immigration judges who don't share the president's anti-immigrant politics
The Utah Supreme Court forced Utah Republican lawmakers to follow a voter-passed anti-gerrymandering law. Utah Republican lawmakers are now trying to change the Utah Supreme Court to make sure this never happens again.
Utah Republicans Are Declaring War On the Utah Supreme Court
Utah Republicans are responding to losses at the Utah Supreme Court by punishing the justices who keep standing in their way.
ballsandstrikes.org
December 4, 2025 at 5:12 PM
The Utah Supreme Court forced Utah Republican lawmakers to follow a voter-passed anti-gerrymandering law. Utah Republican lawmakers are now trying to change the Utah Supreme Court to make sure this never happens again.