Inside the Supreme Court’s Key 2026 Decisions

Jeff Fisher discusses a term marked by major rulings across executive power, voting, and civil rights, and what they signal about the Court’s trajectory.

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The Supreme Court has wrapped up a consequential term, issuing decisions that could shape executive power, constitutional rights, and the balance between the branches of government for years to come. Rulings on birthright citizenship, independent federal agencies, voting rights, transgender athletes, and Fourth Amendment digital privacy all landed within weeks of one another, offering a rare, wide-angle view of where the Court is headed.

In this episode, Professor Jeff Fisher joins Pam Karlan to unpack the term's biggest rulings. Fisher and Karlan co-direct the Stanford Supreme Court Litigation Clinic, and are among the nation's leading experts on Supreme Court litigation and constitutional law, regularly briefing and arguing cases before the Court, giving them a close vantage point on its work.

The discussion traces how the Court is navigating open clashes with President Trump even as it advances long-standing goals of the conservative legal movement, and examines the Court's growing use of history and tradition as a tool of constitutional interpretation. Fisher and Karlan also discuss disagreements among the justices and consider how recent decisions may be emboldening the executive branch.

Links:

• Jeff Fisher >>> Stanford Profile (law.stanford.edu/jeffrey-l-fisher)

• Opinions of the Court 2025 >>> US Supreme Court Page (supremecourt.gov/opinions/slipopinion/25?)

Connect:

• Episode Transcripts >>> Stanford Legal Podcast Website (law.stanford.edu/stanford-legal-podcast)

• Stanford Legal Podcast >>> LinkedIn Page (linkedin.com/showcase/stanfordlegal)

• Rich Ford >>> Twitter/X (twitter.com/our_ford)

• Pam Karlan >>> Stanford Law School Page (law.stanford.edu/pamela-s-karlan)

• Stanford Law School >>> Twitter/X (twitter.com/stanfordlaw)

• Stanford Lawyer Magazine >>> Twitter/X (twitter.com/@stanfordlawmag)

Chapters

00:00:00 Introduction

00:00:57 How to understand this Supreme Court term

00:03:12 A divided Court with rising tensions

00:04:35 Digital privacy and the Fourth Amendment

00:07:35 The Court and the democratic process

00:09:07 Race-conscious law and disparate impact

00:11:09 Election rules, fraud claims, and voting rights

00:14:56 Birthright citizenship and the limits of originalism

00:16:36 History, tradition, and judicial reasoning

00:18:39 Presidential power and independent agencies

00:23:08 The future of the unitary executive theory

00:25:31 Trump, the shadow docket, and executive authority

00:26:08 Immigration, presidential rhetoric, and Court deference

00:28:17 Presidential facts, tweets, and legal reality

00:30:48 Transgender rights and the law of school sports

00:32:23 Why context matters in Supreme Court decisions

00:35:47 Conclusion

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