The Daily Docket

A newsletter by Reuters and Westlaw

By Caitlin Tremblay

Good morning. Today we have a look at how the U.S. Supreme Court is reshaping the midterm elections. Plus, the 6th Circuit will hear a challenge to a Tennessee abortion restriction; the 9th Circuit will take up the government’s attempt to terminate the Flores Settlement; and a federal judge in Boston will hold a hearing over President Trump’s executive order tightening rules on mail-in voting. Georgia will auction off Josef Stalin's 40,000-bottle wine collection. Hope your Tuesday is grape.

How the Supreme Court is reshaping the U.S. midterm elections

REUTERS/Hannah Beier/Illustration

In the coming days, SCOTUS is set to rule in two high-stakes election law cases – a Republican challenge to Mississippi’s mail-in ballot policy and another brought by Vice President Vance seeking to ease limits on coordinated campaign spending between party organizations and candidates.

The justices are expected to side with Republicans in both cases, potentially giving President Trump and his fellow Republicans a boost ahead of the November midterm elections.

Jan Wolfe takes a detailed look at the cases and their potential impact on the midterms.

Coming up today

Health: Novartis and AbbVie will urge the 1st Circuit to rule against a new Maine law requiring drugmakers to offer discounts on drugs dispensed by third-party pharmacies that contract with hospitals and clinics serving rural, low-income populations. Read the district court ruling here.
Second Amendment: The 3rd Circuit will consider whether the National Shooting Sports Foundation can launch a pre-enforcement challenge to a New Jersey law that expands the liability of gun makers and sellers for endangering public safety.
Abortion: The 6th Circuit will hear arguments over a 2024 Tennessee law that made it a crime to “recruit” a pregnant minor to get an abortion even if it occurs in a state where the medical procedure is legal. In July the court permanently blocked most of the law on free speech grounds. Read that opinion here.
Immigration: The 9th Circuit will hear arguments over the government’s attempts to end the Flores Settlement which established minimum standards for the treatment, placement and release of children in immigration custody. In August a lower court denied the government’s motion to terminate the settlement. Read that order here.
Voting rights: U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston will hold a hearing over a lawsuit brought by a coalition of Democratic state attorneys general seeking to block President Trump's March 31, 2026 executive order tightening rules on mail-in voting. Read the complaint.
Health: U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy in Boston will hold a hearing after he blocked key elements of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s push to reshape U.S. vaccine policy, including reducing the number of routinely recommended childhood vaccinations. Read Murphy’s ruling here.
Government: Several Democratic-led states will urge U.S. District Judge Myong Joun in Boston to block the USDA from withholding tens of billions of dollars in federal funds unless the states comply with President Trump’s policies on immigration enforcement, transgender people and other issues. Read the complaint.
Tax: The Oklahoma Supreme Court will weigh whether voters can end property taxes for owners who live in their homes. The plaintiffs allege the proposal would have a “devastating” effect on the state’s revenue.
Judiciary: The U.S. Senate is slated to vote on whether to confirm Katie Lane, a lawyer at the RNC, to a judgeship in Montana after she became the first of President Trump's second term judicial nominees to be deemed "not qualified" by the ABA.

Court calendars are subject to last-minute docket changes.

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