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# SCOTUStoday for Wednesday, January 7 **Source:** [SCOTUSblog](https://www.scotusblog.com/2026/01/scotustoday-for-wednesday-january-7/) **Author:** Kelsey Dallas; Nora Collins **Published:** 2026-01-07 **Jurisdiction:** Federal - Supreme Court ## Summary - The SCOTUStoday briefing notes that the Supreme Court may issue new opinions this Friday and will begin its January argument session on Jan. 12, covering high‑profile issues such as transgender athlete participation, gun‑rights jurisprudence, and a challenge to a Federal Reserve board member. In related news, the Wyoming Supreme Court struck down state abortion restrictions—including the nation’s first pill ban—while the Ninth Circuit refused to rehear a Trump administration challenge to a discovery order in a mass‑layoffs case, and Alan Dershowitz petitioned the Court to revisit the landmark New York Times v. Sullivan libel precedent. - Expect new Supreme Court opinions Friday (10 a.m. EST) and a live blog covering them. - The Court’s Jan. 12‑Jan. 26 argument schedule includes cases on transgender athletes, gun‑rights doctrines, and a federal‑reserve board removal claim. - Wyoming’s top court invalidated multiple abortion restrictions, including the first U.S. statutory ban on abortion pills, citing state constitutional privacy rights. - The 9th Circuit declined to rehear the Trump administration’s challenge to a discovery order in a mass‑layoffs lawsuit, leaving the issue open for possible Supreme Court review. - Former Harvard professor Alan Dershowicz asked the Supreme Court to reconsider the New York Times v. Sullivan libel standard in the context of his suit against CNN. ## Content SCOTUStoday for Wednesday, January 7 On this day in 1972, Justices Lewis Powell and William Rehnquist joined the Supreme Court. It was one of the rare occasions when the court gained more than one new member at one time. Rehnquist went on to become the chief justice in 1986. SCOTUS Quick Hits - The Supreme Court has indicated that it may announce opinions on Friday at 10 a.m. EST. SCOTUSblog will have an opinion day live blog Friday morning beginning at 9:30. - The court’s January argument session will begin on Monday, Jan. 12. The court will hear seven arguments over two weeks, including on transgender athletes; the latest chapter in the court’s gun rights jurisprudence; and President Donald Trump’s bid to remove Lisa Cook, a member of the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors. Morning Reads - Abortion stays legal in Wyoming as its top court strikes down laws, including first US pill ban (Mead Gruver, Associated Press) — The Wyoming Supreme Court on Tuesday struck down multiple state-level abortion restrictions, including “the country’s first explicit ban on abortion pills,” holding that they “violate the state constitution,” which protects adult residents’ “right to make their own health care decisions,” according to the Associated Press. “The justices sided with the state’s only abortion clinic and others who had sued over the abortion bans passed since 2022, when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade decision.” - Ninth Circuit won’t rehear Trump admin challenge to discovery order in mass layoffs suit (Hillel Aron, Courthouse News Service) — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit has “declined to rehear a challenge by the Trump administration to a discovery order in a case filed by federal labor unions to block the executive branch from initiating mass layoffs,” according to Courthouse News Service. The dispute over the discovery order, “which directed the federal government to produce the plans for reorganization and layoffs,” gained significance after the Supreme Court in July cleared the way for the challenged reductions in force to take place. After that ruling, the discovery order “remained live,” and the Trump administration asked a three-judge panel for the 9th Circuit to block it. The panel declined to do so, and now the full 9th Circuit has declined to intervene. According to Courthouse News Service, “[i]t is unclear whether the Supreme Court will take up the issue of discovery.” - Lawyer Alan Dershowitz asks Supreme Court to revive CNN lawsuit (David Thomas, Reuters)(Paywall) — Retired Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz has asked the Supreme Court to revisit New York Times Company v. Sullivan, its landmark 1964 ruling on libel laws, by taking up “his lawsuit against CNN over its reporting on his defense of President Donald Trump,” according to Reuters. In that 1964 ruling “and subsequent decisions,” the court said “that in order to win a libel suit, a public figure must demonstrate the offending statement was made with ‘actual malice,’ meaning with knowledge it was false or with reckless disregard as to whether it was false.” Dershowitz contends that only government officials should have to meet that high burden of proof, not all public figures. - Has the Supreme Court Helped Save Democracy? (Richard M. Re, Democracy Project) — In a column for NYU Law’s Democracy Project, Richard M. Re reflected on the Supreme Court’s relationship to the Trump administration and why the judiciary’s response when politicians threaten the rule of law “must involve both carrots and sticks.” In the year ahead, Re wrote, the carrots will likely be “big executive branch wins on matters like the removal power. And the sticks will be executive branch defeats or draws on issues like tariffs, birthright citizenship, or the Federal Reserve.” - What to Expect from the Supreme Court in 2026 (Kim Wehle, The Bulwark) — In a column for The Bulwark, Kim Wehle painted a more negative picture of the Supreme Court’s relationship with the Trump administration, contending that many rulings from the past year will “leave legal historians aghast and appalled.” In 2026, Wehle noted, the court is expected to rule in many more cases involving the administration, including disputes over birthright citizenship, tariffs, and the president’s ability to remove the heads of independent, multi-member federal agencies. Siding with Trump on these issues would further “the rule of law’s demolition,” Wehle argued. A Closer Look: Rehearings at the Supreme Court If you read through the court’s Dec. 15 order list, you likely came across a few things. First, the court took up Pitchford v. Cain, a case on racial discrimination in jury selection. Second, the justices – as usual – had a lengthy list of certiorari denials. Third, the court denied four petitions for rehearings, including Real Estate Exchange, Inc (REX) v. Zillow Group, Inc., an antitrust challenge to real estate listing practices by the National Association of ... --- *Legal Topics: constitutional, civil-procedure, administrative* *Difficulty: beginner* *Via SCOTUSblog*