“The Supreme Court on Monday added what could be landmark issues to its docket for next term: whether federal anti-discrimination laws protect on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity,” the Washington Post reports.

“The court accepted three cases for the term that begins October. They include a transgender funeral home director who won her case after being fired; a gay skydiving instructor who successfully challenged his dismissal; and a social worker who was unsuccessful in convincing a court that he was unlawfully terminated because of his sexual orientation.”

New York Times: “Justice Stephen Breyer’s anguished dissent, issued around 3 a.m., said the majority had denied his request that the execution be delayed so that the justices could discuss the matter at their scheduled private conference on Friday morning. That was a rare glimpse into deliberations that are ordinarily secret.”

“The dispute among the justices lasted long enough that Alabama officials called off the execution of the inmate, Christopher L. Price, which had been scheduled for Thursday night. They said a new execution date will be set.”

“President Trump’s older sister, Maryanne Trump Barry, has retired as a federal appellate judge, ending an investigation into whether she violated judicial conduct rules by participating in fraudulent tax schemes with her siblings,” the New York Times reports.

“The status change rendered the investigation moot, since retired judges are not subject to the conduct rules.”

CBS News: “Along with a list of frustrations over immigration, however, Mr. Trump included the judges who help adjudicate immigrants’ cases. U.S. immigration court backlogs are at all-time highs, with not enough judges to adjudicate the cases. That problem was exacerbated by the government shutdown earlier this year.”

Said Trump: “We need to get rid of chain migration, we need to get rid of catch and release and visa lottery, and we have to do something about asylum. And to be honest with you, have to get rid of judges.”

“The Supreme Court ruled Monday that the Constitution does not guarantee a ‘painless death’ for condemned murderers, deciding that a Missouri inmate may be executed by a lethal injection despite a rare condition that could cause him to suffocate,” the Los Angeles Times reports.

“By a 5-4 vote, the court rejected an appeal from Russell Bucklew, who maintained the state must seek out another method of execution, such as lethal gas, to carry out his execution.”

Think Progress: “Neil Gorsuch’s majority opinion tosses out a basic assumption which animated the Court’s understanding of what constitutes a ‘cruel and unusual’ punishment for more than half a century. In the process, he writes that the state of Missouri may effectively torture a man to death — so long as it does not gratuitously inflict pain for the sheer purpose of inflicting pain.”

“As he was deliberating last year over replacing Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, President Trump told confidants he had big plans for Judge Amy Coney Barrett,” Axios reports.

Said Trump: “I’m saving her for Ginsburg.”

“Trump used that exact line with a number of people, including in a private conversation with an adviser two days before announcing Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination.”

“The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear a bid by an unidentified company owned by a foreign government to contest a grand jury subpoena related to special counsel Robert Mueller’s now-completed inquiry into Russia’s role in the 2016 election, though the justices’ action does not force the firm to comply,” Reuters reports.

“A federal judge imposed a $50,000-per-day fine against the company, which had asked the justices to hear its appeal of a December lower court ruling that upheld a judge’s decision to hold it in contempt for refusing to fulfill the document request made in the subpoena. The company already could owe more than $3 million.”

Rep. Mark Green (R-.TN) announced he will introduce a constitutional amendment this week to limit the number of Supreme Court justices to nine after several Democratic presidential candidates have floated the idea of expanding the High Court’s bench, The Hill reports. 

Said Green: “This Thursday, I will be introducing a constitutional amendment that would limit the number of Supreme Court justices to 9 — the number of seats since 1869. The Supreme Court must remain a fair and impartial branch of government not beholden to party.”

“The U.S. Supreme Court announced Friday that it is expanding the scope of the case against the Trump administration’s decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census, agreeing to decide whether the move violated the Constitution,” NBC News reports.

“The move comes after a federal judge in California ruled earlier this month that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, whose agency oversees the census, violated the Constitution’s Enumeration Clause because the citizenship question prevents the government from conducting an accurate count of every living person in the country.”

Washington Post: “The once-remote idea of adding more justices to the Supreme Court to change its ideological bent is prompting growing discussion within the Democratic Party, creating a new frontier for presidential candidates looking to display their liberal credentials.”

“Former attorney general Eric H. Holder Jr., who recently decided against running for president, became the latest figure to embrace an expansion of the nine-member court in recent talks at Yale Law School and Columbia University.”

“Donald McGahn, the former White House counsel who at times clashed with President Trump over the ongoing special counsel probe but led his overhaul of the federal judiciary, told the Washington Post on Sunday that he will rejoin his longtime law firm, Jones Day, this month — a move that was long expected by his friends and keeps him ensconced in conservative legal circles.”

“McGahn said he will lead the firm’s government regulation practice as a partner in Washington and will stay involved with senior Senate Republicans as an outside adviser on nominations to the Supreme Court and federal courts.”