The flag-draped casket of retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor arrived at the Supreme Court building today for a private ceremony with the current justices and O’Connor’s family, Reuters reports. The body of the nation’s first female justice will lay in repose until 8 p.m. EST today so members of the public can pay their respects. A private funeral service will be held tomorrow at the National Cathedral. O'Connor died Dec. 1 at age 93. See photos from this morning's activities from Reuters.

The U.S. Supreme Court today again declined to block an Illinois state ban on assault-style rifles and large capacity magazines that was enacted after a 2022 deadly mass shooting in Chicago's Highland Park suburb. The court rejected a renewed request by a firearms retailer and national gun rights group to halt implementation of the law while an appeal continues, Reuters reports. The justices' action leaves the law in place pending the appeal of a lower court's decision brought by the National Association for Gun Rights and Robert Bevis and his firearms store. No justice publicly dissented from the decision.

The U.S. Supreme Court today agreed to hear a bid by the Biden administration to preserve broader access to the abortion pill, SCOTUSblog reports. The court will review a ruling by a federal appeals court that would significantly restrict, but not eliminate, access to mifepristone, which now accounts for over half of all abortions performed in the United States. A federal judge in Texas suspended federal approval of the drug in 2000 as well as an expansion of its availability in 2016 and 2021. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit upheld the ruling on the expansion, but said the challenge to the original approval of the drug came too late. The high court will consider the expansion of availability but will not consider the appellate court’s ruling related to initial approval of the drug.

Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor will lie in repose in the Supreme Court’s Great Hall on Dec. 18 prior to her funeral service the next day, the court announced yesterday. A private ceremony will be held that day at 9:30 a.m. EST. The public is invited to pay respects from 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST. The invitation-only funeral service will take place Dec. 19 at the National Cathedral. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to iCivics, a public education program that O’Connor supported during her life.

Nine attorneys from Tennessee were admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court during the 38th annual TBA Academy yesterday. TBA President Jim Barry moved for admission of the members during a regular court session in Washington, D.C. Attorneys admitted before the high court were Sean Aiello, Kenneth “Ken” Bryant, Charles Frazier, Theodore “Ted” Goodman, Ashley Jefferson, Billy Leslie, Randall “Randy” Russell, Rebekah Spotts and Sheree Wright. Following the swearing in ceremony, the group stayed to observe oral arguments in the case of Charles G. Moore et al. v. United States, which centers on the constitutionality of the federal mandatory repatriation tax.

U.S. Supreme Court justices appeared divided over Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy deal today, questioning whether it can immunize the Sackler family from civil lawsuits for their role in the opioid crisis, The Hill reports. The Biden administration and a small group of creditors have raised objections to the liability releases. During the session, several justices reportedly raised concerns that the administration’s position would unravel the settlement and deprive victims of a timely resolution to the case. Others appeared sympathetic to the government’s position, saying the protection would raise due process concerns. The bankruptcy deal is on hold under an emergency ruling from the court. A decision is expected in June.

A Democratic-led U.S. Senate panel today voted along party lines to issue subpoenas for two conservatives accused of providing high-priced gifts to Supreme Court justices, reports Reuters. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-IL, the committee's chairman, said subpoenas for Harlan Crow and Leonard Leo were necessary in light of their refusal to voluntarily comply with the panel's previous requests for information, including itemized lists of all gifts, transportation and lodging provided to any justice. The Supreme Court announced a new ethics code Nov. 13.

The U.S. Supreme Court today declined to revive a Florida law banning the performance of drag shows in the presence of minors, Reuters reports. Florida officials made a request to narrow a judge's pause on the law to a single plaintiff rather than maintain a temporary statewide halt of the measure. U.S. District Judge Gregory Presnell blocked the measure in June, deciding it likely violates free speech because its prohibitions were poorly defined and risked outlawing constitutionally protected expression.

The U.S. Supreme Court has announced it is adopting its first code of ethics. In an unsigned statement, the justices said they have long adhered to ethics standards. “The absence of a Code, however, has led in recent years to the misunderstanding that the Justices of this Court, unlike all other jurists in this country, regard themselves as unrestricted by any ethics rules,” the justices wrote. “To dispel this misunderstanding, we are issuing this Code, which largely represents a codification of principles that we have long regarded as governing our conduct.” The Associated Press reports the impetus for an ethics code was sparked by a series of stories by ProPublica detailing the relationship between billionaire donors Harlan Crow and the Koch brothers and Justice Clarence Thomas. Justices Samuel Alito and Sonia Sotomayor have also come under scrutiny. Three justices, Amy Coney Barrett, Elena Kagan and Brett Kavanaugh, have voiced support for an ethics code in recent months. 

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear an appeal by President Biden's administration of a lower court's ruling in favor of a gun shop owner and gun rights advocate from Austin, Texas, who challenged a ban on "bump stock" devices that enable semiautomatic weapons to fire like machine guns. Reuters reports the ban was put in place during the Trump administration following a 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas using weapons with bump stocks that killed 58 and wounded hundreds more. The case centers on whether the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives properly interpreted a law banning machine guns as extending to bump stocks.