Cornell Law professor Michael C. Dorf discusses recent court decisions blocking President Biden’s student debt forgiveness programs, including the Supreme Court’s invalidation of his initial plan and the Eighth Circuit’s ruling against the subsequent SAVE plan. Professor Dorf argues that these decisions reflect a broader assault on administrative power by Republican-appointed judges, leveraging doctrines like the major questions doctrine to hamstring effective regulation, and suggests that the Republican-packed judiciary, rather than the Biden administration, is the true culprit behind the failure of student debt relief efforts.

UC Davis law professor Vikram David Amar argues that a recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, holding that Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act does not confer a private right to sue, may not be as catastrophic as some fear, given that there are potential workarounds for victims of Voting Rights Act violations. Professor Amar suggests that plaintiffs could use alternatives like 42 U.S.C. § 1983 or Ex Parte Young to address violations, as these routes do not require an explicit or implied private right of action under the statute being violated.

University of Chicago law professor emeritus Albert W. Alschuler comments on the split between the Third and Eighth Circuits on the question whether some convicted felons have a constitutional right to bear arms. Professor Alschuler describes the two courts’ decisions, as well as the contradictory language from the U.S. Supreme Court, and suggests that the Court is likely to resolve the question in the coming Term.