Last Month at the Supreme Court | April 2026

Statutory interpretation takes center stage in the April edition of Last Month at the Supreme Court®, as the Court confronts a series of disputes testing the scope of executive authority, the reach of federal arbitration law, and the limits of constitutional protections in high-stakes regulatory and individual-rights contexts.  This issue features analysis of the closely watched oral arguments concerning President Trump’s Executive Order addressing birthright citizenship, alongside recent developments under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA).

Among the arguments covered this month:

• a case presenting the question whether the Fourteenth Amendment permits the Executive Branch to limit the application of birthright citizenship
• a case addressing whether “last-mile” delivery workers qualify as transportation workers engaged in foreign or interstate commerce for purposes of the FAA—an issue with significant implications for the enforceability of arbitration agreements across the transportation and logistics sectors
• a case examining the scope of federal courts’ jurisdiction to confirm or vacate arbitration awards

This edition also analyzes several notable opinions issued by the Court, including its decision striking down the President’s tariffs under IEEPA; its closely watched First Amendment analysis of Colorado’s prohibition on “conversion therapy”; its clarification of Sixth Amendment protections governing attorney-client consultation during testimony recesses; and its latest guidance on the interaction between diversity jurisdiction and plaintiffs’ efforts to defeat federal jurisdiction through the joinder of non-diverse defendants.

For more information, please contact Chantel Febus, James Azadian, Kyle Asher, Andrew VanEgmond, Monika Harris, Ryan VanOver, David Ter-Petrosyan, or Sadie Betting.

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Decision Alert: Supreme Court Rules Post-Trial Final Judgment Must Be Vacated if Jurisdictional Defect Lingers Through Judgment

On February 24, the Supreme Court released its unanimous decision in Hain Celestial Group, Inc. v. Palmquist, affirming the Fifth Circuit’s decision to vacate the post-trial final judgment because the district court’s erroneous dismissal of a nondiverse defendant based on improper joinder resulted in a jurisdictional defect that existed at the time of removal, which was not cured prior to final judgment.

Read the full synopsis here.

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Decision Alert: Supreme Court Holds That Courts Can Prohibit Consultation About Ongoing Testimony During Overnight Recess

In a unanimous judgment, the Supreme Court affirmed the Texas Court of  Criminal Appeals’ holding that an order prohibiting a criminal defendant and his attorney from discussing the defendant’s testimony during a mid-testimony, overnight recess does not violate the defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to counsel.

Read the full synopsis here.

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Decision Alert: Supreme Court Limits Colorado’s Conversion Therapy Ban

On March 31, the Supreme Court released its 8-1 decision in Chiles v. Salazar, holding that Colorado’s Minor Conversion Therapy Law (MCTL), C.R.S. §§ 12-245-101, 12-245-202, unconstitutionally regulates speech as applied to the Petitioner. The narrow ruling offers some clarification of the rules that govern speech incidental to the conduct of regulated professionals.

Read the full synopsis here.

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Decision Alert: Supreme Court Holds President Not Authorized To Impose Tariffs Under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act

As summarized in Dykema’s December 2025 edition, the Supreme Court heard oral argument this fall in two consolidated cases (Learning Resources v. Trump and Trump v. VOS Selections) that presented the question of whether the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) authorizes the President to impose tariffs. In a 6-3 decision out last month, the Supreme Court held that it does not.

Read the full synopsis here.

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Supreme Court to Elucidate Federal Court Jurisdiction in Enforcing Arbitration Awards

The Supreme Court will utilize the case of Jules v. Andre Balazs Properties (No. 25-83) to clarify an important jurisdictional question in the enforcement of domestic arbitration awards: whether a federal court, which initially exercises jurisdiction over a claim that was sent to arbitration, is able to later confirm or overturn an arbitration award when there is no other basis for federal-court jurisdiction.

Read the full synopsis here.

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The Supreme Court Reaches the Merits of Birthright Citizenship in Trump v. Barbara

The Supreme Court recently held oral arguments in Trump v. Barbara, a case pitting President Trump’s Executive Order barring persons born in the United States from receiving citizenship if their parents lack legal status against the Fourteenth Amendment’s “birthright citizenship” clause. When this Executive Order first came before the Supreme Court last year on a procedural question, the Court curtailed the reach of universal injunctions issued by federal courts. See Trump v. CASA, Inc., 606 U.S. 831 (2025). This time around, Barbara squarely presents the question of the constitutionality of the Executive Order. And, in an unprecedented move, President Trump attended the oral argument to watch Solicitor General John Sauer defend his Executive Order.

Read the full synopsis here.

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Supreme Court Set To Clarify Whether “Last-Mile” Delivery Drivers Are Engaged in Interstate Commerce

On March 25, the Supreme Court heard argument in Flowers Foods, Inc v. Brock, a case presenting a key issue regarding interstate commerce: whether “last-mile” delivery drivers are classified as transportation workers engaged in foreign or interstate commerce under Section 1 of the Federal Arbitration Act.

Read the full synopsis here.