The Supreme Court on Tuesday morning issued orders from the justices’ private conference on Friday, Feb. 16. The court did not add any new cases to its merits docket, but Tuesday’s list of orders featured several notable denials of review – including in a pair of cases that the justices have been considering since late September. (The denial of a challenge to the admissions policy at a prestigious public magnet school in northern Virginia is covered in a separate story.)
The justices did not act on former President Donald Trump’s request to block the decision by a federal appeals court denying his claim of immunity from criminal charges that he conspired to overturn the results of the 2020 election. With the briefing on that request complete, the court’s disposition of Trump’s application on the emergency docket could come at any time, likely separately from the scheduled order list.
Last October, the justices declined to review a challenge to the constitutionality of New York’s rent-stabilization system, which applies to just under half of New York City’s rental housing and (among other things) limits rent increases and generally requires landlords to renew a tenant’s lease. On Thursday, the justices denied review in two cases presenting the same question, with Justice Clarence Thomas filing a statement regarding that denial.
The rent-stabilization system at the center of 74 Pinehurst v. New York and 335-7 LLC v. New York has been in place for over 50 years. It applies to approximately one million homes in New York City – 44% of all rentals. Under the system, a board appointed by the mayor sets the rate at which landlords may increase rents each year, and landlords must generally renew a tenant’s lease when it expires.