The Supreme Court on Monday refused to stay $20,000 in sanctions against attorney-dentist Orly Taitz, a leading figure in the “birther” movement. Taitz was fined last year by Georgia federal Judge Clay Land in connection with her motion for a restraining order to prevent the deployment to Iraq of her client, a U.S.

The high-profile battle over California’s Proposition 8 has been touted as the case that could force the Supreme Court to face the issue of same-sex marriage. But now that Judge Vaughn Walker has ruled that Prop 8, which banned same-sex marriage in California, is unconstitutional, the possibility is real that the case might never make it on appeal all the way to the high court

Elena Kagan won’t have the luxury of easing into her new job as a Supreme Court justice. She’ll be hiring law clerks and secretaries, setting up her chambers, wading into thousands of petitions and handling emergency matters — which may soon include an appeal of a stay in the California same-sex marriage case. But Kagan’s familiarity with the Court as solicitor general, and the fact that she’s already immersed in the way the Court approaches cases, mean she’s apt to have an easier transition than many of her predecessors.

As they debate whether to confirm Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court, senators are once again revisiting whether she has enough legal experience to serve as a justice. Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., said Tuesday that Kagan’s relative lack of litigation work affected her testimony at her confirmation hearing.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce will not take a position on the nomination of Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court, saying that “our internal endorsement process did not generate a clear consensus that would support either a positive or negative view on her nomination.” The Chamber has endorsed every Supreme Court nominee since it began reviewing high court picks in 1990. A former chief counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee said he doesn’t believe the Chamber’s decision will affect the Senate vote on Kagan.