US Supreme Court

Attorneys for convicted church shooter Dylann Roof have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to decide how to handle disagreements over mental illness-related evidence between capital defendants and their attorneys. Authorities have said Roof opened fire during a 2015 Bible study at Mother Emanuel AME Church, killing nine members of the Black South Carolina congregation. Roof fired his legal team and represented himself at sentencing, purportedly to keep jurors from hearing evidence about his mental health. His attorneys say other courts would have allowed Roof to keep his attorneys while ensuring they didn't present evidence he didn't want. Last year, an appellate panel unanimously upheld Roof's conviction and death sentence. The government's response is due by the end of the month.

President Joe Biden and Senate Democrats say they are hoping for a bipartisan vote to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court. That won't be easy, but some Republicans have expressed an openness to voting for Biden's nominee, who currently sits on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and would be the first Black woman on the Supreme Court. Democrats will also keep an eye on their own moderate flank, Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona. But neither has indicated, so far, that they would vote against Biden's choice.

Watch, live at 2:30 p.m. - President Biden will deliver remarks on his nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court. Jackson has served as a federal trial court judge for eight years and was confirmed for a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia last year.

The whispers and chatter about top contenders for the Supreme Court are growing as President Joe Biden zeroes in on a nominee to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer. But while the president is eager for input, the White House insists he's not going to be swayed by any sniping. Biden has he said he'll have a nominee by the end of the month. The top three contenders are believed to be federal appeals court judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, California state Supreme Court judge Leondra Kruger and U.S. District Court Judge J. Michelle Childs. Each finalist has a long set of bona fides and powerful backers, as well as some critics.

If President Joe Biden's search for a nominee to the Supreme Court could be summed up by a Help Wanted ad it might read: "Seeking a well-respected liberal jurist. Black. Female. Seniors need not apply." The reality for the nation's oldest president is that for this lifetime appointment, youth is particularly prized. The math is simple. The younger Biden's nominee, the longer she is likely to serve as a justice. The longer she serves as a justice, the longer liberals can expect to hold a seat on the court, now dominated 6-3 by conservatives.

The list of Republicans willing to support President Joe Biden's forthcoming nominee to the Supreme Court "is longer than you would initially imagine," the Senate's second-ranking Democrat recently teased to reporters.Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin declined to name names. But it's clear that Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., is near the top of the list.

President Joe Biden had zeroed in on a pair of finalists for his first Supreme Court pick when there were rumors last year that Justice Stephen Breyer would retire. But since the upcoming retirement was announced late last month, it has come with the rise of a third candidate, one with ready-made bipartisan support that has complicated the decision.

The fact that Michelle Childs is under consideration to fill a Supreme Court vacancy comes as no surprise to some of her legal colleagues in South Carolina. The federal judge has emerged as a possible nominee to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer as President Joe Biden seeks to fulfill his pledge to put a Black woman on the nation's highest court. South Carolina attorney Vickie Eslinger says she hired Childs out of law school and quickly saw her as a lawyer capable of meeting tough challenges. When Childs was a state judge, South Carolina's then-Chief Justice Jean Toal often had Childs substitute on the appellate bench, in part because Toal saw a higher court in Childs' future.

Democratic Rep. Jim Clyburn and Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham say it'd be good if the person named to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer doesn't have an Ivy League degree. The bipartisan message from the South Carolina lawmakers aligns with the background of a South Carolina judge they've praised as a good candidate for the seat. Eight of the court's nine current members attended law school at Harvard or Yale. President Joe Biden has pledged to nominate the first Black woman to the Supreme Court. Clyburn says Biden should be concerned about the court's lack of educational diversity, too. Graham tells CBS "It's OK" to get your law degree at a public university.

At Joe Biden's lowest moment in the 2020 campaign, influential Rep. Jim Clyburn suggested that Biden should pledge to put the first Black woman on the Supreme Court. Biden made that promise at a Democratic debate, and Clyburn says that was key to turning out the Black support that helped Biden win the South Carolina primary and ultimately the White House. Two years later, the hoped-for vacancy on the court has arrived and Biden is standing by his pledge.