U.S. Supreme Court

Federal Judge’s Top 10 Sentencing List Takes Aim at Supreme Court

A federal judge has published a tongue-in-cheek Top 10 list of things he learned from the U.S. Supreme Court’s sentencing decisions that makes clear his frustrations. The list by U.S. District Judge Richard Kopf of Nebraska is “a provocative jaw-dropper that may get Kopf scratched off the holiday card list…

Jan 29, 2008 11:45 AM CST

N.Y. Judge Lost Election Case, But Won Sympathy for Her Cause

The New York judge who mounted an unsuccessful challenge to the state’s method of selecting judges wasn’t optimistic about its chances. “I wasn’t happy when the U.S. Supreme Court took the case, and after sitting through the oral arguments in October, I didn’t have the feeling that we were going…

Jan 25, 2008 6:47 PM CST

Scalia Says Courts Can’t Dictate Morality

Justice Antonin Scalia told students at Missisippi State University last night that morality dictated by the courts is doomed to fail. “It is blindingly clear that judges have no greater capacity than the rest of us to determine what is moral,” Scalia said, according to a report on his remarks…

Jan 25, 2008 1:58 PM CST

Breyer: Court Must Balance Security and Civil Liberties

Justice Stephen G. Breyer told law students yesterday that the U.S. Supreme Court is the “border guard” protecting the line between security and civil liberties. Speaking at the University of Oklahoma College of Law, Breyer said justices have to strike a balance in cases such as the ones testing the…

Jan 25, 2008 12:04 PM CST

Muslim Prisoner Loses Suit Based on High Court Interpretation of ‘Any’

Federal corrections officers cannot be sued for losing an inmate’s property, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled. The 5-4 ruling held that the officers have immunity under the Federal Tort Claims Act, SCOTUSblog reports. The swing voter in the case was Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who joined the majority opinion…

Jan 22, 2008 7:12 PM CST

Class Action Against Enron Banks Dies With Cert Denial

The U.S. Supreme Court has denied cert in a failed $40 billion class action by Enron shareholders who claim investment banks that advised the company helped inflate the value of the stock. The decision lets stand a ruling by the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals barring the…

Jan 22, 2008 6:28 PM CST

NYT Public Editor Defends Supreme Court Reporter Accused of a Conflict

Linda Greenhouse, the reporter for the New York Times who covers the U.S. Supreme Court, has been accused of a conflict of interest by a conservative blogger, a charge she and her editors dispute. Greenhouse is married to Eugene Fidell, an expert on military law. Blogger M. Edward Whelan III…

Jan 22, 2008 1:13 PM CST

Today Is 35th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade

Abortion rights activists will mark the 35th anniversary of Roe v. Wade today with their annual vigil on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court and rallies at college campuses. Critics of the decision say the day is not an occasion to celebrate, the Trenton Times reports. They also are…

Jan 22, 2008 11:33 AM CST

Supreme Court Accepts Drug Labeling Pre-Emption Case

The U.S. Supreme Court will consider whether a woman whose arm had to amputated after she was injected with an anti-nausea drug can sue based on a state law claim that tougher warnings were needed than those approved by the federal government. The plaintiff in the case, Diana Levine, was…

Jan 18, 2008 7:53 PM CST

High Court to Hear Retaliation Claim of Worker Who Cooperated in Internal Probe

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether a worker who is fired after cooperating in her employer’s internal probe of sexual harassment may sue for retaliation. Nashville, Tenn., school employee Vicky Crawford, who was fired after more than 30 years on the job, contends in her cert petition…

Jan 18, 2008 7:31 PM CST

Supreme Court to Hear Light Cigarette Ad Dispute

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether smokers can sue tobacco companies for allegedly deceptive ad claims for light cigarettes. Philip Morris contends a class-action suit involving Marlboro Lights should be dismissed because it is pre-empted by the Federal Trade Commission’s regulation of cigarette advertising, Dow Jones reports.…

Jan 18, 2008 7:06 PM CST

Kucinich Back in Court, This Time Over Texas Ballot Access

Updated: Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich appears to be getting as much attention for his recent legal efforts as he is for his political views. Kucinich is teaming up with country music star Willie Nelson in an effort to bar enforcement of a loyalty oath requirement that is keeping the…

Jan 18, 2008 3:27 PM CST

Breyer Uses Bike Hypo to Oppose Backpedaling on Patent Doctrine

Several U.S. Supreme Court justices appear ready to limit patent holders’ ability to demand license fees from multiple companies in a manufacturing process. Stephen G. Breyer was among the justices who appeared to favor limiting patent rights, the Associated Press reports. He suggested during oral arguments yesterday that an electronics…

Jan 17, 2008 1:09 PM CST

Supreme Court Upholds New York’s Judge Selection System

The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld New York’s party-controlled system for choosing trial judges, saying there is no constitutional right to a fair shot at winning a nomination. Under the state’s unique system, voters choose convention delegates who then choose the judicial candidates, the Associated Press reports. Often they face…

Jan 16, 2008 4:22 PM CST

Enron Shareholders Could Get Chance to Distinguish Stoneridge

The U.S. Supreme Court could decide as early as Monday whether to deny cert to Enron shareholders or return the case to an appeals court, giving an indication whether the suit against Enron bankers is doomed by the Supreme Court’s ruling yesterday in Stoneridge Investment Partners v. Scientific-Atlanta Inc. In…

Jan 16, 2008 3:38 PM CST