U.S. Supreme Court

En Banc Court Mulls Abortion Law

Anti-abortion groups are pursuing a strategy that focuses on the consequences for women who undergo abortion. An example is the law passed by South Dakota, Adam Liptak writes in his Sidebar column for the New York Times (sub. req.). The measure requires doctors to tell women considering abortion that the…

Aug 6, 2007 1:55 PM CDT

Senator: No More Bush Justices

What would happen if the U.S. Supreme Court saw another vacancy before President Bush leaves office? An all-out war is the likely answer, according to the Washington Post blog The Trail. “Some Bush advisers believe a new Supreme Court fight would be the best chance for him to influence his…

Aug 2, 2007 5:45 PM CDT

Patent Rulings Favoring Defendants

Courts are citing a recent U.S. Supreme Court case to justify rulings in favor of companies defending patent infringement claims. The Supreme Court’s ruling in KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc. three months ago made it easier to invalidate patents for obvious inventions. The court said an invention is not…

Aug 1, 2007 6:17 PM CDT

Medical Privacy Elusive for Justices

Most Supreme Court justices guard their privacy, refusing to release more than the barest facts about their medical conditions. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. is no exception, Linda Greenhouse writes in her Supreme Court Memo for the New York Times. He released few details about the seizure he suffered…

Aug 1, 2007 12:32 PM CDT

Supreme Close-Up

As SCOTUS prepares to entertain a new fall audience, one thing is certain: Events will not be televised.

Aug 1, 2007 12:00 PM CDT

Reagan Arising

At last, the court that conservatives hoped for since the 1980s arrives

Aug 1, 2007 9:52 AM CDT

Chief Justice Leaves Hospital

Updated: Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. was released from the hospital today and plans to resume his Maine vacation. The Washington Post reports that Roberts waved to journalists as he walked quickly from the hospital to a waiting Ford Explorer. Earlier today, Roberts spoke to President Bush on the…

Jul 31, 2007 4:32 PM CDT

Congressmen Support Shareholders

Two Democratic congressmen have asked the U.S. Supreme Court for permission to weigh in on the side of plaintiffs seeking to hold third parties liable for corporate wrongdoing. House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank and House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers Jr. asked for court permission yesterday, the Washington…

Jul 31, 2007 3:16 PM CDT

Chief Justice Hospitalized for Seizure, Fall

Updated: Chief Justice John G. Roberts was taken by ambulance to the hospital Monday after a reported fall while he was vacationing in Maine. The fall was caused by a seizure, according to the Associated Press. Roberts, 52, was at his summer home on an island near Port Clyde when…

Jul 30, 2007 11:30 PM CDT

NRA Had High Court Misgivings

The National Rifle Association may be a reluctant Supreme Court suitor in a Washington, D.C., case that challenges the district’s handgun ban. The lawyer who won a federal appeals court ruling striking down the ban says the NRA has joined him “ever so grudgingly” in the case, Legal Times reports.…

Jul 30, 2007 1:12 PM CDT

More View Court as Too Conservative

A lot has happened since Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Samuel A. Alito Jr. joined the U.S. Supreme Court. The court upheld a ban on partial-birth abortions. It ruled against integration plans at two school districts. And the percentage of Americans who apparently noticed the conservative shift increased…

Jul 30, 2007 4:04 AM CDT

Schumer Says Senators ‘Duped’ By Justices

A powerful Democratic senator from New York told the American Constitution Society on Friday that the Senate should avoid confirming another one of President Bush’s Supreme Court nominees. Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., said a confirmation to the high court should only come in “extraordinary circumstances,” reports The Politico. He…

Jul 28, 2007 2:01 AM CDT

Hamdan Lawyer to Head Emory U Clinic

A prominent U.S. Navy lawyer will serve as a visiting professor at Emory University School of Law this fall after retiring from the military, and he will help establish a new international humanitarian law clinic. In addition to teaching courses on international humanitarian law, criminal law, evidence, and military law,…

Jul 25, 2007 10:46 PM CDT

Are New Justices Rewriting Case Law?

Two new members of the U.S. Supreme Court reportedly have lost no time in overturning a number of settled precedents. And among those taking note of the situation are members of Congress, who are thinking about looking into whether the justices said one thing during confirmation hearings and did something…

Jul 25, 2007 9:22 PM CDT

DOJ Veterans in Giuliani Group

Republican presidential candidate Rudolph Giuliani has appointed a Justice Advisory Committee that is made up of conservative lawyers from the Reagan and other GOP administrations. The chair of the committee is Theodore Olson, who served as solicitor general for President Bush, Legal Times reports. Many committee members are veteran lawyers…

Jul 25, 2007 3:14 PM CDT