U.S. Supreme Court

Bad Term for Precedent, Rabble-Rousers

Updated: The U.S. Supreme Court explicitly overturned only three decisions this term. But other precedents are on shaky ground, vulnerable because of decisions that give litigants a plan of attack in future cases, Linda Greenhouse writes in an end-of-the-term wrap-up in the New York Times. Among the precedents that fell…

Jul 2, 2007 6:30 PM CDT

How Schools Will Integrate

The U.S. Supreme Court may not be that much of an impediment to schools that seek to integrate voluntarily. Last week, the court struck down two school integration plans that used race as a factor in school assignments. But a controlling opinion by Justice Anthony M. Kennedy indicated that some…

Jul 2, 2007 5:02 PM CDT

Alito Develops a Pro-Business Record

The court’s newest justice has voted for business interests at nearly every opportunity in a term that saw fortunes rise for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. is winning plaudits from Robin Conrad, executive vice president of the business group’s National Chamber Litigation Center, Tony Mauro…

Jul 2, 2007 1:04 PM CDT

New Theories of Evolution

The debate about whether justices’ philosophies change is revived

Jul 1, 2007 9:37 PM CDT

To the Right, to the Right

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. has led the Supreme Court in a move to the right that was only occasionally blocked by the swing vote of Justice Anthony M. Kennedy. Statistics help tell the story. The court decided 24 cases by 5-4 votes this term, the Washington Post reports.…

Jun 29, 2007 8:54 PM CDT

Integration Plan B Uses Income

More school districts are likely to consider income as a race neutral way to achieve school diversity in the wake of yesterday’s Supreme Court decision striking down two school integration plans. The 5-4 decision struck down programs used in Seattle and Louisville, Ky., area schools that used race as a…

Jun 29, 2007 5:48 PM CDT

High Court Accepts Gitmo Appeals

Updated: The U.S. Supreme Court has reversed course and agreed to decide whether Guantanamo detainees may challenge their detention in federal court. The two cases raise a basic question, David J. Savage writes in the May 2007 ABA Journal story, “The Reach of the Writ”: Is habeas corpus protection limited…

Jun 29, 2007 5:22 PM CDT

Thomas Calls Holding ‘Half-baked’

A federal district court will have to sort out the details of yesterday’s 5-4 Supreme Court ruling in the case of a mentally ill death-row inmate. The court will have to consider whether Scott Panetti, who thinks the state of Texas wants to executive him for preaching the gospel, has…

Jun 29, 2007 4:10 PM CDT

Experts See High Prices at High End

Yesterday’s Supreme Court decision generally allowing manufacturers to enforce minimum retail prices isn’t likely to raise prices for common household products, many experts say. Instead the decision is most likely to have an impact on prices for high-end goods, according to the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.). The 5-4 ruling…

Jun 29, 2007 3:30 PM CDT

Kennedy Holds Powell’s Position

The justice who holds the seat once occupied by Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. wrote the controlling opinion in yesterday’s Supreme Court decision striking down two school integration plans. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy joined the five-justice majority in striking down programs used in Seattle and Louisville, Ky., area schools. Seattle…

Jun 29, 2007 2:19 PM CDT

Body Language Conveys Divisions

Updated: As Justice Stephen G. Breyer read aloud his dissent yesterday from the Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision striking down two school-integration plans, the justices’ discomfort was on display. Breyer argued that public schools should be able to consider race in response to the nation’s history of slavery and discrimination. Breyer…

Jun 29, 2007 1:50 PM CDT

Judge: Roberts Misused My Quote

A federal judge who argued the landmark school desegregation case Brown v. Board of Education says Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. is taking his words out of context. Roberts cited Brown and the arguments of Robert Carter in his majority opinion yesterday striking down school integration plans at two…

Jun 29, 2007 1:42 PM CDT

The Conservative Clash

Today’s Supreme Court ruling striking down race-conscious admissions decisions at two public schools highlights a divide in the court’s conservative wing. The clash is between the court’s visionaries and minimalists, University of Chicago law professor Cass Sunstein writes in a column for the Washington Post. In his opinion for the…

Jun 28, 2007 9:00 PM CDT

Court Permits Price Agreements

Updated: The U.S. Supreme Court has overruled a nearly 100-year-old precedent barring retail price fixing. The court in a 5-4 decision said agreements on minimum prices are legal if they promote competition, according to Associated Press. The majority opinion by Justice Anthony M. Kennedy said challenges to vertical price restraints…

Jun 28, 2007 8:20 PM CDT

Court Clarifies Execution Standard

Updated: The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that a federal appeals court used an “improperly restrictive test” when it ruled that a mentally delusional death-row inmate could be put to death. The 5-4 decision blocks the execution of Scott Panetti, Associated Press reports. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals…

Jun 28, 2007 6:44 PM CDT