U.S. Supreme Court

Court Rejects Ineffective Assistance Claim

The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld a federal judge’s decision to deny an evidentiary hearing to a death-row inmate who refused to allow mitigating evidence at his trial. A federal judge properly determined that Jeffrey Landrigan, who had petitioned for habeas relief, could not make out a colorable claim of…

May 14, 2007 4:47 PM CDT

The Court’s New Swing Vote

A USA Today story about Anthony M. Kennedy’s swing vote on the Supreme Court describes the justice as “a bespectacled 70-year-old Everyman.” Of 11 rulings this term decided by 5-4 votes on the key issue, Kennedy was the only justice in the majority in every case, the newspaper reports. The…

May 11, 2007 5:09 PM CDT

Today in Legal History: Ellsberg Acquitted in Pentagon Case, Barbie Nazi War Crimes Trial Begins

On this day in 1973, charges against Daniel Ellsberg in the Pentagon Papers case were dismissed, due to government misconduct. (The administration of President Richard M. Nixon was implicated in a burglary of Ellsberg’s psychiatrist’s office, in an effort to discredit him.) Ellsberg, a Pentagon employee, had released 7,000 pages…

May 11, 2007 11:00 AM CDT

Justice Recalls His Nomination and Nominator

Justice John Paul Stevens avoided legal matters when he spoke to lawyers last night at a meeting of the 7th Circuit Bar Association. Instead the 87-year-old Stevens focused on stories about his nomination to the court and the man who chose him, the late Gerald Ford, the Associated Press reports.…

May 8, 2007 5:44 PM CDT

Today in Legal History: $180 Million Agent Orange Settlement, MacLeish Born, Chase Dies

On this day in 1984, a controversial $180 million settlement was announced in Agent Orange class action litigation by Vietnam War veterans who claimed serious injuries from exposure to the defoliant. The settlement was exhausted before all alleged victims were compensated, a New York Times article explains, and the U.S.…

May 7, 2007 11:00 AM CDT

Roberts: Fewer Laws Mean Fewer Cases

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. says the Supreme Court is hearing fewer cases partly because Congress is passing fewer significant laws. Roberts offered three reasons for the decline yesterday in a speech to Alaska Bar Association’s annual convention, according to the Associated Press. Other reasons he noted: Lower courts…

May 4, 2007 6:33 PM CDT

Chase Video Speeds Supreme Court Into Internet Age

A video clip posted next to an opinion this week on the U.S. Supreme Court’s Web site has launched the high court into the Internet Age. Hence, the video, which depicts the view from the dashboard during a high-speed police chase in suburban Atlanta, is probably of greater interest to…

May 4, 2007 6:23 PM CDT

Reagan Diary Says O’Connor Was Anti-Abortion

President Reagan quickly summed up the controversy over his historic nomination of Justice Sandra Day O’Connor in a short diary entry. O’Connor was the first woman appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court. “Already the flack is starting & from my own supporters,” he wrote, in an entry quoted by the…

May 2, 2007 3:11 PM CDT

Vonage Cites Patent Ruling, Seeks Retrial

Vonage Holdings is citing the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent patent ruling in a motion seeking a retrial of a patent infringement case. Vonage filed the motion with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington on Tuesday, according to Bloomberg News. The Supreme Court’s Monday ruling in…

May 2, 2007 2:09 PM CDT

The Play Reigns Supreme

New York lawyer jay Harris knows a good play when he sees one–and he’s got the brass to back it up, including a Tony Award for his production of Side Man. So when Harris says he’s found the next big hit, it’s a little hard to question his instincts. Even…

May 1, 2007 7:39 PM CDT

U.S. Flip-Flop in Medellin Case

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal by a Mexican national on death row who says he was not informed of his right to meet with consular officials. The United States has changed its position on whether courts here have to reopen cases in which defendants were…

May 1, 2007 3:22 PM CDT

Patent Ruling Has Broad Reach

The U.S. Supreme Court decision yesterday making it more difficult to obtain patents on new products is one of its more important patent rulings in years. The court said an invention is not entitled to a patent if it is the result of only “ordinary innovation” and “does no more…

May 1, 2007 2:04 PM CDT

Stevens Issues Sarcastic Dissent in Chase Case

Justice John Paul Stevens was the lone—and sarcastic—dissenter in yesterday’s Supreme Court decision barring liability for a sheriff’s deputy who rammed a fleeing car, causing an accident that paralyzed the driver. The majority opinion by Justice Antonin Scalia highlighted a videotape of the car chase that showed the dangers created…

May 1, 2007 1:44 PM CDT

The Reach of the Writ

Habeas corpus rights of Guantanamo detainees are still up in the air

May 1, 2007 11:18 AM CDT

Supreme Court to Hear Bush-Texas Standoff

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case that asks whether President Bush may order a state court to abide by an international court ruling. The case involves Jose Ernesto Medellin, who is on Texas death row for the rape and murder of two teenage girls, Reuters reports.…

Apr 30, 2007 8:24 PM CDT