The Supreme Court on Thursday afternoon asked lawyers involved in a major election law case to weigh in on whether the court can still hear the case in the wake of a recent ruling by the North Carolina Supreme Court, which reversed its earlier decision in the underlying redistricting dispute that sparked the case. In… Read More
Supreme Court will consider major case on power of federal regulatory agencies
Nearly 40 years ago, in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council, the Supreme Court ruled that courts should defer to a federal agency’s interpretation of an ambiguous statute as long as that interpretation is reasonable. On Monday, the Supreme Court agreed to reconsider its ruling in Chevron. The question comes to the court in a case brought… Read More
Justices appear likely to side with homeowner in foreclosure dispute
Geraldine Tyler, a 94-year-old grandmother, lost her Minneapolis condo when she failed to pay the property taxes for several years. Tyler does not dispute that Hennepin County could foreclose on the $40,000 property and sell it to obtain the $15,000 in taxes and costs that she owed it. But she argued that the county violated… Read More
Roberts declines invitation to testify at Senate hearing
Chief Justice John Roberts on Tuesday night “respectfully decline[d]” an invitation from Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee at a hearing next week. Durbin had asked Roberts to testify about Supreme Court ethics rules and potential reform. Durbin’s letter to Roberts followed an April 6 ProPublica report on Justice Clarence… Read More
Court to hear dispute over confiscated condo title and sale
The Supreme Court will hear its final oral argument of the term on Wednesday, in the case of a 94-year-old Minnesota grandmother. Geraldine Tyler does not dispute that the county government could seize her condominium after she failed to pay her property taxes for several years. But what the county can’t do, she contends, is… Read More
Justices add two cases on liability of officials who block critics on social media
The Supreme Court on Monday morning agreed to weigh in on a question arising out of the widespread use of social media – specifically, whether public officials are acting as government officials, and therefore can violate the First Amendment, when they block people on their personal social media accounts that they use to communicate with… Read More
Justices hear “true threat” protected speech case
The Supreme Court heard oral argument on Wednesday in the case of a Colorado man who was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison for stalking based on the Facebook messages that he sent to local musician Coles Whalen. At issue in the case is how courts should determine what constitutes “true threats,” which are not… Read More
Court rules federal immunity law does not shield Turkish bank from U.S. prosecution
The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that a Turkish bank can be prosecuted in U.S. courts for its role in a conspiracy to evade U.S. sanctions on Iran. The justices rejected the bank’s contention that because the Turkish government owns a majority share of the bank, known as Halkbank, it is immune from prosecution under… Read More
Court revives DNA evidence case of Texas man on death-row
The Supreme Court on Wednesday revived the case of a man on death-row in Texas who is seeking DNA testing to provide evidence that he asserts will clear him. By a vote of 6-3, the justices reversed a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit that Rodney Reed had filed his… Read More
Justices look for common ground in postal worker’s religious liberty case
The Supreme Court heard oral argument on Tuesday in a case that asking the justices to decide how far employers must go to accommodate the religious practices of their employees. Federal law bars employees from discriminating against workers for practicing their religion unless the employer can show that the worker’s religious practice cannot “reasonably” be… Read More