Supreme Court rules against Georgia in copyright dispute
The Supreme Court ruled Monday against the state of Georgia in a copyright lawsuit over annotations to its legal code, finding they cannot be copyrighted.
Supreme Court of the United States
Articles
Michigan wins appeal over out-of-state liquor shipments after suit from Indiana retailer
Retailers outside Michigan can’t send alcohol directly to the state’s consumers, a federal appeals court said, a ruling that impacts at least one Indiana alcohol retailer.
Justices reject EPA’s narrow view of Clean Water Act
The US Supreme Court ruled Thursday that sewage plants and other industries cannot avoid environmental requirements under landmark clean-water protections when they send dirty water on an indirect route to rivers, oceans and other navigable waterways.
US Supreme Court sides with government in immigration case
The US Supreme Court is making it harder for noncitizens who are authorized to live permanently in the United States to argue they should be allowed to stay in the country if they’ve committed crimes.
SCOTUS rules for Connecticut company in Fossil trademark case
The Supreme Court of the United States is making it easier to get certain monetary awards in trademark infringement lawsuits. Justices sided unanimously Thursday with a Connecticut company, Romag, in its lawsuit against fashion accessory company Fossil.
Pandemic nudges SCOTUS to hear first arguments by phone
This is how the United States Supreme Court embraces technology: slowly. It took a worldwide pandemic for the court to agree to hear arguments over the telephone, with audio available live for the first time. C-SPAN plans to carry the arguments.
US Supreme Court bans nonunanimous jury verdicts in Oregon
Until Monday, Oregon was the only state that still allowed non-unanimous jury convictions. The U.S. Supreme Court ended that in a decision involving a murder conviction in Louisiana, a state which, until 2019, had also allowed non-unanimous jury convictions. But the ruling also applied to Oregon’s law.
High court declines to hear Nebraska, Missouri death cases
The Supreme Court is passing for now on deciding whether juries must find all facts necessary to impose a death sentence or whether judges can play a role, an issue Nebraska and Missouri death row inmates had asked the court to take up.
Justices rule against Montana homeowners near Superfund site
The United States Supreme Court delivered a setback Monday to Montana homeowners who are seeking additional cleanup of arsenic left over from years of copper smelting.
SCOTUS case highlights qualified immunity questions
After attacking a man mistaken for a fugitive, law enforcement in Michigan are facing a civil lawsuit that’s raising questions about qualified immunity and government accountability.
ACLU not planning suit to block fetal remains bill
Indiana’s new fetal remains law, which provides for burial or cremation following an abortion, will likely not face a legal challenged in contrast to a similar provision in a 2016 state law that was ultimately upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Texas clinics ask Supreme Court to allow certain abortions
Abortion clinics in Texas have asked the Supreme Court to step in to allow certain abortions to continue during the coronavirus pandemic. The clinics filed an emergency motion on Saturday asking the justices to overturn a lower-court order and allow abortions when they can be performed using medication.
Justices rule for federal employee over age discrimination
Well, OK, boomer. The Supreme Court made it easier Monday for federal employees 40 and older to sue for age discrimination. The ruling set a lower bar for public sector workers compared with those in the private sector.
US Supreme Court backs police in traffic stops
Police can pull over a car when they know only that its owner’s license is invalid, even if they don’t know who’s behind the wheel, the Supreme Court ruled Monday.
SCOTUS to review police qualified immunity from lawsuits
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal by police officers who believe they deserve immunity from a lawsuit filed by college student who says he was beaten up in a case of mistaken identity.
Justices toss decision in media mogul’s discrimination case
The Supreme Court of the United States on Monday threw out a lower court ruling in favor of a black media mogul and comedian who’s suing cable giant Comcast alleging racial discrimination.
US Supreme Court rules states can bar insanity defense
The Supreme Court of the United States ruled Monday that states can prevent criminal defendants from pleading insanity without violating their constitutional rights. The decision could prompt states across the country to toughen standards for defendants who wish to plead not guilty by reason of insanity.
Supreme Court petitioned on police officers’ legal immunity
James King had no idea that the men who grabbed him and took his wallet were plainclothes officers looking for a fugitive. King’s case is one of several taken up by the Arlington-based Institute for Justice in an effort to get the U.S. Supreme Court to reconsider the “qualified immunity” doctrine, which frequently shields police officers and other government agents from lawsuits when they are accused of violating a person’s constitutional rights.
Justices allow ‘remain in Mexico’ asylum policy to continue
The Supreme Court of the United States on Wednesday said it would allow the Trump administration to continue enforcing a policy that makes asylum-seekers wait in Mexico for U.S. court hearings, despite lower court rulings that the policy probably is illegal.
Strong showing of intellectual disability prompts stay of federal execution
A federal judge in Indiana has granted a Louisiana man’s motion to stay his execution pending resolution of his habeas action, finding the man made a strong showing that he is intellectually disabled and as a result, the Federal Death Penalty Act forbids his execution.