Supreme Court

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Supremes Halt Execution of Insane Inmate

Kennedy is swing vote against punishment for schizophrenic killer

(Newser) - The Supreme Court voted 5-4 to block the execution of a schizophrenic condemned killer because Texas criminal courts had not taken his mental health into account. Anthony Kennedy joined the court's liberals and wrote the decision, which reaffirmed previous injunctions against executing the insane; Kennedy wrote that the "punishment...

High Court Limits Use of Race in School Assignments

Choice plans found unconstitutional

(Newser) - Taking race into consideration in school assignments is unconstitutional because it violates students' rights under the equal protection clause, the Supreme Court ruled today in a landmark decision that could cause upheaval in K-12 education. The decision, by an increasingly familiar 5-4 vote, invalidates diversity plans in Louisville and Seattle...

Scalia Joins Majority, but Not Happily

Cranky justice rips Roberts in separate opinions

(Newser) - The high court may have a new conservative majority, but it's not exactly a lovey-dovey one, judging from Antonin Scalia's withering concurring opinions on two recent decisions, the New York Times reports.  Although he voted with the majority, Scalia blasted Chief Justice John Roberts for downplaying the impact of...

Supremes Let Up on Political Ad Limits

in 5-4 reversal, court rules 'issue ads' don't count as endorsements

(Newser) - Conservatives on the Supreme Court weakened one of the major strictures of the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Law today, relaxing the definition of prohibited ads in the run-up to federal elections. An increasingly familiar 5-4 majority declared that "issue ads," which stump for political platforms without explicitly endorsing a...

Court Limits Student Speech
Court Limits Student Speech
Jun 25, 2007 10:41 AM CDT

Court Limits Student Speech

High Court decides 'Bong Hits 4 Jesus' case in favor of buzz-kill principal

(Newser) - Schools may limit student speech that advocates criminal activity, even off campus, the Supreme Court ruled today. The case centers on a banner reading "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" displayed across the street from a school; writing for the 5-4 majority, Chief Justice Roberts said the school principal's understanding of...

High Court Raises Bar for Investors' Suits

Companies trump shareholders for second time in a week

(Newser) - Investors who accuse companies of fraud based on executives' misdeeds must show that they acted intentionally, the Supreme Court ruled today, making it easier for corporations to have shareholder lawsuits dismissed. The decision helps protect companies against frivolous suits by clarifying a 1995 law, the Times reports, but critics say...

Supremes Side With Banks in Antitrust Action

Credit Suisse, Goldman won't face class action suit over late-'90s IPOs

(Newser) - The Supreme Court has broadened the shield protecting companies from antitrust lawsuits, ruling in a 7-1 decision this morning that investors cannot sue 16 banks they accuse of rigging Internet-boom-era IPOs. The majority said the SEC had adequately regulated banks' actions and that opening them up to this type of...

Court Curbs Unions' Political Spending

In blow to organized labor, states can force members' approval

(Newser) - The Supreme Court yesterday upheld a Washington State law forcing public-sector unions to win consent from workers before spending their dues on politically-charged activities. The law applied to workers who opt out of joining a union but still have to pay the dues, some of which are spent supplying (mainly...

Courts Debate Definition of 'Retarded'

Ruling on death penalty's constitutionality generates more questions than answers

(Newser) - Sentencing the mentally retarded to death is unconstitutional, and individual states set the cut-off between disabled and competent—sounds simple, but in practice, the Supreme Court's 2002 ruling has proven nearly impossible to enforce. At issue, the LA Times reports, is the gray area between low IQ and retardation, a...

Anti-abortion Groups Split by Late-Term Ban

Purists rip Dobson for praising limits, not full prohibition

(Newser) - The recent Supreme Court ruling against partial-birth abortions has ignited a battle among anti-abortion groups, the Washington Post reports. The bickering highlights a divide between groups working for a wholesale ban and those seeking limits. In newspaper ads, a religious coalition ripped the ruling as "wicked" and slammed longtime...

Ginsburg Speaks Up
Ginsburg
Speaks Up
May 31, 2007 9:18 AM CDT

Ginsburg Speaks Up

As Supreme Court veers to the right, a new voice of dissent emerges

(Newser) - Ruth Bader Ginsburg has delivered two withering oral dissents in the past six weeks, a radical departure from her previous conciliatory role. Linda Greenhouse speculates in today's Times that the unprecedented behavior may signal a new outspokenness for the Supreme Court's only female justice. "After 15 years on the...

High Court Curbs Pay Bias Suits
High Court Curbs Pay
Bias Suits
May 30, 2007 4:55 AM CDT

High Court Curbs Pay Bias Suits

Ginsburg dissents on decision limiting charges to 180 days

(Newser) - The Supreme Court severely limited the right of women to sue employers over pay discrimination in a stormy 5-4 decision yesterday. A lone woman employee at a tire factory sued because she was paid less than male coworkers over her long career; the court held that such charges must be...

Court Relaxes Patent Test
Court Relaxes Patent Test
May 1, 2007 7:36 AM CDT

Court Relaxes Patent Test

Tech companies applaud broader guidelines for "obviousness"

(Newser) - Tech companies are thrilled with a Supreme Court ruling yesterday that relaxed the "obviousness" test for patents—the standard for deciding when a combination of existing elements deserves patent protection. No longer will Silicon Valley giants have to wrangle with patent "trolls"—people who anticipate minute improvements...

Supreme Court Blocks Gitmo Detainees

Justices rule on police chases, patents; will hear Texas death-penalty case

(Newser) - The Supreme Court will not hear the cases of two Guantanamo detainees who sought to challenge the government's policy on military tribunals, it announced today. But it will hear arguments this fall in the case of a Texas death row inmate, a Mexican national whose appeal was supported by the...

High Court Eyes McCain- Feingold
High Court
Eyes McCain-
Feingold 
Apr 26, 2007 7:37 AM CDT

High Court Eyes McCain- Feingold

Alito, Roberts may reverse ban on "issue ads" during campaign

(Newser) - The Supreme Court looks poised to pull an about face on the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law by striking down its strictures on "issue ads"—pre-election commentary that mentions candidates by name. Sandra Day O'Connor joined a majority in upholding the ban in 2003; Alito and Roberts may provide...

Alito Swings Court Against Late Abortion

Justices cite moral corcerns, worry about mother's regrets

(Newser) - The Supreme Court's decision to uphold a ban partial-birth abortions is a gauntlet thrown down by the Roberts court, reports Linda Greenhouse in the Times. Samuel Alito, the newest justice, was the deciding factor in the 5-4 turnaround. While it will affect a small subset of abortion procedures, the focus...

Supreme Court Supports Late-Term Abortion Ban

5-4 decision signals shift on divisive Issue, win for abortion opponents

(Newser) - The Supreme Court voted today to uphold a ban on partial birth abortions, handing a significant victory to President Bush, whose appointees to the high court voted with the 5-4 majority. The 2003 law, which bars a controversial late-term procedure, is the first federal restriction on abortion since the 1973...

Utilities May Profit From Ruling
Utilities May Profit From Ruling
Apr 3, 2007 8:31 AM CDT

Utilities May Profit From Ruling

Some corporations may profit off tighter greenhouse gas regulations

(Newser) - Some utility  companies may actually benefit financially from the Supreme Court ruling forcing the EPA to crack down on greenhouse gas emissions, the Wall Street Journal reports.  While it will cost them millions in the short-term to meet new requirements, utilities in government-regulated markets—mostly in the Southeast, Great...

EPA Must Regulate Greenhouse Gases
EPA Must Regulate Greenhouse Gases
Apr 3, 2007 7:52 AM CDT

EPA Must Regulate Greenhouse Gases

Supreme Court ruling a rebuke to Bush's hands-off policy on auto emissions

(Newser) - Carbon dioxide must be regulated by the federal government unless it can provide a scientific reason not to, the Supreme Court ruled Monday. The 5-4 decision, which ordered the EPA to consider CO2 an "air pollutant" as defined by the Clean Air Act, was a blow to the Bush...

Supreme Court Rejects Appeals From Gitmo Detainees

Win for Bush policy on terror suspects

(Newser) - The Supreme Court declined to hear the case of detainees at Guantanamo who challenged the constitutionality of  their confinement, the Washington Post  reports. The rejected appeal  questioned the validity of the military commissions law passed last year, and the legality of being held for more than five years with being...

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