The Supreme Court upheld by 6–3 along ideological lines the conviction of Adam Samia, who was found guilty in a murder-for-hire scheme on the strength of another person’s written confession. In the June 23 ruling, the six conservative justices found … Continue reading Supreme Court votes 6–3 to uphold murder conviction based on another defendant’s confession
The Supreme Court agreed with cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase on June 23, ruling 5–4 that customer disputes shouldn’t move forward in the lower courts while appellate courts have yet to rule on the company’s request to divert those cases to arbitration … Continue reading Supreme Court sides with crypto giant Coinbase in arbitration dispute
The Supreme Court ruled 8–1 on June 23 that Texas and Louisiana may not challenge the Biden administration’s 2021 decision to focus its deportation efforts on individuals deemed to be a threat to public safety. The new, complex decision allows … Continue reading Supreme Court rules states can’t challenge Biden deportation policy
The Biden administration’s effort to retry former healthcare executive Philip Esformes is “a travesty of justice,” Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) said at a congressional oversight hearing on June 22. Convicted in a healthcare fraud scheme, Esformes was sentenced to 20 … Continue reading Rep. Biggs decries Biden DOJ for re-prosecuting man whose sentence was commuted by Trump
The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on June 22 that obstruction of justice is a serious enough crime to justify the deportation of lawful permanent residents—also known as green card holders—who have been convicted of it. The somewhat technical new decision … Continue reading Supreme Court rules green card holders can be deported for obstruction of justice
The Supreme Court ruled 5–4 on June 22 that the federal government has no obligation to help the Navajo Nation gain access to water, finding that a 19th-century treaty with the government imposes no such duty. Oral arguments in the … Continue reading Supreme Court rules against Navajo Nation in water dispute
The Supreme Court is scheduled to decide as soon as this week if it will hear a case about whether individuals suffering from gender dysphoria are protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The petition (pdf) in the case Kincaid v. Williams (court file 22-633) was filed in January. The respondent, Kesha Williams, a former detainee in the county who was born male and now identifies as female, is suing the petitioner, Stacey Kincaid, a Democrat, in her official capacity as the sheriff of Fairfax County, Virginia. Williams suffers from gender dysphoria, which can be defined as “discomfort or … Continue reading Supreme Court considering if ‘Americans with Disabilities Act’ covers gender dysphoria
The Supreme Court ruled 8–1 that the U.S. Department of Justice is allowed to seek dismissal of a whistleblower lawsuit over the objection of a whistleblower who has a financial interest in the outcome of the lawsuit. Justice Elena Kagan … Continue reading Supreme Court gives DOJ power to dismiss whistleblower lawsuits
The Supreme Court ruled 8-1 that federal bankruptcy law supersedes Indian tribes’ sovereign immunity. An Indian tribe in Wisconsin had argued it could not be sued and that bankruptcy protections, such as the law’s automatic stay of collection efforts when … Continue reading Supreme Court holds bankruptcy law trumps tribal sovereignty
The Supreme Court unanimously ruled against an Alabama man whose trade secrets theft conviction in Florida for stealing proprietary fishing information from a Florida-based website was vacated because his trial took place in the wrong state. The ruling means that the government is free to retry an already convicted defendant even if he was tried in the wrong venue. For centuries the law has mandated that a criminal defendant must be tried where the crime was committed. And nowadays when crimes take place over the internet, as allegedly happened here, the legal rules determining where the crime took place are often unclear. The new … Continue reading Supreme Court won’t acquit alleged hacker in fishing data theft
The Supreme Court upheld by 7–2 a racially discriminatory adoption law aimed at preventing non-Indian families from adopting Native American children. Conservative Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented from the new ruling in Haaland v. Brackeen (court file 21-376) … Continue reading Supreme Court upholds law aimed at preventing non-Indian families from adopting Native American children
Congress must impose a code of conduct on the Supreme Court that requires justices to recuse themselves when a financial connection exists between the justice or the justice’s family and someone having business before the court, a Democrat-controlled congressional oversight … Continue reading Democrats push bill to regulate Supreme Court
A California high school has backed down after parents and students demanded the removal of a controversial photograph, which they called “anti-Christian bigotry,” from one of its courses. Dos Pueblos High School in Goleta, California, included a photograph taken by Andres … Continue reading California high school forced to withdraw ‘anti-Christian’ material
The Supreme Court on Monday decided it would not consider an appeal seeking reinstatement of North Carolina’s specialty license plates displaying a version of the Confederate battle flag. The case comes in an era in which Confederate symbols, which had … Continue reading Supreme Court won’t review decision banning Confederate flag license plates
The Supreme Court refused on June 12 to hear Ohio’s argument that the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) unconstitutionally prevents states from using COVID-19-related pandemic relief funding to offset tax cuts. This is the second time this year that the … Continue reading Supreme Court won’t hear Ohio’s lawsuit over using pandemic relief for tax cuts
The Supreme Court decided on June 12 not to hear the claim of a Christian school in Colorado that it can’t be sued for firing a teacher who accused the school, parents, and students of racism. The school argued that because it’s a religious institution it’s beyond the reach of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The familiar amendment begins, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” The case involves the so-called ministerial exception that the Supreme Court recognized in Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. Employment Opportunity Division (2012). The exception prevents … Continue reading Supreme Court denies Christian school’s claim against teacher who accused it of racism
A friend of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas says a highly publicized media report that accused the justice of violating ethical norms contained “old news” and failed to disclose that Thomas was cleared of accusations of wrongdoing “more than a … Continue reading ProPublica article left out fact justice was cleared of ethics violations: Clarence Thomas defender
The Supreme Court limited the reach of the federal Identity Theft Penalty Enhancement Act, unanimously rebuffing the Biden administration’s efforts to prosecute a man already convicted of Medicaid fraud with a separate charge of aggravated identity theft arising out of the same fraud case. The 9–0 opinion (pdf) in Dubin v. United States (court file 22-10) was issued on June 8 and authored by Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Justice Neil Gorsuch filed a separate concurring opinion. The Identity Theft Penalty Enhancement Act mandates a two-year prison sentence for violations. When then-President George W. Bush signed the law in 2004 he said it … Continue reading Government overreached in identity theft case, Supreme Court rules unanimously
The new indictment a federal grand jury returned against former President Donald Trump over his allegedly illegal retention of national security documents after he left the White House in January 2021 is politically motivated, legal experts told The Epoch Times. … Continue reading New indictment against Trump is political payback, legal experts say
The Supreme Court unanimously ruled on June 8 against a dog toy maker whose chew toy parodies a bottle of Jack Daniel’s whiskey that the Tennessee distiller had claimed violated its trademark. The case dealt with the intersection of the First … Continue reading ‘Bad Spaniels’ dog toy maker loses trademark case against Jack Daniel’s