The Supreme Court voted 5–4 on June 8 to strike down Alabama’s electoral map for congressional elections, ruling that it was racially discriminatory. The court narrowly found that the map drafted by Alabama Republicans violated the provisions of the federal Voting … Continue reading Supreme Court strikes down Republican-drawn election map for Alabama
The Supreme Court crackdown on social media platforms’ liability shield for user content that many observers expected in a pair of recent high-profile cases never came. Much to the relief of Silicon Valley, the Supreme Court sidestepped the issue in … Continue reading Supreme Court leaves social media liability shield untouched
Lawfare abuses orchestrated by left-wing activists and sympathetic government officials that enact harmful policies and enrich activist groups need to be curbed, a congressional panel heard on June 6. The former Trump administration curbed such abuses but the Biden administration … Continue reading Republicans consider legislation to counter ‘lawfare’ abuse
The U.S. Supreme Court reversed court rulings in which local governments seized two homes over unpaid tax debts and kept sale proceeds that far exceeded the tax owed. Critics call the practice “home equity theft.” The case came after Pacific … Continue reading Supreme Court overrules local governments for seizing homes
The Supreme Court decided on June 5 to consider whether a progressive activist can trademark a belittling phrase targeting former President Donald Trump for use on T-shirts. The ruling puts the administration of President Joe Biden, a Democrat, in the … Continue reading Supreme Court to decide if insult against Trump can be trademarked
The Supreme Court ruled in favor of a Big Tech company on June 1, issuing a unanimous ruling that limits the power of shareholders to sue over misleading statements made by companies when selling shares in a direct listing. Justice … Continue reading Supreme Court reverses ruling against Slack Technologies over direct listing
In a unanimous ruling on June 1, the Supreme Court revived whistleblower lawsuits against pharmacy operators SuperValu and Safeway for allegedly overcharging the government by filing false Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement claims for prescription drugs they sold. The case concerns the federal … Continue reading Supreme Court sides with whistleblowers in pharmacy fraud lawsuits
In an 8–1 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court on June 1 decided that a union’s deliberate destruction of company property as a pressure tactic in a labor dispute isn’t protected by federal law. Labor activists have said that endangering and … Continue reading Supreme Court deals blow to unions, rules company can sue for damage caused by strike
The Supreme Court resurrected four appeals from illegal immigrants trying to avoid deportation, sending their cases back to federal appeals courts after ruling weeks ago that lower courts don’t have to wait until a litigant’s administrative options are exhausted before issuing rulings. The Court released unsigned orders (pdf) on May 30 summarily reversing rulings of the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, 8th Circuit, 10th Circuit, and 11th Circuit. The nation’s highest court did not explain why it was issuing the orders. No justices dissented. The cases of lead petitioners Sergio Mencia-Medina of Honduras, Alma Aracely Castaneda-Martinez of … Continue reading Supreme Court overturns four deportation orders from US appeals courts
The Supreme Court refused to take up a lawsuit on May 30 against Reddit over its alleged hosting of child pornography on the social media website. The case is Doe v. Reddit Inc., court file 22-695. The Supreme Court dismissed the petition in an unsigned order. No justices dissented. The court did not explain its new decision. The order came after the Supreme Court sidestepped a challenge on May 18 to Section 230 of the federal Communications Decency Act of 1996, which generally prevents internet platforms and internet service providers from being held liable for what users say on them. Big Tech … Continue reading Supreme Court throws out lawsuit against Reddit over child pornography
My new book, Barack Obama’s True Legacy, was just published. I contributed a chapter looking at Obama’s immigration legacy. Mark Tapson reviews it at FrontPageMag. Bruce Bawer reviews it at American Thinker. The book is already #1 in the United … Continue reading My new book, Barack Obama’s True Legacy, is on sale now
The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that a Minnesota county wronged a grandmother when it forced the sale of her condominium over an unpaid tax debt and kept the sale proceeds that far exceeded the tax she owed. Critics call such … Continue reading Supreme Court sides with 94-year-old woman whose home equity was seized by county
The Supreme Court overturned the fraud convictions of four businessmen, three of whom were connected to the scandal-plagued “Buffalo Billion” development plan in upstate New York. The plan, led at the time by then-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, envisioned the construction of a … Continue reading Supreme Court overturns fraud convictions related to Cuomo project
The Supreme Court voted to rein in the power of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate wetlands in a complex decision issued on May 25, the second time in a year that the court has curbed federal environmental authority. All three liberal … Continue reading Supreme Court rules against EPA in major wetlands case
WASHINGTON—The Supreme Court is working to address concerns about justices’ ethics, Chief Justice John Roberts told a gathering of lawyers in the nation’s capital on May 23 in a speech that was short on specifics. Roberts’s comments came at a … Continue reading Chief Justice Roberts says the Supreme Court is trying to address court ethics
A defamation lawsuit that controversial former Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) brought against independent political groups over the 2018 election was dismissed by the Supreme Court on May 22. The formerly high-profile, left-wing, ex-lawmaker represented Florida’s 9th congressional district from 2013 … Continue reading Supreme Court won’t hear Florida Democrat’s defamation appeal
The Supreme Court unanimously reversed a lower court’s order that a banker be banned from the financial services industry for life on May 22. Harry C. Calcutt III was president and CEO of Traverse City, Michigan-based Northwestern Bank before it was purchased by a competitor. The government alleged Calcutt participated in improper lending practices that led the small bank to incur millions of dollars in losses. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) brought an enforcement action against Calcutt for allegedly mismanaging one of the bank’s loan relationships in the wake of the “Great Recession” of 2007–2009. After an FDIC administrative … Continue reading Supreme Court overturns lifetime ban for Michigan bank executive
The Supreme Court has ruled unanimously in a delinquent taxpayer case that it is lawful for the IRS to secretly summons the bank records of third parties. In other words, the nation’s highest court recognized that the Internal Revenue Service … Continue reading Supreme Court rules IRS can secretly grab bank records of outside parties
The Supreme Court ruled 7-2 in favor of a photographer who claimed her intellectual property rights were violated by Andy Warhol’s eponymous foundation when it published multiple stylized prints he made based on her photo of the iconic musician Prince. Warhol, … Continue reading Supreme Court rules against Andy Warhol Foundation in copyright dispute
The Supreme Court unanimously sided with Twitter, Google, and Facebook, finding in a pair of decisions on May 18 that the Silicon Valley giants are shielded from liability for content posted by users. The lawsuits arose after deadly Islamic terrorist attacks overseas. Victims’ families argued that the Big Tech companies were liable because they allowed terrorist videos to be posted online or failed to do enough to police the terrorist accounts posting the videos. Big Tech and its supporters had been deeply concerned that the court could eviscerate Section 230 of the federal Communications Decency Act of 1996, which generally … Continue reading Supreme Court rules in favor of Twitter, Google, Facebook in liability case over user-posted content