The Supreme Court recently overturned a lower court ruling that had vacated the sentence of an Alabama death row inmate after finding that he had received ineffective assistance of counsel during the sentencing process. The Sixth Amendment to the U.S. … Continue reading Supreme Court rejects Alabama death row prisoner’s request for resentencing

The Supreme Court on June 14 rejected on a 6–3 vote a bankrupt company’s claim that excessive court fees that it paid should be refunded after the nation’s highest court struck down the law authorizing the fee schedule in 2022. … Continue reading Supreme Court says government doesn’t have to refund bankruptcy fees

The Senate Judiciary Committee on June 13 released new information about flights and excursions that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas took for which Republican donor Harlan Crow paid. Justice Thomas previously said he was advised by colleagues that “this sort … Continue reading Senate committee discloses more free trips taken by Justice Thomas

The Supreme Court ruled unanimously in favor of Starbucks on June 13, reining in the National Labor Relations Board’s authority to decide whether fired union activists in Tennessee should get their jobs back. For years, the coffee giant has been … Continue reading Supreme Court sides with Starbucks in labor dispute with union activists

The Supreme Court unanimously rejected a challenge on June 13 that was brought by a doctors’ group against the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) loosening of regulations of the abortion pill mifepristone, handing a win to the agency. The court … Continue reading Supreme Court rejects challenge to abortion drug mifepristone

The U.S. Senate decided on June 12 not to approve a Democrat-sponsored Supreme Court ethics reform bill after the measure was put forward by Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) for unanimous consent. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) objected to passing … Continue reading Senate blocks Supreme Court ethics bill for now

The Supreme Court announced on June 12 that it won’t consider whether to take up a Republican challenge to President Joe Biden’s executive order that escalates government involvement in the voter registration and voter mobilization process until Sept. 30. Presidential … Continue reading Supreme Court won’t consider challenge to Biden’s order on elections until Sept. 30

The Supreme Court decided on June 10 to hear an appeal that seeks to clarify a 2022 ruling that set out how Medicare calculates payments for hospitals that serve the poor. An unsigned order granted the petition for certiorari, or … Continue reading Supreme Court to review Medicare payments to hospitals

Observers are scratching their heads after Republican-dominated North Dakota recently took the unusual step of asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review a redistricting lawsuit it won. The Department of Justice has yet to weigh in on the appeal. On … Continue reading Supreme Court mystery: North Dakota challenges its own redistricting victory

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) has raised questions about Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s interview with The Wall Street Journal last year, calling it “improper.” The comment came as congressional Democrats pressed Justice Alito to recuse himself in two pending Trump-related … Continue reading Sen. Whitehouse probes Justice Alito’s interview with WSJ

The Supreme Court on June 10 agreed to look at a large shareholder lawsuit that claims Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. deceived investors regarding a data-harvesting controversy that involved Cambridge Analytica, a political consulting firm. The Supreme Court’s eventual ruling … Continue reading Supreme Court to hear case about Facebook data-harvesting incident

The Supreme Court ruled unanimously in favor of the IRS on June 6 in a dispute over taxing shareholders’ life insurance policies. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the court’s 9–0 decision in Connelly v. Internal Revenue Service. The case concerns two … Continue reading Supreme Court rules 9–0 for IRS, denying refund in estate tax dispute

The Supreme Court ruled 5–4 on June 6 that the federal government will have to cover Indian tribes’ costs incurred in operating tribal health care programs. The majority opinion in Becerra v. San Carlos Apache Tribe and Becerra v. Northern … Continue reading Supreme Court rules that US government must cover Native American health care

The Supreme Court ruled unanimously on June 6 that an insurance company has standing to challenge a bankruptcy reorganization plan that it claims will leave it open to paying fraudulent asbestos exposure claims. Asbestos is a fire-resistant mineral whose fibers … Continue reading Supreme Court allows insurer to contest asbestos bankruptcy deal

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) this week condemned as “racist” the century-old Insular Cases, a series of Supreme Court decisions that affect U.S. overseas territories. Critics have long condemned the rulings because they prevent territorial inhabitants from being treated … Continue reading Justice Department condemns Supreme Court’s ‘racist’ century-old insular cases

The Supreme Court agreed on June 3 to hear an appeal from Salvatore “Fat Sal” Delligatti, an alleged Genovese crime family associate who is challenging a gun crime conviction that added five years to his prison sentence. Two years ago, … Continue reading Supreme Court to consider alleged mobster’s gun crime conviction appeal

The Supreme Court voted 6-3 on May 30 to overturn a lower court ruling that found that an Arizona death row inmate had received ineffective assistance of counsel during the sentencing process. The Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees … Continue reading Supreme Court rules 6-3 that death row inmate was not denied effective legal representation