The Supreme Court will consider a dispute about whether life insurance payouts should be deemed to be corporate assets in calculating federal income taxes payable on a deceased person’s estate. The court granted the petition for certiorari (pdf), or review, … Continue reading Supreme Court to take up dispute over estate tax owed by family business
A medical doctor is suing New Jersey in federal court over its laws that limit telehealth services and prevent patients from accessing specialty cancer care that their local doctors lack the expertise to treat. Telehealth—also known as telemedicine, which has … Continue reading Cancer specialist sues New Jersey over telemedicine restrictions
The Supreme Court will consider whether an Ohio jeweler can bring civil rights claims against police for malicious prosecution after criminal charges brought against him were dropped. The case comes after the Supreme Court loosened the legal standard for bringing … Continue reading Supreme Court will consider if police can be sued for fabricating evidence
A federal judge permanently blocked an Illinois law on Dec. 14 that he previously called “stupid” that targets maternal health care centers and sidewalk counselors for expressing their pro-life message. The state of Illinois consented to the injunction and the … Continue reading Federal judge permanently blocks Illinois law targeting pro-life pregnancy counseling
The Supreme Court agreed on Dec. 13 to take up the appeal of James Snyder, the former mayor of an Indiana town who was convicted of bribery. The case comes as the court has been raising the bar in public … Continue reading Supreme Court to hear former Indiana mayor’s bribery appeal
Democrat lawmakers are demanding that conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas recuse himself from an upcoming case centered on former President Donald Trump’s claim that he enjoys presidential immunity from prosecution. Democrats are concerned that if President Trump secures a … Continue reading Democrats demand Clarence Thomas recuse himself from Trump immunity case
The Supreme Court agreed on Dec. 13 to hear the Biden administration’s defense of regulatory moves related to mifepristone, a pill used for abortions. The court’s decision in the heavily litigated case could affect the availability of the drug. In … Continue reading Supreme Court to hear challenge to abortion pill
The Supreme Court has rejected the Medicare fraud appeal of former healthcare executive Philip Esformes, whose sentence was commuted by President Donald Trump. The prosecution involved what the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) described as the “largest health care fraud scheme ever charged” by the agency. The Supreme Court rejected the petition for certiorari, or review, in Esformes v. United States in an unsigned order on Dec. 11. No justices dissented. The court did not explain its decision. At least four of the nine justices have to vote for a petition for it to advance to the oral argument stage. … Continue reading Supreme Court rejects appeal of healthcare executive given clemency by Trump
The Supreme Court failed on Dec. 11 to take up or reject a much-anticipated, heavily-litigated challenge to the government’s decision in 2000 to approve mifepristone, a pill used for abortions, putting off the court’s decision for the time being. Although … Continue reading Supreme Court delays decision on challenges to abortion pill
The Supreme Court passed up an opportunity on Dec. 11 to lay the groundwork for overturning its precedent permitting protective zones called “bubbles” around abortion clinics to keep protesters and pro-life sidewalk counselors away. The nation’s highest court declined a petition filed by Debra Vitagliano that sought to appeal a lower court ruling dismissing her lawsuit that claimed Westchester County, New York, violated the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The petition also specifically invited the court to overrule its existing precedent upholding laws about the bubbles. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit ruled against her in … Continue reading Supreme Court declines to hear pro-life sidewalk counselor’s case
A looming battle at the Supreme Court may determine how social media companies moderate content. The nation’s highest court will hear challenges to laws in Florida and Texas that regulate social media content moderation. Observers and activists on the left … Continue reading How the Supreme Court could reshape free speech online
The Supreme Court refused on Dec. 11 to take up a challenge to Washington state’s ban on LGBT conversion therapy—over the objections of three conservative justices who dissented. The therapeutic practices, which are banned in many states, aim to make … Continue reading Supreme Court won’t hear challenge to Washington state LGBT conversion therapy ban
The Supreme Court may soon consider whether to hear Alaska’s appeal against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) decision to veto the proposed $400 billion Pebble Mine project in the southwestern part of the state. The project site on state-owned … Continue reading Supreme Court may soon consider EPA’s veto of huge Alaska mine
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the appeal of a furloughed Department of Defense employee who waited five years for a decision from an understaffed government board that couldn’t resolve his appeal promptly. The Supreme Court granted the petition … Continue reading Supreme Court will hear Pentagon employee’s appeal against furlough decision
The Supreme Court heard on Dec. 6 the case of a Missouri police sergeant who argues that a city illegally discriminated against her by giving her a lateral job transfer she didn’t want. Jatonya Clayborn Muldrow of the St. Louis … Continue reading Supreme Court hears case of female police officer who claims sex discrimination
A retired Washington state couple urged the Supreme Court on Dec. 5 to strike down a 2017 tax on “unrealized” income from overseas investments, a move some say could jeopardize current tax code provisions and handcuff Congress. Legal observers are … Continue reading Supreme Court considers constitutional limits on federal taxing power
The Supreme Court dismissed on Dec. 5 the case of a serial lawsuit filer who sued more than 600 hotels over their alleged failure to post disability accessibility information on their websites. Activists say such “testers” are only helping to … Continue reading Supreme Court dismisses disability ‘tester’ lawsuit
The Supreme Court on Dec. 5 will take up an important but little-noticed case about “unrealized” income that considers the constitutional limitations on federal taxing power. The case is significant because the court could use it to strike down the … Continue reading The Supreme Court case that could upend parts of the tax code
The Supreme Court heard the Biden administration’s objections to the bankruptcy plan filed by opioid manufacturer Purdue Pharma, which includes a controversial settlement that would shield the company’s founding family from future opioid-related liability. The government argued that opioid victims … Continue reading Supreme Court hears arguments in opioid maker bankruptcy case
The Democrat-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee voted—after three previous postponements—to subpoena two private citizens connected to conservative Supreme Court justices as part of a probe of gifts and personal hospitality provided to members of the nation’s highest court. The roll call … Continue reading Senate panel approves subpoena of billionaire Harlan Crow in Supreme Court ethics probe