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Supreme Court considering blocking minor-offense prosecutions against Native Americans in Oklahoma

Matthew Vadum

The Supreme Court is considering whether it should extend its emergency order from last week blocking a federal appeals court decision that deprived an Oklahoma city of the authority to charge members of Indian tribes with municipal offenses. The city of Tulsa filed a brief on Aug. 1 urging the court to keep the temporary stay in place. Although the underlying offense at issue in the case—speeding—is minor, if the Supreme Court agrees to formally review the lower court ruling, there could eventually be larger ramifications for law enforcement in Oklahoma and other states that have Indian reservations. The weeklong … Continue reading Supreme Court considering blocking minor-offense prosecutions against Native Americans in Oklahoma

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Groups urge Supreme Court to overrule pro-bureaucracy rule that aids administrative state

Matthew Vadum

Limited-government advocates are urging the Supreme Court to overrule “Chevron deference,” a bureaucracy-empowering legal doctrine they say has distorted the U.S. system of government for decades at the expense of everyday citizens. The court’s ruling could alter the current balance of power among Congress, executive agencies, and the nation’s judiciary by tearing away at the legal underpinnings of the modern administrative state, which critics deride as an illegitimate fourth branch of government. In its landmark 1984 ruling in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council, the nation’s highest court held that courts “must give effect to the unambiguously expressed intent of … Continue reading Groups urge Supreme Court to overrule pro-bureaucracy rule that aids administrative state

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Ex-police officer convicted in death of George Floyd to appeal to US Supreme Court

Matthew Vadum

The former Minneapolis police officer convicted of second-degree murder in the death of George Floyd will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review his conviction after the Minnesota Supreme Court refused to hear his appeal. The U.S. Supreme Court is asked to look at thousands of cases each year, out of which it agrees to hear a mere fraction. Before it recessed for the summer on June 30, the nation’s highest court had issued 58 opinions in cases argued in the term that began in October 2022. The court is scheduled to release orders in ongoing cases on July 24, … Continue reading Ex-police officer convicted in death of George Floyd to appeal to US Supreme Court

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Senate committee narrowly approves Democrat-backed Supreme Court ethics bill

Matthew Vadum

The Democrat-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee narrowly approved a Democrat-backed Supreme Court ethics reform bill on July 20 on a party line 11–10 vote. Republicans oppose the legislation, which they say is unconstitutional. They have suggested that Democrats—many of whom want … Continue reading Senate committee narrowly approves Democrat-backed Supreme Court ethics bill

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Supreme Court to hear police officer’s sex discrimination case

Matthew Vadum

The Supreme Court will hear the case of a Missouri police sergeant who claims illegal discrimination was behind unfavorable employment decisions made against her. Jatonya Clayborn Muldrow of the St. Louis police department claims she was forced out of the intelligence unit, transferred to a different job, and denied a requested transfer because she is a woman. In other words, she claims that after serving in a high-level capacity, she was placed in a dead-end job because of her sex. The court will wrestle with what protections Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 affords an employee who … Continue reading Supreme Court to hear police officer’s sex discrimination case

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Supreme Court revives whistleblowers’ Medicare, Medicaid fraud lawsuits

Matthew Vadum

The Supreme Court resurrected two whistleblower lawsuits against companies for allegedly defrauding Medicare and Medicaid. The cases concern the federal False Claims Act (FCA), a key tool the government uses to combat health care fraud, and “scienter,” a legal term meaning prior intent or knowledge of wrongdoing. Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) has called the FCA “the centerpiece of the government’s anti-fraud arsenal.” The new orders followed the court’s unanimous decision on June 1 to reinstate whistleblower actions against pharmacy operators SuperValu and Safeway for allegedly overcharging the government by filing false Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement claims for prescription drugs they sold. That ruling, United … Continue reading Supreme Court revives whistleblowers’ Medicare, Medicaid fraud lawsuits