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Will alien tort case be next Citizens United?
Marcia Coyle
The next Citizens United, in the view of some of that decision's most vigorous critics, may have nothing to do with campaign finance or the First Amendment. Instead, corporations in a case the justices will hear this month seek not to spend their money but to avoid doing so by arguing that they have no liability under a 1789 statute for torts committed abroad in violation of international law or U.S. treaties.
Police violated 4th Amendment with GPS tracking, Court rules
Marcia Coyle
The U.S. Supreme Court, moving cautiously in an era of rapidly changing technology, ruled on Monday that law enforcement's warrantless installation and use of a GPS device to track a suspect's vehicle violated privacy rights protected by the Fourth Amendment.
Court trims California slaughterhouse law
Tony Mauro
A unanimous Supreme Court decided Monday that the federal law governing the operation of slaughterhouses pre-empts efforts by California and other states to require humane treatment of "downer" or nonambulatory pigs.
Appellate Lawyer of the Week: Jonathan Turley
When Jonathan Turley is not teaching at George Washington University Law School or blogging, he is a litigator whose cases can never be described as boring. In this video interview with Tony Mauro, Turley discusses his high-profile case on Utah's anti-polygamy law.
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Citing law firm's errors, high court rules for death row inmate
Tony Mauro
The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that an Alabama death row inmate should not be penalized for missing a crucial appeal deadline when the error was caused by his pro bono lawyers from New York's Sullivan & Cromwell.
Court approves act extending copyrights to foreign works previously in public domain
Marcia Coyle
The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that the Constitution did not bar Congress from extending copyright protection to previously free foreign works, such as Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf.
Court ponders immunity for private lawyers who take on public jobs
Marcia Coyle
Private lawyers hired by local governments for special tasks will hesitate to provide candid advice if they are denied immunity when sued, the Supreme Court was told on Tuesday.
In indecency case, government faces tough path to victory
Tony Mauro
Solicitor General Donald Verrilli Jr. made a strong appeal to the Supreme Court on Tuesday to uphold the government's rules against broadcast indecency, asserting the need to preserve a television and radio "safe haven" devoid of foul language and nudity amidst a proliferation of new and coarser media.
In Texas voting rights case, Court chooses a narrow path
Tony Mauro
What was billed as a possible Supreme Court showdown over the constitutionality of the Voting Rights Act on Monday turned instead into narrower debate over how the redistricting of Texas legislative districts should proceed.
The Constitution on your corner
David F. Levi
Mutual respect and collegiality between judges and legislators is key to making the Constitutional system work well.
Does the First Amendment protect your right to speak for a living?
Clark Neily and Paul Sherman
Although they have not been unanimous on the issue, the general trend among lower courts has been to provide little or no First Amendment protection for occupational speech. If that trend continues, its long-term consequences will be profound.
Bad words?
Erwin Chemerinsky
In 'fleeting expletives' case, Court should recognize changed doctrine, culture.
The need for empathy on the Court
Erwin Chemerinsky
Two recent arguments, one about strip searches and another about a procedural default in a death penalty case, illustrate why the human dimension matters in judging.
Errors in eyewitness evidence
Nicholas Kahn-Fogel
The high court should rule that witness certainty and other subjective factors should not be measured at times when doing so would impair the integrity of the underlying reliability inquiry.
From two of the most influential journalists covering SCOTUS: Tony Mauro and Marcia Coyle, The Supreme Court Insider will provide exclusive daily coverage while the Court is in session on all issues that will or may be coming to Supreme Court, interviews and video with the nation's leading appellate litigators, win-loss records for practitioners and more. Sign up today!
Brief of the Week: Up for interpretation
Commentary: Very few Latino attorneys argue before the Supreme Court
United States v. Jones
U.S. Sup. Ct.
January 23, 2012
Government's attachment of GPS device to vehicle and its use of that device to monitor vehicle's movements constituted search under Fourth Amendment (Scalia, J.)
Reynolds v. United States
U.S. Sup. Ct.
January 23, 2012
Federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act does not require pre-Act offenders to register before Attorney General can validly specify that the Act's registration provisions apply to them (Breyer, J.)
Ryburn v. Huff
U.S. Sup. Ct.
January 23, 2012
Officers could reasonably have believed warrantless entry of home was justified by safety concerns due to resident's entry of home without answering question as to whether guns were in home (per curiam)
Use these tools to search all U.S. Circuit and Supreme Court decisions from the past year.
The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer and The National Law Journal have teamed up to bring you enhanced coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court.
• Video interviews with your favorite Justices
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