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High court to weigh prosecutorial immunity
Tony Mauro
U.S. Supreme Court justices appeared torn last week over whether prosecutors deserve total immunity from lawsuits for their official acts, even when they fabricate evidence in pursuit of a murder indictment and conviction.
Use these tools to search all U.S. Circuit and Supreme Court decisions from the past year.
Enhanced High Court Coverage
The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer and The National Law Journal have teamed up to bring you enhanced coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court.
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News
U.S. Supreme Court database will extend to 1792
Lynne Marek
A group of law schools will help expand an online U.S. Supreme Court database so that it reaches back to the court's first recorded decision in 1792. The schools received an $874,000 National Science Foundation grant in September to begin the four-year project, which will add 19,675 cases to a database that now extends from the Court's 1953 term through 2008, said Lee Epstein, a professor at Northwestern University School of Law.
Supreme Court cautious in question of regulating mutual fund fees
Tony Mauro
The U.S. Supreme Court appeared wary Monday of second-guessing the fees that mutual funds pay to the investment advisers who run them during oral arguments in Jones v. Harris Associates, a closely watched case that could have major impact on the fee structure in the nation's $10 trillion mutual fund industry.
Paul Clement Gets Real
Tony Mauro
In two high court cases this term, Paul Clement has taken on clients that are far from standard fare for a former solicitor general in the last Bush administration: a children's rights advocacy group and two men suing prosecutors for falsifying evidence.
Who inspired Roberts' dissent in drunk driving case?
Tony Mauro
Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. took the unusual step this week of issuing a public dissent from the Court's denial of review in a Virginia drunk driving case. Roberts' dissent drew inspiration from an unusual quarter: Duke University School of Law's appellate litigation clinic. As part of its work helping parties with arguments before the 4th Circuit and other courts, the clinic often writes briefs challenging Virginia's corrections and law enforcement agencies. But this time it wrote a brief in support of Virginia's effort to overturn the state Supreme Court ruling.
Recent Decisions
Corcoran v. Levenhagen
U.S. Sup. Ct.
October 20, 2009
Seventh Circuit erred in disposing of capital petitioner's habeas claims without either remanding to district court or offering any explanation (per curiam)
Ricci v. DeStefano
U.S. Sup. Ct.
June 29, 2009
City unfairly denied white firemen promotions based on racial considerations when it discarded examination test results upon learning that very few nonwhite candidates were likely to be promoted and that lawsuits might follow (Kennedy, J.)
Cuomo v. Clearing House Association, L.L.C.
U.S. Sup. Ct.
June 29, 2009
State attorneys general can investigate national banks regarding lending practices but must first obtain court approval before issuing subpoenas (Scalia, J.)
Docket Watch
Docket Watch: Upcoming Arguments at the Supreme Court
Cases that are scheduled before the U.S. Supreme Court in the next two weeks. "Docket Watch" appears at the beginning of each argument cycle when the high court hears cases.
Commentary
The juvenile damned
Lara Bazelon
It is time the Supreme Court put an end to the shameful practice of sentencing children to life without parole.
Will the justices rule on the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act?
Nick Akerman
Two recent cases raise the prospect that the U.S. Supreme Court will eventually interpret its "without authorization" language.
Setting boundaries for property rights
Timothy Sandefur
The Supreme Court will decide whether Florida ran roughshod over beachfront landholders.
It's predictable: Supreme Court gunning for McCain-Feingold
Melvin I. Urofsky
Over the years, efforts at campaign finance reform followed a familiar pattern: Scandal ratcheted up public outrage, and then Congress would enact a "reform." The author predicts that come Sept. 9, one or more sections of McCain-Feingold will be declared unconstitutional.
The chamber of secrets
Arlen Specter
In the era of the shrinking Supreme Court docket, denying petitions for certiorari may seem strategically expedient. But, in the end, the justices should not shirk their responsibility to say what the law is. Similarly, retaining the majesty and mystery of the Supreme Court as an institution may, at first blush, counsel against admitting television cameras. Yet it is only through observation of that venerable institution that an educated public can truly appreciate its significance.
