U.S. Supreme Court 2008 Term Arguments: Recent Episodes
Oyez
A case the Court dismissed regarding whether the Authorization for Use of Military Force authorizes the President to indefinitely detain lawful United States residents without criminal charge or trial.
A case in which the Court held that corporate funding of independent political broadcasts in elections cannot be limited under the First Amendment.
A case in which the Court held that the Voting Rights Act (VRA) permits all political subdivisions to seek bailout from the preclearance requirements of the VRA.
A case in which the Court found that the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) can authorize a public school to reimburse a student for private school tuition sought because the student never received special education services at the public school.
A case in which the Court found that state officials are not precluded from regulating and enforcing banking activities governed by the Office of the Comptroller.
A case in which the Court found that when an alien is convicted of conspiracy and held responsible for causing more than $10,000 in damages, the statute requirement used by the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to deport the alien is satisfied, even if the $10,000 is not established by a jury.
A case in which the Court found that the Double Jeopardy Clause did not prevent relitigation of a mental retardation claim because the defendant was never acquitted at trial.
A case in which the Court held that a municipality violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 when it rejected otherwise valid civil service exams because the results unintentionally prevented the promotion of minority candidates.
A case in which the Court held that the 30-day limit for filing a claim under the False Claims Act applies when the United States is not a party to the lawsuit.
A case in which the Court held that a school's strip-search to find ibuprofen on a thirteen-year-old girl violated her Fourth Amendment rights.
A case in which the Court found that the lower court incorrectly analyzed Rule 60(b)(5), which allows a party to seek relief from a judgment if a significant change in the law has occurred.
A case in which the Court held that a property tax which fell exclusively on large vessels and used an apportionment method for out-of-state vessels violated the Tonnage Clause of the Constitution.
A case in which the Court held that a plaintiff must show that age was the "but-for" cause for the defendant's action in an Age Discrimination in Employment Act claim.
A case in which the Court held that federal bankruptcy courts have jurisdiction to enter orders beyond matters directly related to the execution of a debtor's estate.
A case in which the Court held that the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals (NMCCA) retained jurisdiction under the All Writs Act to consider coram nobis petitions that alleged a prior judgment of conviction was fundamentally flawed.
A case in which the Court held that corporate funding of independent political broadcasts in elections cannot be limited under the First Amendment.
A case in which the Court held that the Double Jeopardy clause bars retrial if a jury acquits a defendant on some counts but fails to reach a verdict on other counts whose essential elements must have been decided in the defendant's favor.
A case in which the Court held that 18 U.S.C. Section 924(c)(1)(A)(iii) does not require proof of intent to discharge a firearm in order to enhance a sentence.
A case in which the Court found that using a telephone to make a misdemeanor drug purchase does not facilitate the felony of drug distribution.
A case in which the Court held that the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment required that a justice recuse himself from a case if one of the parties in the suit donated $3 million to the justice's election campaign.
A case in which the Court found that regardless of whether the petitioner is eligible for a stay, a federal court of appeals has jurisdiction over a motion to stay under Section 16(a)(1) of the Federal Arbitration Act.
A case in which the Court found that the defendant had no constitutional right to obtain post-conviction access to DNA evidence used against him at trial.
A case in which the Court held that a seaman may seek punitive damages against his employer if the employer willfully refused to pay maintenance for a seamen's injuries.
A case in which the Court held that the Apology Resolution did not restrict Hawaii's sovereign authority to transfer publicly held land for private development.
A case in which the Court found that in order to prove aggravated identity theft, the government needs to prove that the defendant knew that the identification he possessed belonged to another person.
A case in which the Court held that a district court's declination of supplemental jurisdiction is not a dismissal for which federal appellate review is barred.
A case in which the Court found that the defendants were not liable as the "arranger" for the contamination at issue, and therefore the liability calculations of the district court were appropriate.
A case in which the Court found that the Due Process Clause does not require the automatic reversal of a conviction because of the lower court's good-faith error in denying the defendant's pre-trial motion to dismiss a juror.
A case in which the Court held that its decision in Navajo I did not terminate the defendant's claim, however, the defendant did not provide sufficient sources of law and therefore the suit should be dismissed.
A case in which the Court found that statements obtained for the purpose of impeaching a defendant's testimony, in the absence of a knowing and voluntary waiver of the Sixth Amendment right to counsel, were admissible.
A case in which the Court held that a court of appeals' decision to stay an alien's removal pending consideration of the alien's petition for review is governed by the 4-factor traditional test.
A case in which the Court found that voluntary confessions made more than six hours after arrest before the person has been presented before judicial officers are inadmissible.
A case in which the Court held that the government need not spell out a connection between criminal enterprises beyond what is apparent in the criminal activity itself.
A case in which the Court found that the "plain error standard" of Rule 52(b) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure governs if claims forfeited at trial may be raised at the appellate level.
A case in which the Court found that in order to find counsel ineffective, the defendant must show both "deficient performance" and "prejudice."
A case in which the Court held that after the appointment of an attorney, a defendant does not necessarily need to take additional steps to accept the appointment in order to secure the protections of the Sixth Amendment.
A case in which the Court found that the lower court should not have categorized the defendant's assigned counsel as a state actor, and any delay caused by the assigned counsel should be charged against the defendant and not the state.
A case in which the Court held that the United States Army Corps of Engineers had exclusive rights to grant a permit to Coeur Alaska, Inc. to discharge its waste.
A case in which the Court held that a certificate of appealability is not required to appeal an order denying a request for federally appointed counsel; and the federally appointed counsel may represent their client in state clemency proceedings and are entitled to compensation for such representation.
A case in which the Court held that the defendant's assets in question were not "blocked" under the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002 and therefore could not be attached to satisfy his judgment against Iran.
A case in which the Court held that a company does not violate the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) or Title VII when it denies retirement benefits to women who took a temporary disability leave while pregnant when the leave was taken before the PDA came into effect.
A case in which the Court found that high-ranking government officials were not liable for unconstitutional acts by subordinate officials.
A case in which the Court held that police may lawfully search an individual during a routine traffic stop if they believe him to be armed and dangerous, even if they had no reason to believe he was involved in criminal activity when he was searched.
A case in which the Court found that the petitioner was entitled to federal habeas corpus review due to suppression of material evidence, notwithstanding that habeas reviewed had already been presented twice at the state court level.
A case in which the Court held that a "price squeezing" claim cannot be brought under Section 2 of the Sherman Act when the defendant is not under a duty to sell to the plaintiff in the first place.
A case in which the Court found that the lower court's framework for evaluating VA (Veterans' Affairs) notice errors conflicted with the established law that the Veterans Court "take due account of the rule of the prejudicial error."
A case in which the Court found that prohibiting civil claims against correction officers in their official capacities violated the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution.
A case in which the Court found that a claim filed under Title IX for violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the fourteenth Amendment does not preclude the use of 42 U.S.C. Section 1983 which protects against the deprivation of any rights guaranteed by the Constitution and federal law.
A case in which the Court found that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was permitted to use a cost-benefit analysis while setting national performance standards for cooling water intake structures.
A case in which the Court held that expert witness fees should be the same when brought in front of the Supreme Court and the federal district courts.
A case in which the Court held that arbitration clauses in employment contracts are enforceable as a matter of federal law.
A case which the Court dismissed regarding whether a court may determine if a defendant suffered from ineffective assistance of counsel when his lawyer failed to introduce witness testimony that may have reduced the defendant's sentence from death to life in prison.
A case in which the Court held that a city's refusal to place an organization's monument in a public park is not a violation the organization's First Amendment rights.
A case in which the Court found that a state forensic analyst's lab report prepared for use in a criminal prosecution is subject to the demands of the Sixth Amendment Confrontation Clause.
A case in which the Court found that the "failure to report" crime does not satisfy the Armed Career Criminals Act's (ACCA) "crime of violence" definition.
A case in which the Court held that the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) incorrectly interpreted provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) from a mistaken legal premise.
A case in which the Court reaffirmed its holding in Imbler, stating that officers of the court (including federal prosecutors) are immune from liability "for actions intimately associated with the judicial phase of the criminal process."
A case in which the Court held that the FCC's imposition of liability on Fox Television Stations for fleeting expletives was not "arbitrary and capricious" under the Administrative Procedure Act, even though the FCC previously accepted similar expletives.
A case in which the Court held that if a state court grants a criminal defendant the right to file an out-of-time direct appeal, the statute of limitations doesn't begin until after the out-of-time appeal is final.
A case in which the Court found that the Commerce Department's view of imported low enriched uranium as the sale of goods rather than services was permissible.
A case in which the Court held that federal law did not preempt state law in a personal injury action against a drug manufacturer for failing to include an appropriate warning label, even where the drug in question met the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) labeling requirements.
A case in which the Court found that provisions of Idaho's Voluntary Contributions Act which prohibit payroll deductions for "political activities" did not violate the First Amendment when applied to local government employees.
A case in which the Court found that only tribes under federal jurisdiction at the time of the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 are subject to taking by the federal government.
A case in which the Court found that a federal court may reject a state court's conclusion with respect to the appropriateness of the state court jury instruction, so long as the instructions were "not only erroneous, but objectively unreasonable."
A case in which the Court held that the error of instructing a jury on multiple theories of guilt does not spoil all of the jury's findings, but rather the error should be evaluated by whether it caused a "substantial and injurious effect" on the verdict.
A case in which the Court found that the Voting Rights Act of 1965 did not require redistricting in a county lacking a numerical majority of a racial minority of citizens.
A case in which the Court found that the Sixth Amendment can assign judges, rather than juries, the responsibility of fact-finding in order to impose consecutive sentences on criminal defendants.
A case in which the Court overturned its previous decision in Saucier v. Katz, which prescribed a rigid test for government qualified immunity claims, and held that inquiries should be at the discretion of the lower courts.
A case in which the Court held that the standard for properly granting a preliminary injunction is not based on the "possibility" of irreparable harm to marine life, but rather that "irreparable injury is likely" in the absence of such an injunction.
A case in which the Court held that the anti-retaliation provision of Title VII extends to people who participate in an internal investigation, even if they are not speaking on their own initiative.
A case in which the Court held that the defendants did not have standing to challenge regulations of the U.S. Forest Service in the absence of a live dispute over the application of those regulations.
A case in which the Court held that police may search a suspect's vehicle after his arrest only if it is reasonable to believe that the arrestee might access the vehicle at the time of the search or that the vehicle contains evidence of the offense of the arrest.
A case in which the Court held that the Employee Retirement Income Security Act's anti-alienation provision nonetheless recognizes a wavier which holds that a spouse's right to the other spouse's pension benefits is void upon divorce.
A case in which the Court found that a criminal defendant's Fourth Amendment rights were not violated when he was unlawfully searched due to isolated negligence of police and not "systematic error or reckless disregard of constitutional requirements."
A case in which the Court held that a federal court may "look through" a Section 4 petition to determine whether the claim establishes federal subject matter jurisdiction.
A case in which the Court held that the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act did not preempt all claims related to "smoking and health" under the Maine Unfair Trade Practices Act.
A case in which the Court found that fees paid by union nonmembers which were not used to specifically benefit those nonmembers did not violate the First Amendment.