Month: November 2015

Examining abortion in Whole Woman's Health v. Cole The U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari this month in Whole Woman’s Health v. Cole. The case, which revolves around the constitutionality of abortion restrictions imposed by the State of...

In Wisconsin v. Yoder, 406 U.S. 205 (1972), the U.S. Supreme Court held that a Wisconsin law mandating that children attend school violated the First Amendment. In the landmark decision, the unanimous Court held that the parents’ Freedom of Religio...

The U.S. Supreme Court ended the week last week granting certiorari in Whole Woman’s Health v. Cole, their first case involving abortion since 2007. In addition, they heard argument on the following cases, summarized below: Green v. Bren...

In Mapp v. Ohio, 367 US 643 (1961), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that evidence obtained through a search in violation of the Fourth Amendment could not be used as evidence in a state criminal case. The decision relied on the doctrine of selective inc...

The U.S. Supreme Court started its November sitting this week. The justices heard oral arguments in six cases. In addition to an important case involving Article III standing, the Court also considered several criminal law issues. Below is a...

In United States v. O'Brien, 391 U.S. 367 (1968), the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of a federal law that made burning or otherwise destroying draft cards a crime. In so ruling, the Court established a test for determining whether l...

In Kennedy v. Louisiana, 554 U.S. 407 (2008), the U.S. Supreme Court relied on the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition of “cruel and unusual punishment” to limit the application of the death penalty. In Kennedy v. Louisiana, the majority sp...

What you need to know about Perez v. Mortgage Bankers Association In Perez v. Mortgage Bankers Association, 135 S.Ct. 1199 (2015), the U.S. Supreme Court held that federal agencies do not have to follow the "notice-and-comment" procedures of the Adm...

In Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association, 564 US 08-1448 (2011), the U.S. Supreme Court held that a California law banning the sale of violent video games to minors violated the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The...

In T-Mobile South LLC v. City of Roswell, 135 S.Ct. 808 (2015), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the federal Telecommunications Act mandates that municipalities provide a written explanation when denying a cell tower application. Moreover, the explan...