Category: Current

In Alaska v. Wright, 593 U.S. ____ (2021), the U.S. Supreme Court held that if offenders have finished serving their state court sentence, they lack standing to bring a federal habeas claim. Facts of the Case In 2009, an Alaska jury convicted ...

In Jones v. Mississippi, 593 U.S. ____ (2021), the U.S. Supreme Court again clarified when juveniles can receive life sentences. By a vote of 6-3, the Court held that the Eighth Amendment doesn’t require a sentencer to find that a juvenile is perm...

On April 9, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Tandon v. Newsom, 593 U. S. ____ (2021) that California’s COVID-19 restrictions on religious gatherings in homes likely run afoul of the First Amendment’s Free Exercise Clause. Accordingly, the C...

In FCC v. Prometheus Radio Project, 592 U. S. ____ (2021), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Federal Communications Commission’s (FFC) 2017 decision to repeal or modify three of its media ownership rules was not arbitrary or capricious under th...

In Facebook Inc. v. Duguid, 592 U. S. ____ (2021), the U.S. Supreme Court held that to qualify as an “automatic telephone dialing system” under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA), a device must have the capacity either to store...

In Brownback v. King,592 U. S. ____ (2021), the Supreme Court ruled that the Federal Tort Claims Act barred college student James King’s claims of police brutality. The Court unanimously held that the district court's dismissal of King's claims un...

The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in three cases last week. It also announced that it will continue to hear arguments remotely this session "in keeping with public health guidance in response to COVID-19." The most-closely watched case ...

In Federal Republic of Germany v. Philipp, 592 U. S. ____ (2021), the U.S. Supreme Court held that Germany was entitled to State immunity in a lawsuit seeking compensation for the forced sale of medieval art known as the “Welfenschatz” during th...

In Salinas v. United States Railroad Retirement Board, 592 U. S. ____ (2021), a divided U.S. Supreme Court held that a refusal by the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board to reopen a prior benefits determination is subject to judicial review. The decision...

Next month, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear two significant voting rights cases out of Arizona. The cases, Arizona Republican Party v. Democratic National Committee and Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee, involve an Arizona policy ...