Category: Current

In Bucklew v Precythe, 587 U.S. ____ (2019), a divided U.S. Supreme Court rejected a death row inmate’s Eighth Amendment challenge. By a vote of 5-4, the Court held that executing Russell Bucklew by lethal injection would not violate the ban on cr...

The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in two potential blockbuster redistricting cases last week. As discussed in prior articles, the key issues before the Court in Rucho v. Common Cause and Lamone v. Benisek are whether the congressional maps...

In Garza v Idaho, 586 U. S. ____ (2019), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the presumption of prejudice for Sixth Amendment purposes recognized in Roe v. Flores-Ortega applies regardless of whether a defendant has signed an appeal waiver. The case w...

In Jam v International Finance Corp, 586 U. S. ____ (2019), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the International Organizations Immunities Act of 1945 affords international organizations the same immunity from suit that foreign governments enjoy today ...

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear oral arguments in Department of Commerce v New York, which involves whether the 2020 decennial census questionnaire can include a question requesting citizenship information. The justices are expected to ren...

In Madison v Alabama, 586 U. S. ____ (2019), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Eighth Amendment may permit executing a prisoner even if he cannot remember committing his crime. However, it may prohibit executing a prisoner even though he suffers ...

In Timbs v. Indiana, 586 U. S. ____ (2019), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Eight Amendments’ ban on excessive fines is applicable to states. The Court’s decision was unanimous. Facts of Timbs v. Indiana Tyson Timbs pleaded guilty in ...

Next month, the U.S. Supreme Court will consider two cases involving partisan gerrymandering. One case, Benisek v Lamone, challenges a Maryland congressional district, while the other, Rucho v Common Cause, challenges North Carolina’s congressio...

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear its first major Second Amendment case in a decade. The case, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v City of New York, involves a New York City gun-control law that prohibits transporting a...

In Helsinn Healthcare S.A. v Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc., 586 U. S. ____ (2019), the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held that a commercial sale to a third party who is required to keep the invention confidential may place the invention “on sale�...