Category: Current

The U.S. Supreme Court recently made waves in a relatively nondescript case. In Franchise Tax Board of California v. Hyatt, 587 U.S. ____ (2019), a divided Court overturned Nevada v. Hall, 440 U.S. 410 (1979), holding that states retain their sovere...

In Dawson v Steager, 586 U. S. ____ (2019), the U.S. Supreme Court held that by taxing the federal pension benefits of U.S. Marshals Service retiree James Dawson, while exempting from taxation the pension benefits of certain state and local law enfo...

In Thacker v Tennessee Valley Authority, 587 U. S. ____ (2019), the U.S. Supreme Court held that 16 U.S.C. §831c(b), which serves to waive the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) sovereign immunity from suit, is not subject to a discretionary func...

By a vote of 5-4, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Lamps Plus Inc v Varela that an ambiguous agreement cannot provide the necessary contractual basis for concluding that the parties agreed to submit to class arbitration. The majority relied on the Fed...

The U.S. Supreme Court had a busy week, with oral arguments in seven cases. These will be last cases the justices will hear this term, with the remainder of their time largely devoted to deciding cases and issuing opinions. The most closely-watch...

The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in six cases this week. One of the most closely-watched cases was Iancu v. Brunetti, which will determine whether the Lanham Act’s prohibition on the federal registration of “immoral” or “scandalou...

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 ...