Category: Historical

In Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36 (2004), the U.S. Supreme Court overhauled the test for determining whether a hearsay statement is admissible in a criminal trial. The Court held that testimonial statements of witnesses absent from trial are on...

In Alden v. Maine, 527 U.S. 706 (1999), the U.S. Supreme Court held that Congress can’t use its Article I powers under Constitution to subject unconsenting states to suit in state court. The decision extended the Court’s prior holding in Seminol...

Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555 (1992), is one of the Supreme Court’s most important decisions on the issue of standing, which determines whether a party can bring a lawsuit. In a landmark decision, the Court narrowed the concept...

With climate change lawsuits on the rise, environmentalists are concerned that the conservative-leaning Supreme Court may revisit a landmark environmental law decision. In Massachusetts v. EPA, 549 U.S. 497 (2007), the Court ruled by a vote of 5-4 t...

In Ray v. Blair, 343 U.S. 214 (1952), the U.S. Supreme Court first considered the notion of “faithless electors,” members of the Electoral College who fail to vote for their party’s designated candidate. The Court held that a party’s elector...

In Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc., 418 U.S. 323 (1974), the U.S. Supreme Court established the legal standard for defamation claims brought by private individuals. It held that private individuals need not show malice as required under the Court’s de...

In Morrison v. Olson, 487 U.S. 654 (1988), the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the independent counsel provisions of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978. According to the Court, the provisions did not impermissibly interfere with the President's aut...

In Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386 (1989), the U.S. Supreme Court established the legal framework for evaluating excessive force claims against law enforcement officers. Under the Court’s decision, courts must apply the objective reasonableness sta...