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May 10, 2023 | SCOTUS Concludes Oral Arguments for the Term
Category: Supreme Court Decisions
Turner v United States: No New Trial in Notorious DC Murder Case
In Turner v United States, 582 U. S. ____ (2017), the U.S. Supreme Court refused to grant new trials to several defendants convicted of the brutal 1984 murder of Catherine Fuller in Washington, D.C. The defendants had argued that prosecutors withhel...
Supreme Court Clarifies Structural-Error Doctrine in Weaver v Massachusetts
In Weaver v Massachusetts, 582 U. S. ____ (2017), the U.S. Supreme Court held that “structural error” requires a showing of prejudice when raised via an ineffective assistance claim. The decision provides clarity regarding the intersection of the...
California Public Employees’ Retirement System v ANZ Securities: Supreme Court Clarifies Tolling in Securities Class Actions
In California Public Employees’ Retirement System v ANZ Securities, Inc., et al., 582 U. S. ____ (2017), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Securities Act of 1933’s (Securities Act) three-year statute of repose is not subject to tolling. Accord...
Murr v Wisconsin Supreme Court Creates New Regulatory Takings Test
In Murr v Wisconsin, 582 U. S. ____ (2017), the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Wisconsin Supreme Court's ruling that two contiguous lots should be considered one parcel for the purposes of the government taking a case. In so ruling, the Court establi...
Denying Grant to Church School Violates Free Exercise Clause
In Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Inc. v. Carol S. Comer, Director, Missouri Department of Natural Resources, 582 U. S. ____ (2017), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the State of Missouri violated the U.S. Constitution’s Free Exercise Clause ...
Dean v United States Preserves Flexibility in Mandatory Minimum Sentences
In Dean v United States, 581 U. S. ____ (2017), the U.S. Supreme Court held that district courts have the discretion to determine whether a defendant has already been given a mandatory sentence for one crime when considering an appropriate sentence ...
Pretrial Detention Fits Fourth Amendment “as Hand in Glove”
In Manuel v. City of Joliet, 580 U. S. ____ (2017), the U.S. Supreme Court held that a Fourth Amendment malicious prosecution claim is the proper avenue for challenging an unlawful post-arrest detention. According to the seven-member majority, such a...
McLane v. EEOC Subpoenas Should Be Reviewed for Abuse of Discretion
In McLane v. EEOC, 581 U. S. ____ (2017), the U.S. Supreme Court held that a district court’s decision whether to enforce or quash a subpoena issued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) should be reviewed for abuse of discretion ra...
Article 2 “Advice and Consent” Limits Appointment Power of the President
In National Labor Relations Board v. SW General, the Supreme Court limited the President’s ability to fill vacancies under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998 (FVRA). By a vote of 7-2, the Court held that a person can’t serve in an acting ca...
Beckles v United States Upholds Constitutionality of Federal Sentencing Guidelines
In Beckles v United States, 580 U. S. ____ (2017), the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the country’s federal sentencing guidelines. By a vote of 7-0, the Court held that the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, including Section 4B1.2...
Previous Articles
SCOTUS Rules Quiet Title Act’s Time Bar Is Claim-Processing Rule
by DONALD SCARINCI on May 1, 2023
In Wilkins v. United States, 598 U.S. ____ (2023), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Quiet Title...
SCOTUS Takes on Jack Daniels’ First Amendment Parody Case
by DONALD SCARINCI on April 24, 2023
The Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments in a closely watched case involving intellectual pr...
SCOTUS Sides With Deaf Student in ADA Suit
by DONALD SCARINCI on April 18, 2023
In Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools, 598 U.S. ____ (2023), the U.S. Supreme Court held that a deaf s...
