Category: Supreme Court Decisions

The U.S. Supreme Court considered several high-profile cases this week. Most notably, the justices grappled with how the First Amendment applies to federal trademark law.   The specific issue in Lee v. Tam is whether the federal ban on reg...

The U.S. Supreme Court kicked off the New Year with oral arguments in five cases. The issues before the justices ranged from tribal sovereignty to state laws regarding credit card payments. Below is a brief summary:   Nelson v. Colorado: C...

In State Farm Fire & Casualty Co v United States, ex rel. Rigsby, et al., 580 U. S. ____ (2016), the U.S. Supreme Court held that failing to satisfy the False Claims Act’s (FCA) seal requirement does not automatically warrant dismissal of the c...

The U.S. Supreme Court handed federal prosecutors another significant win. In Shaw v United States, 580 U. S. ____ (2016), the justices rejected the defendant's arguments that the federal bank fraud statute, which covers schemes to deprive a bank of ...

In December, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in four cases, including two tough cases involving the use of race in redistricting. Justice Samuel Alito characterized them as “very, very complicated.” In the same vein, Justice Anthony ...

The Supreme Court recently rendered its much-anticipated decision in Salman v United States, 580 U. S. ____ (2016). The Court’s unanimous decision, which held that gifts of confidential information from corporate insiders to relatives violate feder...

In Bravo-Fernandez v United States, 580 U. S. ____ (2016), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Constitution’s Double Jeopardy Clause does not prohibit defendants from being retried after a jury has returned irreconcilably inconsistent verdicts of ...

After taking a break for the Thanksgiving holiday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in three cases last week. The issues before the justices included the detention of illegal aliens, the death penalty, and sentencing guidelines.   ...

The U.S. Supreme Court recently added another controversial case to its docket. In Packingham v. North Carolina, the justices will consider the constitutionality of a state law banning sex offenders from accessing certain social media sites.  &nb...

In Texas v White, 74 U.S. 700 (1869), the U.S. Supreme Court held that Texas never legally left the Union during the Civil War because the U.S. Constitution did not allow states to unilaterally secede. Accordingly, the acts of the insurgent state gov...