Category: Supreme Court Decisions

In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court in Army Corps of Engineers v Hawkes Co 578 U.S._____(2016) addressed whether a “jurisdictional determination” (JD) that wetlands are subject to regulation under the Clean Water Act was a final agen...

In Foster v Chatman (2016), the U.S. Supreme Court held that prosecutors purposely discriminated against a Georgia man facing the death penalty when they dismissed two black jurors during jury selection. The Court’s narrow decision was largely base...

Signed into law by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906, the Antiquities Act was the first federal regulation to protect the cultural and natural resources of the United States. It resulted from concern over decades of looting and destruction of Nati...

On December 23, 1913, President Woodrow Wilson signed the Federal Reserve Act into law. The landmark legislation created the Federal Reserve, which was intended to reform the country’s banking system and help secure economic stability.    ...

The 4-4 Supreme Court Punts in Zubik v Burwell The U.S. Supreme Court declined to address the merits of Zubik v. Burwell, at least for this term. Instead, the Court’s per curium opinion on the Affordable Care Act’s contraception mandate directs ...

Downes v. Bidwell: Does the Constitution Follow the Flag? In Downes v. Bidwell, 182 U.S. 244 (1901), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the rights and protections of the Constitution do not automatically apply to U.S. territories. The case is one of t...

Welch v. United States: Landmark Sentencing Decision Must Be Applied Retroactively On April 18, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court held that its landmark criminal sentencing decision in Johnson v. United States must be applied retroactively. The justices ...

Bank of the United States v Deveaux: The Citizenship of Corporations In Bank of the United States v. Deveaux, 5 Cranch 61 (1809), the U.S. Supreme Court first considered the citizenship of corporations for the purposes of diversity jurisdiction. The...

Franchise Tax Board of California v Hyatt: Applying the Full Faith and Credit Clause On April 19, 2016, the Supreme Court reached another 4-4 tie. In Franchise Tax Board of California v Hyatt, the justices could not decide whether to overrule Nevada...

Ware v Hylton: Supreme Court Power to Invalidate State Laws In Ware v. Hylton, 3 U.S. (3 Dall.) 199 (1796), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the federal courts are authorized to determine the constitutionality of state laws. The Court subsequently h...