Category: Supreme Court Decisions

In Yick Wo v. Hopkins, 118 U.S. 356 (1886), the U.S. Supreme Court first held that discriminatory enforcement of a facially neutral law violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.   The Facts of the Yick Wo v. Hop...

On March 1, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) pre-empts a Vermont law requiring certain entities, including health insurers, to report payments relating to health care claims to a state agency ...

In In re Eugene V. Debs, 158 U.S. 564 (1895), the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the government’s use of a court injunction to order striking workers back on the job. In a unanimous decision, the Court held that the federal government had the right ...

The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments in several potential blockbuster cases this month. Topics on the agenda include restrictions of abortion, the Affordable Care Act’s contraception mandate, and racial gerrymandering. Of course, e...

In Cohens v. Virginia, 19 U.S. 264 (1821), the U.S. Supreme Court established itself as the highest court in the county. The justices expressly held that the Court had appellate jurisdiction over state court criminal law decisions involving alleg...

In January, the U.S. Supreme Court added another potential blockbuster case to the current Term. In United States v. Texas, the justices will consider whether President Obama’s use of executive action to further his immigration policy violated the ...

In Livingston v. Van Ingen, 9 Johns. R. 507 N.Y. 1812, the New York Court for the Correction of Errors upheld a New York statute authorizing a monopoly on steam boat transportation in New York waters. The appeals court decision, which was later n...

The U.S. Supreme Court returns from recess on February 22, 2016 without Justice Antonin Scalia. Below is a brief summary of the Supreme Court’s Case Docket that the Eight justices will consider this month.   Kingdomware Technologies, In...

In Lochner v. New York, 198 U.S. 45 (1905), the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a New York law that established maximum working hours for bakers. According to the majority, the right to buy and sell labor was a liberty interest protected under the...

In Kansas v. Carr, 577 U. S. ____ (2016), the U.S. Supreme Court addressed the constitutionality of jury instructions used in two Kansas capital murder cases. The justices ruled that the Eighth Amendment does not mandate that courts instruct ...