Category: Supreme Court Decisions

The U.S. Supreme Court recently made waves in a relatively nondescript case. In Franchise Tax Board of California v. Hyatt, 587 U.S. ____ (2019), a divided Court overturned Nevada v. Hall, 440 U.S. 410 (1979), holding that states retain their sovere...

In Hazelwood School District v Kuhlmeier, 484 U.S. 260 (1988), the U.S. Supreme Court held that school officials don’t violate the First Amendment by exercising editorial control over the content of student speech, so long as their actions are "re...

In Dawson v Steager, 586 U. S. ____ (2019), the U.S. Supreme Court held that by taxing the federal pension benefits of U.S. Marshals Service retiree James Dawson, while exempting from taxation the pension benefits of certain state and local law enfo...

By a vote of 5-4, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Lamps Plus Inc v Varela that an ambiguous agreement cannot provide the necessary contractual basis for concluding that the parties agreed to submit to class arbitration. The majority relied on the Fed...

In Garza v Idaho, 586 U. S. ____ (2019), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the presumption of prejudice for Sixth Amendment purposes recognized in Roe v. Flores-Ortega applies regardless of whether a defendant has signed an appeal waiver. The case w...

In Gaffney v Cummings, 412 U.S. 735 (1973), the U.S. Supreme Court held that exact equality between districts was not required for state redistricting as it is for Congressional districts. The Court further held that “political fairness” could j...

In Jam v International Finance Corp, 586 U. S. ____ (2019), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the International Organizations Immunities Act of 1945 affords international organizations the same immunity from suit that foreign governments enjoy today ...

In Madison v Alabama, 586 U. S. ____ (2019), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Eighth Amendment may permit executing a prisoner even if he cannot remember committing his crime. However, it may prohibit executing a prisoner even though he suffers ...

In Timbs v. Indiana, 586 U. S. ____ (2019), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Eight Amendments’ ban on excessive fines is applicable to states. The Court’s decision was unanimous. Facts of Timbs v. Indiana Tyson Timbs pleaded guilty in ...

In Gray v. Sanders, 372 U.S. 368 (1963), the U.S. Supreme Court established the famous "one person, one vote" principle for legislative districting. “The concept of political equality...can mean only one thing—one person, one vote,” Justice Wi...