Category: Supreme Court Decisions

In Elk Grove Unified School District v Newdow, 542 U.S. ____ (2004), the U.S. Supreme Court sidestepped a constitutional challenge to the Pledge of Allegiance. By holding that the plaintiff lacked standing, the Court avoided deciding whether the wor...

In Mitchell v Wisconsin, 588 U. S. ____ (2019), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the exigent-circumstances exception to the Fourth Amendment’s warrant requirement nearly always allows a blood test without first obtaining a warrant when a breath te...

In Lloyd Corp v Tanner, 407 U.S. 551 (1972), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the owners of a shopping mall could prohibit anti-war activists from distributing leaflets at their center without violating the First Amendment. In reaching its decision...

In Kentucky v Dennison, 65 U.S. 66 (1861), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Extradition Clause’s commands are mandatory and afford no discretion to executive officers of the asylum State. However, it further held that the federal courts h...

In Kisor v. Wilke, 588 U. S. ____ (2019), the U.S. Supreme Court narrowly affirmed the doctrine of Auer deference. However, the Court made it clear that the doctrine’s application has its limits. Doctrine of Auer Deference In Auer v Rob...

In Rucho v Common Cause, 588 U.S. ____ (2019), the U.S. Supreme Court held that courts have no role in resolving partisan gerrymandering claims. By a vote of 5-4, the divided Court held that such cases present political questions beyond the reach of...

In Gamble v. United States, 587 U. S. ____ (2019), the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the “separate sovereigns” doctrine. Accordingly, states and the federal government may continue prosecuting individuals for the same crime. Facts of the Case ...

In The American Legion v American Humanist Association, 588 U. S. ____ (2019), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Bladensburg Cross does not violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. While seven justices agreed with the Court’s ju...

In Herrera v Wyoming, 587 U.S. ____ (2019), the U.S. Supreme Court held that Wyoming’s statehood did not abrogate the Crow Tribe’s 1868 federal treaty right to hunt on the “unoccupied lands of the United States.” The five-member majority fur...