Tag: Donald Scarinci

In Commonwealth v Caetano, 577 U. S. ____ (2016), the U.S. Supreme Court held that a Massachusetts court’s proffered reasons for upholding a ban on personal possession or use of a “stun gun” contradicted the Court’s prior Second Amendment h...

In Ogden v Saunders, 25 U.S. 213 (1827), the U.S. Supreme Court held that a New York bankruptcy law did not violate the Constitution’s Contracts Clause. The case is also most remembered as the only decision from which Chief Justice John Marshall...

In Dietz v Bouldin, 579 U. S. ____ (2016), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the federal district court has a limited inherent power to rescind a jury discharge order and recall a jury in a civil case for further deliberations after identifying an err...

In Betterman v. Montana, 578 U. S. ____ (2016), the U.S. Supreme Court clarified that the Sixth Amendment’s speedy trial guarantee does not apply once a defendant has been found guilty at trial or has pleaded guilty to criminal charges. The Court�...

In Osborn v Bank of the United States, 22 US. (9 Wheat.) 738 (1824), the U.S. Supreme Court addressed Article III’s grant of judicial power over cases “arising under” federal law. In his opinion, Chief Justice John Marshall broadly interpreted...

In Sturges v Crowninshield, 17 U.S. (4 Wheat.) 122 (1819), the U.S. Supreme Court considered whether a New York bankruptcy law, and its retroactive application, were constitutional. The justices concluded that federal power over bankruptcy was not ex...

In Voisine v United States, 579 U. S. ____ (2016), the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a federal law that prohibits individuals convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence offenses from owning a firearm. The majority rejected arguments that a reckless domes...

In Taylor v United States (2016), the U.S. Supreme Court held that “commerce” under the Hobbs Act should be interpreted broadly. Accordingly, it found that the government had satisfied its burden by establishing that the defendant robbed a drug d...

In United States v Hudson and Goodwin, 11 U.S. 32 (1812), the U.S. Supreme Court first considered whether the federal courts were authorized to hear criminal cases. The justices held that Congress must confer jurisdiction by statute in order for the ...

In Fisher v University of Texas at Austin (2016), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the race-conscious admissions program in use by the university when Abigail Fisher applied to the school in 2008 is lawful under the Constitution’s Equal Protection ...