Tag: Supreme Court

Puerto Rico is having a bad month, at least as far as the U.S. Supreme Court is concerned. In Commonwealth of Puerto Rico v Franklin California Tax-Free Trust 579 U.S. ___ (2016), the justices struck down a law that would have allowed public utilitie...

In Commonwealth of Puerto Rico v Sanchez Valle 579 U.S ___ (2016), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the federal government are not separate sovereigns for purposes of the Double Jeopardy Clause of the United States...

The Pendleton Civil Service Act, which was enacted in 1883, established a merit-based system for federal employment. The landmark legislation effectively ended the controversial “spoils system,” which was largely based on political party affiliat...

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...

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...

Heffernan v City of Patterson In Heffernan v.City of Patterson, the U.S. Supreme Court held that when an employer demotes an employee out of a desire to prevent the worker from engaging in protected political activity, the employee is entitled to ch...