Recently Decided Supreme Court Cases
Unanimous court backs Texas inmate (Jan. 13, 2009)
A unanimous Supreme Court found today that an appeals court erred when it found a Texas inmate had missed a deadline for filing his paperwork in federal court. More...
Divided Supreme Court allows ‘light’ cigarette lawsuits (Dec. 15, 2008)
A divided Supreme Court held that tobacco companies are vulnerable to state lawsuits arising from claims that their labels make misleading health claims. More...
Justices rule on standard for reviewing errors in jury instructions (Dec. 2, 2008)
The Supreme Court issued an unsigned opinion on Tuesday, holding that harmless error analysis should be applied when reviewing a conviction based on jury instructions that contain more than one theory More...
Divided court backs Navy in sonar case (Nov. 12, 2008)
In the first ruling of the new term, a divided Supreme Court held today that the U.S. More...
Justices rule on case concerning contracts negotiated during the 2001 Western energy crisis (June 26, 2008)
The Supreme Court asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and a federal appeals court on Thursday to review the conclusions both reached about whether electricity contracts signed during the More...
Court invalidates Millionaire's Amendment (June 26, 2008)
On the last day of its term, a closely-divided Supreme Court struck down the so-called Millionaire's Amendment to the 2002 campaign finance law. More...
Court strikes down D.C. gun ban (June 26, 2008)
On its final day of the term, a Supreme Court divided along familiar ideological lines broke its seven decade silence regarding the central meaning of the Second Amendment when it struck down Washi More...
Court allows criminal defendant to exclude victim's testimony (June 25, 2008)
A murder defendant has the right to exclude the testimony of his victim, the Supreme Court held in a case that sheds light on the state of Confrontation Clause doctrine. More...
Justices limit tribal courts' jurisdiction (June 25, 2008)
In a case clarifying the scope of Indian tribal courts' jurisdiction over non-members, a divided Supreme Court held that these courts do not have authority to hear lawsuits involving non-tribal mem More...
Divided court rejects death penalty for child rape (June 25, 2008)
A Supreme Court divided along ideological lines struck down the constitutionality of Louisiana's law permitting imposition of the death penalty for the crime of child rape. More...
