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Category Archives: Supreme Court
Benefit of Doubt Goes to Cops
Thursday, January 15, 2009
The US Supreme Court just narrowed the 4th Amendment’s protections against unreasonable searches and seizures in a case called Herring v. United States. This is a case about the Exclusionary Rule. Writing for the 5-4 majority, Chief Justice Roberts argues that the mistakes of law enforcement are not serious enough in the case to justify [...]
The Guantanamo Decision
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Today we consider another important Supreme Court case. The majority held that our prisoners at Guantanamo are entitled to the right of habeas corpus. There are two dissents in this case. The dissent by Chief Justice Roberts argues that the practical consequences of the majority’s decision won’t really help any of the prisoners. Congress passed [...]
FCC v. Fox – Free Speech Case?
Monday, May 26, 2008
The Second Circuit says that recent FCC rule changes regarding indecency are “arbitrary and capricious.” The Supreme Court will hear the FCC’s appeal. This case has been discussed as a free speech case, but it’s really all about administrative law. Here is a link to the 2nd Circuit Opinion. While you’re at it, check out [...]
Arizona v. Gant
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Here’s a very interesting case about search & seizure law. The question presented: is it OK for cops to search a lawfully parked car after they have the suspect in custody? For further study, have a look at the Arizona Supreme Court Decision in this case. Read the decision in Thornton v. US, which is [...]
Riegel v. Medtronic
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
This case is yet another example of right-wing judicial activism by our corrupt Supreme Court. Here, the court’s tortured and dishonest reading of a law passed by congress results in an order to ban injured patients from suing the manufacturers of badly-designed medical products. A similar case is being heard this term making the same [...]
Crawford v. Metro: Another Important Employment Case
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Crawford v. Metro is an important 6th Circuit case that the US Supreme Court has agreed to hear. At issue is a Federal anti-discrimination law called Title VII. This law expressly protects employees from retaliation in two ways. Employees who participate in an investigation, and those who oppose discriminatory practices are supposed to be [...]
Giles v. California: Confrontation Clause & Hearsay
Saturday, February 2, 2008
The US Supreme Court is set to consider a case, Giles v. California that deals with a criminal defendant’s right to confront a witness killed by that same defendant. The defendant admitted killing the victim, but claimed he fired in self defense. The trial judge admitted into evidence statements the victim had made to police [...]
Stoneridge v. Scientific-Atlanta
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
The Stoneridge decision is a huge win for investment banks, accountants and vendors. It’s a big loss for those who lose money on stocks issued by companies that commit fraud. The facts in the case were not in dispute. A cable TV company persuaded Scientific-Atlanta and Motorola, two commercial sellers of cable-TV boxes, to jack [...]