Parts of law limiting vote in North Carolina struck down
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued a brief, unsigned order reinstating provisions of a North Carolina voting law that bar same-day registration and counting votes cast in the wrong precinct. A federal appeals court had blocked the provisions, saying they disproportionately harmed black voters. In a dissent, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, joined by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, said she would have sustained the appeals court’s determination that the two provisions “risked significantly reducing opportunities for black voters to exercise the franchise.”
SCOTUS blocks order restoring early voting in Ohio
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday blocked an appeals court ruling that would have restored seven days of early voting in Ohio.
Justices decline cases on gay rights and campaign finance
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear closely watched cases on gay rights, campaign finance and lethal injections. As is their custom, the justices gave no reasons for turning down the appeals.
High court weighs patents on software
In a case with the potential to reshape the software industry, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday seemed poised to issue fresh limits on patents for computer-based business methods.
For the Supreme Court, a case poses a puzzle on the EPA’s authority
WASHINGTON — In trying to decide whether the Environmental Protection Agency has the authority under two programs to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from stationary sources like power plants, the Supreme Court on Monday faced what Justice Elena Kagan called “the conundrum here.”
Supreme Court rulings bolster same-sex marriage
WASHINGTON — In a pair of major victories for the gay rights movement, the Supreme Court ruled last Wednesday that married same-sex couples were entitled to federal benefits and, by declining to decide a case from California, effectively allowed same-sex marriages there.
Supreme Court justices worry about a flood of cases
WASHINGTON — February was flood season at the Supreme Court.
Court hears challenge to 2008 law letting US eavesdrop
WASHINGTON — A challenge to a federal law that authorized intercepting international communications involving Americans appeared to face an uphill climb at the Supreme Court on Monday, but not one quite as steep as many had anticipated.
Supreme court lets rent stabilization law stand
WASHINGTON — Tenants in nearly one million apartments subject to New York City’s rent regulations could breathe a sigh of relief Monday. The U.S. Supreme Court, after indicating it might be interested in hearing a challenge to the regulations, decided to let them stand.
Supreme Court to hear two human rights cases
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court agreed Monday to hear a pair of cases on whether corporations and political groups may be sued in U.S. courts for complicity in human rights abuses abroad.
Some common ground found for legal adversaries on health care law
WASHINGTON — The 2010 health care overhaul law has provoked an unprecedented clash between the federal government and 26 states, dividing them on fundamental questions about the very structure of the federal system. But the two sides share a surprising amount of common ground, too, starting with their agreement in briefs, filed Wednesday, that the Supreme Court should resolve the clash in its current term.
Sotomayor reflects on advice, race and public perception at UChicago talk
CHICAGO — Justice Sonia Sotomayor, speaking at a law school here Monday, said she had “taken heat” at her Supreme Court confirmation hearings two summers ago in part because she was the first Hispanic nominee.
Supreme Court to hear Wal-Mart discrimination case
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear an appeal in the biggest employment discrimination case in the nation’s history, one claiming that Wal-Mart Stores discriminated against hundreds of thousands of women in pay and promotion. The lawsuit seeks back pay that could amount to billions of dollars.
Choice of clerks highlights Supreme Court’s polarization
WASHINGTON — Each year, 36 young lawyers obtain the most coveted credential in U.S. law: a Supreme Court clerkship. Clerking for a justice is a glittering capstone on a resume that almost always includes outstanding grades at a top law school, service on a law review and a prestigious clerkship with a federal appeals court judge.
Supreme Court to Hear <br />Rights vs. Religion Case
The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear an appeal from a Christian student group that had been denied recognition by a public law school in California for excluding homosexuals and nonbelievers. The case pits anti-discrimination principles against religious freedom.
High Court Considers Whether a Voting Rights Rule is Still Needed
Ellen D. Katz is a liberal law professor and a big fan of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which she calls the most effective civil rights legislation in American history. “It’s sacred,” she said. “It’s holy.”
In One Law, Congress Grants Power to Trump Many Others
Securing the nation’s borders is so important, Congress says, that Michael Chertoff, the homeland security secretary, must have the power to ignore any laws that stand in the way of building a border fence. Any laws at all.
Terrorist Confession Shoulders Blame But Complicates Linked Prosecutions
The admissions made by the mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks illuminated and transformed the cases against him and the 13 other Qaida leaders transferred last year from CIA prisons to the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.