Recently Decided Supreme Court Cases
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...
Court cuts judgment in Exxon Valdez case (June 25, 2008)
The Supreme Court has cut the final bill that the Exxon Mobil Corporation must pay for the 1989 accident that caused the Exxon Valdez to spill 11 million gallons of oil into Prince William Sound. More...
Right to attorney begins soon after arrest (June 23, 2008)
The Supreme Court refined the contours of the Sixth Amendment right to counsel in a civil rights suit where the plaintiff charged that he was denied an attorney during a non-prosecutorial court hea More...
Federal appellate courts cannot increase sentences sua sponte (June 23, 2008)
Appellate courts do not have the authority to hike defendants' sentences when the government has not asked them to do so, a divided Supreme Court ruled. More...
Divided court rules against long-distance companies (June 23, 2008)
The Supreme Court held that the assignment of a legal claim to an intermediary, who will not benefit directly from the lawsuit, nonetheless gives the intermediary standing to sue. More...
