The justices of the U.S. Supreme Court appeared reluctant Wednesday to make a federal case out of a legal malpractice claim arising from a patent suit.

Tagged with: Antonin Scalia Copyright malpractice patent Ruth Bader Ginsburg Sonia Sotomayor U.S. Supreme Court

Attempts to sort out the meaning of a confusing and oddly worded statute to determine whether a Navy surgeon is immune from liability for allegedly performing eye surgery without obtaining consent left the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court bleary-eyed.

Tagged with: Antonin Scalia Elena Kagan Sonia Sotomayor tort U.S. Supreme Court

In a case that raises the question of whether judges, rather than juries, can constitutionally decide factors that could trigger an increase in the minimum sentence, the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court seemed reluctant to shake up a sentencing scheme that Congress and the courts have relied upon for more than a decade.

Tagged with: Antonin Scalia Elena Kagan robbery Samuel Alito Sixth Amendment Sonia Sotomayor U.S. Supreme Court

During oral arguments that included a rare comment from Justice Clarence Thomas, the U.S. Supreme Court considered whether a state’s failure to give money to court-appointed counsel for a murder defendant should be weighed against the state in determining whether speedy trial rights were violated.

Tagged with: Antonin Scalia Elena Kagan Ruth Bader Ginsburg Sonia Sotomayor speedy trial U.S. Supreme Court

The justices of the U.S. Supreme Court appeared unwilling Wednesday to allow police to take blood samples from suspected drunk drivers without a warrant.

Tagged with: ACLU Antonin Scalia Fourth Amendment Missouri v. McNeely Ruth Bader Ginsburg Sonia Sotomayor Stephen Breyer warrantless blood draws

The justices of the U.S. Supreme Court seemed divided over whether the federal Medicaid Act preempts a North Carolina law authorizing the state to recoup as much as one third of any medical malpractice jury award or settlement, regardless of how much of the award was designated for medical expenses.

Tagged with: Antonin Scalia John Roberts Samuel Alito Sonia Sotomayor U.S. Supreme Court

Justice Antonin Scalia is drawing a lot of media attention for comments he made this week as the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to hear two same-sex marriage law challenges.

Tagged with: Antonin Scalia Defense of Marriage Act gay marriage U.S. Supreme Court

The justices of the U.S. Supreme Court tussled on Wednesday over the issue of whether a plain error sentencing appeal must be decided according to the law in effect at the time of sentencing or at the time of appeal.

Tagged with: Antonin Scalia Elena Kagan John Roberts plain error Ruth Bader Ginsburg Samuel Alito Stephen Breyer Supreme Court

There are plenty of big cases on the docket at the U.S. Supreme Court this term, dealing with issues ranging from search and seizure standards to affirmative action.

Tagged with: Antonin Scalia class-action lawsuit Comcast v. Behrend Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals U.S. Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued its first opinion of the new term, saying a lawyer cannot combine two laws to sue the federal government for violating identity theft protection laws banning the printing of credit card numbers and expiration dates on receipts.

Tagged with: Antonin Scalia Court of Appeals Fair Credit Reporting Act Identity theft U.S. Supreme Court

You may not expect to see one of the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court in the pages of a glossy fashion magazine. After all, their clothes are usually obscured by those black robes. But Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg graces the pages of the latest issue of Glamour.

Tagged with: Antonin Scalia Ruth Bader Ginsburg U.S. Supreme Court

The justices of the U.S. Supreme Court tackled a tough question on Tuesday, considering what consequences result under the Double Jeopardy Clause from an acquittal that was caused by a judge’s error.

Tagged with: Anthony Kennedy Antonin Scalia John Roberts Ruth Bader Ginsburg Supreme Court U.S. Supreme Court

The issue of whether criminal defendants’ Sixth Amendment right to be warned of the immigration consequences of guilty pleas, as established by a 2010 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, is retroactive was front and center during oral arguments on Thursday.

Tagged with: Anthony Kennedy Antonin Scalia Michael Dreeben Padilla v. Kentucky U.S. Supreme Court

The justices of the U.S. Supreme Court seemed disinclined to back a lower court ruling allowing police to detain someone incident to the execution of a search warrant after the person had driven a mile away from the location being searched.

Tagged with: Antonin Scalia Elena Kagan Sonia Sotomayor Stephen Breyer U.S. Supreme Court

Justice Antonin G. Scalia has thrown sharp barbs at 7th Circuit Judge Richard Posner in their ongoing public spat about the role of history in legal interpretation.

Tagged with: Antonin Scalia Richard Posner

Sometimes employment litigation is complicated, so much so that the parties and judges can’t even agree on which court has jurisdiction to hear an appeal.

Tagged with: Antonin Scalia discrimination EEOC John Roberts Labor Department

Justice Antonin Scalia says his method of interpreting the Constitution makes some of the most hotly disputed issues that come before the Supreme Court among the easiest to resolve.

Tagged with: abortion Antonin Scalia gay marriage

The justices of the U.S. Supreme Court will soon decide if the federal government can be sued for damages for violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Tagged with: Antonin Scalia Elena Kagan Fair Credit Reporting Act Sonia Sotomayor Supreme Court U.S. Supreme Court

In the most anticipated decision of the U.S. Supreme Court’s last term, the fate of the American health care system hinged on the meaning of a single word: “penalty.”

Tagged with: Affordable Care Act Antonin Scalia health care Supreme Court U.S. Supreme Court

With attorneys still analyzing the health care ruling and the other big decisions from last term, the U.S. Supreme Court is preparing for a new term with even more major issues on its docket, from affirmative action to the standards of proof for class certification.

Tagged with: affirmative action Antonin Scalia Comcast v. Behrend Defense of Marriage Act health care same-sex marriage Supreme Court

Justice Antonin Scalia told NPR’s Nina Totenberg that people should not believe that divided Supreme Court rulings, like the one in the health care law decision, causes hard feelings among the justices.

Tagged with: Antonin Scalia health care Supreme Court

The Confrontation Clause does not bar an expert from testifying at a criminal trial that a DNA profile produced by an outside laboratory matched the defendant’s state lab DNA profile, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in a fractured opinion.

Tagged with: Anthony Kennedy Antonin Scalia certiorari Clarence Thomas Confrontation Clause DNA Elena Kagan John Roberts Ruth Bader Ginsburg Samuel Alito Sonia Sotomayor Stephen Breyer Supreme Court Williams v. Illinois

The Supreme Court has ruled that sales representatives for pharmaceutical companies do not qualify for overtime pay under federal law, a big victory for the drug industry.

Tagged with: Anthony Kennedy Antonin Scalia Clarence Thomas drug companies Elena Kagan Fair Labor Standards Act John Roberts Overtime Ruth Bader Ginsburg Samuel Alito Sonia Sotomayor

The Supreme Court on Monday upheld a rape conviction over objections that the defendant did not have the chance to question the reliability of the DNA evidence that helped convict him.

Tagged with: Anthony Kennedy Antonin Scalia Clarence Thomas DNA Elena Kagan John Roberts Ruth Bader Ginsburg Samuel Alito Sandy Williams Sonia Sotomayor Stephen Breyer Supreme Court Williams v. Illinois

Home borrowers suing Quicken Loans for violating the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act were required to show that the lender split an allegedly unearned fee with another party, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in a unanimous decision.

Tagged with: Antonin Scalia

The question of whether the Constitution imposes an age limit on being sentenced to life in prison has left the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court struggling over where to draw difficult lines.

Tagged with: Anthony Kennedy Antonin Scalia Constitution Miller v. Alabama Ruth Bader Ginsburg Stephen Breyer

The last oral argument of the U.S. Supreme Court’s term was an explosive one, as the justices considered whether SB 1070, the controversial Arizona immigration statute, is preempted by federal law.

Tagged with: Antonin Scalia Elena Kagan Fourth Amendment Immigration John Roberts Jr. Obama SCOTUS Supreme Court U.S. Supreme Court

The justices of the U.S. Supreme Court took up a complicated bankruptcy case Monday, parsing the language of the Bankruptcy Code to determine if a Chapter 11 debtor must give a secured creditor the right to credit bid items being sold at auction.

Tagged with: 7th Circuit Antonin Scalia certiorari John Roberts Supreme Court

The Supreme Court seemed split Tuesday on whether criminals who were arrested but not yet sentenced for crack cocaine offenses should be able to take advantage of newly reduced sentences.

Tagged with: 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Antonin Scalia crack Crack cocaine Fair Sentencing Act Michael Dreeben Ruth Bader Ginsburg Sentencing Sonia Sotomayor Supreme Court

An immigration statute limiting a legal permanent resident’s right of reentry does not apply retroactively to a felony conviction before the effective date of the law, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled 6-3.

Tagged with: Antonin Scalia Clarence Thomas Immigration Ruth Bader Ginsburg SCOTUS U.S. Supreme Court