As if they were not divided enough, the U.S. Supreme Court justices are split six ways over the pronunciation of the word "certiorari," according to an article in The National Law Journal.

Tagged with: certiorari

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether a stipulation by a class action plaintiff that damages will be limited to less than the $5 million threshold for federal jurisdiction is enough to defeat a motion to remove the case to federal court under the Class Action Fairness Act.

Tagged with: certiorari class-action lawsuit Supreme Court

When it comes to electronically stored information, “[t]he fuss is about money. Discovery is expensive, and electronic discovery is really expensive.” A.L. Brown, “The Manageable Challenge of Electronic Discovery,” formerly posted at www.rkmc.com. Nevertheless, courts have split on which e-discovery costs may be awarded to a prevailing party under 28 U.S.C. §1920(4).

Tagged with: certiorari e-discovery

After a series of rulings that left some litigators questioning the future of class action litigation, the U.S. Supreme Court will wade into the issue once again next term.

Tagged with: AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion certiorari class-action lawsuit Comcast v. Behrend Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals 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 U.S. Supreme Court has declined to clearly answer the question of whether plaintiffs can bring First Amendment-based retaliatory arrest claims despite the existence of probable cause.

Tagged with: certiorari First Amendment Ruth Bader Ginsburg Stephen Breyer Supreme Court U.S. District Court

The Merit Systems Protection Board provides the exclusive avenue of judicial review for federal employees’ adverse employment action challenges, even when those employees argue that a federal statute is unconstitutional, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled.

Tagged with: 1st Circuit certiorari Elena Kagan equal protection Ruth Bader Ginsburg Samuel Alito Supreme Court

Secret Service agents are protected by qualified immunity from being sued for retaliatory arrest where it was not clearly established that an arrest supported by probable cause could violate the First Amendment, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled.

Tagged with: certiorari immunity U.S. District Court

A U.S. Supreme Court justice stands in his august chambers concentrating on his latest project while a law clerk looks on in admiration. Is the subject a petition for certiorari that seeks to upend decades of constitutional precedent? Hardly.

Tagged with: certiorari Ruth Bader Ginsburg Samuel Alito 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

In between hours of oral argument over the federal health care legislation, the justices took the time to deny certiorari in the first of the Florida tobacco suits to reach the U.S. Supreme Court.

Tagged with: certiorari lawsuit Supreme Court tobacco

Sometime jury members can’t come to an agreement in criminal cases. But when jurors are prepared to acquit a defendant on the most serious charges in a case and are deadlocked on the lesser included charges, can a defendant be retried or has jeopardy attached?

Tagged with: certiorari Double jeopardy Elena Kagan Ruth Bader Ginsburg Samuel Alito Sonia Sotomayor Supreme Court

A prisoner was not “in custody” for Miranda purposes when he was isolated from the general prison population and questioned about conduct that occurred outside the prison because he was informed he could leave when he wanted, was not physically restrained and the door to the room was sometimes open, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled.

Tagged with: 6th Circuit certiorari Ruth Bader Ginsburg Samuel Alito

A Wisconsin-based citizens group is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review a case challenging the annexation of a business park.

Tagged with: certiorari Court of Appeals Crivello Carlson John Roberts

The U.S. Supreme Court will soon decide whether a federal immigration law that prevents lawful permanent residents who have been convicted of certain crimes from traveling abroad without being denied reentry applies to convictions that occurred before the law was passed.

Tagged with: Antonin Scalia certiorari John Roberts Padilla v. Kentucky Ruth Bader Ginsburg Stephen Breyer

The U.S. Supreme Court solidified its pro-arbitration stance in a recent decision interpreting the Credit Repair Organizations Act.

Tagged with: Antonin Scalia Arbitration certiorari Credit Repair Organizations Act Ruth Bader Ginsburg Sonia Sotomayor Supreme Court

The justices of the U.S. Supreme Court have already looked at the issue of DNA evidence in criminal cases, with several rulings restricting prosecutors’ ability to admit such data without calling the lab analysts who prepared the tests to testify.

Tagged with: certiorari Confrontation Clause DNA hearsay Sandy Williams Supreme Court Williams v. Illinois

Sometimes at the U.S. Supreme Court, words and labels mean everything.

Tagged with: 9th Circuit Antonin Scalia certiorari Elena Kagan John G. Roberts Ruth Bader Ginsburg Sonia Sotomayor statute of limitations statute of repose

The U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether criminal fines are subject to the constitutional requirement that a jury decide sentencing factors that increase a penalty beyond the prescribed statutory maximum.

Tagged with: Apprendi v. New Jersey certiorari Sixth Amendment Supreme Court

When the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari to decide the constitutionality of the federal health care law’s individual mandate, as well as several other jurisdictional and substantive issues, there was a notable omission: no mention was made about recusal of any justice from the decision.

Tagged with: certiorari Clarence Thomas Elena Kagan health care recusal Supreme Court

As part of a broad examination of the federal health care law, the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether Congress impermissibly conditioned states’ federal Medicaid funding on the adoption of expanded eligibility and coverage thresholds.

Tagged with: Affordable Care Act certiorari health care Medicaid Supreme Court

In a case that had the justices questioning just how far the expectation of privacy extends in a world of ever-evolving technologies, the U.S. Supreme Court considered Tuesday whether the police’s use of a warrantless GPS tracking device on a suspect’s car violated the Fourth Amendment.

Tagged with: Anthony Kennedy Antonin Scalia certiorari Elena Kagan Fourth Amendment GPS Michael Dreeben Samuel Alito Supreme Court U.S. v. Jones

The justices of the U.S. Supreme Court seemed sympathetic to an argument by a death row inmate that impeachment evidence withheld by prosecutors during his murder trial would have made a difference in his trial – and that the withholding constituted a Brady violation.

Tagged with: Anthony Kennedy Antonin Scalia certiorari Ruth Bader Ginsburg Samuel Alito Stephen Breyer Supreme Court

Sometimes criminal defense attorneys mess up. But just what, if any, constitutional remedy is available to defendants when their attorneys are ineffective at the plea bargaining stage?

Tagged with: Antonin Scalia certiorari Ruth Bader Ginsburg Sonia Sotomayor Stephen Breyer Supreme Court

The justices of the U.S. Supreme Court are set to decide whether a government official who gives perjured grand jury testimony against a defendant is entitled to absolute immunity.

Tagged with: Antonin Scalia certiorari Samuel Alito Sonia Sotomayor Stephen Breyer Supreme Court

In the second half of a U.S. Supreme Court ineffective assistance double-header, the justices considered whether a lawyer’s failure to inform his client of a plea deal gives the defendant a constitutional remedy after he is arrested again and convicted of an additional charge.

Tagged with: Antonin Scalia certiorari Ineffective assistance Samuel Alito Supreme Court

As the U.S. Supreme Court begins its October 2011 term, it seems more likely than ever that the justices will take up the challenges to the federal health care law and its individual mandate before the term ends in June.

Tagged with: certiorari Commerce Clause health care law Supreme Court

This U.S. Supreme Court term has all the makings of a blockbuster, with issues such as the constitutionality of the federal health care reform law, the ability of states to pass tough immigration enforcement laws and same-sex marriage rights all set to fall squarely at the Court’s doorstep.

Tagged with: ACLU certiorari Commerce Clause Fourth Amendment GPS Supreme Court

The U.S. Supreme Court will not be hearing Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge John Siefert’s challenge to the Code of Judicial Conduct. On Monday, the Court denied Siefert’s petition for certiorari in Siefert v. Alexander, bringing to a close a ...

Tagged with: certiorari First Amendment James Alexander John Siefert Supreme Court

Municipalities Zoning; certiorari Certiorari review of a zoning decision must be sought against the zoning board of appeals, not the municipality. “Looking first at the city planning statute, Wis. Stat. § 62.23(7)(e)10. provides: Any person or persons, jointly or severally ...

Tagged with: certiorari Municipalities Digest Zoning