Emotions - and tensions - ran high at the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday in a case asking whether a federal tribal law allows a biological father to regain custody of a child who had been legally adopted by a couple under state law.

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Drawing a legal line to determine when human genetic material ceases to be a creation of nature and instead becomes a patentable product is not easy — even for the U.S. Supreme Court.

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A consumer class action should not have been certified because the plaintiffs’ expert testimony failed to establish that the case was susceptible to awarding damages on a class-wide basis, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled 5-4.

Tagged with: 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Antonin Scalia class action Elena Kagan Ruth Bader Ginsburg Sonia Sotomayor U.S. Supreme Court

When it comes to getting something named for you before you are dead and buried, being on the Supreme Court isn't a bad choice.

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The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling last week that a defendant cannot be retried, even when his acquittal was based on a judge’s blunder, was cheered by defense attorneys.

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Less than a year after creating a narrow right to make a federal ineffective assistance of counsel claim in a post-conviction proceeding despite a procedural default in state court, the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court tried to carve out the contours of that ruling during oral arguments in Trevino v. Thaler.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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 are trying to dissect the language of a poorly worded federal statute that protects drivers’ personal information from misuse in an effort to determine whether lawyers broke the law in looking for potential class action plaintiffs.

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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.

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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.

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Prior convictions for violent felonies can lead to a significant sentencing enhancement under federal law, but what evidence can sentencing courts consider to determine if a felony is violent enough to trigger heightened punishment?

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According to Justice Sonia M. Sotomayor, being a princess is not a career.

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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.

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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.

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Is it a house or a boat? Does a coffee mug float? The Supreme Court struggled with all types of questions Monday as it tried to figure out what kind of floating structures fall under maritime law, a question that could have a profound impact on popular businesses like floating casinos, hotels and restaurants.

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The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that unions must give nonmembers an immediate chance to object to unexpected fee increases or special assessments that all workers are required to pay in closed-shop situations.

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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.

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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.

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The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling that an informal jury poll did not rise to the level of an acquittal for double jeopardy purposes didn’t just draw mixed reactions from the justices themselves.

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An informal vote taken by jurors before deliberations conclude and later reported to a judge in court does not amount to an acquittal, and therefore a retrial does not violate a defendant’s Double Jeopardy rights, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled.

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The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Thursday that three families cannot sue a mortgage company for allegedly charging them a loan discount fee without giving them a lower interest rate.

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The federal income tax liability resulting from the sale of a farm after a Chapter 12 bankruptcy filing is not “incurred by the estate” under §503(b) of the Bankruptcy Code and thus is neither collectible nor dischargeable in the bankruptcy plan, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled.

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The Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 reduced the sentencing disparity between defendants convicted of crack cocaine-related crimes and those convicted of crimes involving the powder version of the drug.

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A private lawyer can claim qualified immunity from a suit under §1983 over his actions in representing a public employer in an internal affairs investigation, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in a unanimous decision.

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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.

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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?

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