A former Pennsylvania coal town and a Dallas suburb lost a lengthy battle to enact anti-immigrant laws Monday when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear their appeals.

Tagged with: U.S. Supreme Court

The justices of the U.S. Supreme Court wrangled over the language of a statute that allows prevailing parties in certain patent infringement cases to recoup attorney fees — an issue that could mean millions of dollars in already costly legal proceedings.

Tagged with: Anthony Kennedy Antonin Scalia John Roberts patents U.S. Supreme Court

The justices of the U.S. Supreme Court are trying to figure out just how much restitution is owed to a victim of bank fraud under the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act.

Tagged with: 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals bank fraud Mortgage fraud Ruth Bader Ginsburg Stephen Breyer U.S. Supreme Court

The Obama administration is urging the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court to rule that the Environmental Protection Agency’s statutory mandate to regulate motor vehicle greenhouse gas emissions triggers a requirement that the agency also regulate emissions from stationary buildings in order to combat the “urgent” problem of climate change.

Tagged with: Elena Kagan EPA Stephen Breyer U.S. Supreme Court

The U.S. Supreme Court has turned away appeals from the National Rifle Association which complained about resistance by governments and judges to the high court's recent seminal rulings declaring that Americans have a constitutional right to own a gun.

Tagged with: U.S. Supreme Court

An eastern Pennsylvania man sentenced to nearly four years in federal prison for making violent threats on Facebook is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear his case.

Tagged with: Facebook U.S. Supreme Court

Faced with a pair of cases raising the issue of warrantless searching of arrestees’ cellphones, the U.S. Supreme Court will again need to apply centuries-old constitutional principles to rapidly changing technologies.

Tagged with: ACLU cellphone Fourth Amendment U.S. Supreme Court Warrantless searches

A one-page, nonmerits order from the U.S. Supreme Court has infused new energy into court challenges brought by nonprofit employers who claim that the Affordable Care Act’s contraception coverage requirement violates their constitutional and statutory religious rights.

Tagged with: 7th Circuit Affordable Care Act Sonia Sotomayor U.S. Supreme Court

In an assertion of same-sex marriage rights, Attorney General Eric Holder is applying a landmark Supreme Court ruling to the Justice Department, announcing Saturday that same-sex spouses cannot be compelled to testify against each other, should be eligible to file for bankruptcy jointly and are entitled to the same rights and privileges as federal prison inmates in opposite-sex marriages.

Tagged with: DOJ Eric Holder gay marriage same-sex marriage U.S. Supreme Court

This column’s main mantra for appeals is to appeal from any decision, order or judgment which could reasonably be construed as “appealable.”

Tagged with: Appeals ERISA U.S. Supreme Court

The U.S. Supreme Court has cast serious doubt on President Barack Obama’s constitutional authority to install three members on the National Labor Relations Board without Senate approval in 2012.

Tagged with: Antonin Scalia Elena Kagan NLRB Ruth Bader Ginsburg Samuel Alito U.S. Supreme Court

The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Medtronic, Inc. v. Mirowski Family Ventures, LLC No. 12-1128, clarified the burden shifting framework for certain types of claims stemming from patent licensing agreements.

Tagged with: patents U.S. Supreme Court

Trying to secure a bargain on a gun purchase landed a former cop in jail.

Tagged with: Anthony Kennedy John Roberts U.S. Supreme Court

The justices of the U.S. Supreme Court are struggling to determine how mandatory statutory damages to victims of child pornography should be allocated among those convicted of possessing and viewing the material, and what proof is required to establish liability.

Tagged with: Antonin Scalia Child Pornography Samuel Alito Stephen Breyer U.S. Supreme Court

The justices of the U.S. Supreme Court used a parade of hypotheticals involving speeding, kidnapping and terrorist threats to try to pinpoint just when information from an anonymous tip can serve as the basis for a police traffic stop.

Tagged with: Antonin Scalia U.S. Supreme Court

In a ruling that attorneys say ends the guessing game over when the clock starts to run on filing a notice of appeal in cases involving claims for attorney fees, the U.S. Supreme Court has declined to adopt standard that would vary depending on whether those fees are awarded pursuant to a statute or a contract.

Tagged with: Attorney fees U.S. Supreme Court

The latest rejection of Milwaukee County’s attempt to levy real estate transfer taxes on two federal enterprises reinforces an emerging national trend.

Tagged with: 7th Circuit Court of Appeals class-action lawsuit Fannie Mae Freddie Mac Hansen Reynolds Dickinson Crueger Paul Bargren Richard Posner U.S. Supreme Court

The U.S. Supreme Court has thrown a hitch into President Barack Obama's new health care law by blocking a requirement that some religion-affiliated organizations provide health insurance that includes birth control.

Tagged with: Affordable Care Act health care Sonia Sotomayor U.S. Supreme Court

The countdown to the new year in Times Square is getting some high-profile help — U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

Tagged with: Sonia Sotomayor U.S. Supreme Court

Defendants who offer a diminished capacity defense cannot seek to exclude rebuttal evidence from court-ordered mental evaluations on Fifth Amendment grounds, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Kansas v. Cheever.

Tagged with: ACLU Eighth Amendment Fifth Amendment Sonia Sotomayor U.S. Supreme Court

It was the major U.S. Supreme Court labor law decision that wasn’t.

Tagged with: Anthony Kennedy Elena Kagan labor law Sonia Sotomayor Stephen Breyer U.S. Supreme Court unions

During an expanded, 90-minute argument session Tuesday, the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court wrangled over whether the Environmental Protection Agency has the authority to impose power plant emission rules upon states that contribute to the air pollution of neighboring states.

Tagged with: Antonin Scalia Elena Kagan EPA John Roberts pollution Stephen Breyer U.S. Supreme Court

The justices of the U.S. Supreme Court considered Tuesday whether an award of contractual attorney fees is part of a final judgment, or a collateral determination made after a judgment.

Tagged with: Anthony Kennedy Attorney fees Elena Kagan U.S. Supreme Court

Contractual forum selection clauses will be a lot easier to enforce in the wake of a ruling this week from the U.S. Supreme Court.

Tagged with: 7th Circuit Samuel Alito U.S. Supreme Court

The Supreme Court indicated Tuesday it won't offer much help to frequent fliers who want to sue when airlines revoke their miles or their memberships.

Tagged with: Elena Kagan Samuel Alito Stephen Breyer U.S. Supreme Court

The justices of the U.S. Supreme Court expressed doubt on Wednesday as to the legality of a commonly used type of labor negotiating pact, setting up the possibility of a high court ruling that could shake up workplace organization efforts.

Tagged with: 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Anthony Kennedy Antonin Scalia Ruth Bader Ginsburg Samuel Alito U.S. Supreme Court

During a lively oral argument Wednesday, the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court seemed torn over whether police can conduct a warrantless search of a home over the previous objection of a tenant when a co-tenant subsequently consents.

Tagged with: Elena Kagan Fourth Amendment John Roberts Sonia Sotomayor Stephen Breyer U.S. Supreme Court Warrantless searches

Federal courts taking up ineffective assistance-based appeals involving plea bargains must apply a “doubly deferential” standard of review that gives significant weight to state court determinations, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled, reversing a 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in Burt v. Titlow, No. 12-414.

Tagged with: Ineffective assistance Ruth Bader Ginsburg Samuel Alito Sonia Sotomayor U.S. Supreme Court

During oral arguments Tuesday, the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court tried to nail down just what intent is necessary for a conviction for the federal crime of aiding and abetting the use of a firearm in a violent or drug felony.

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

One of the most influential news outlets covering the Supreme Court sets up shop on big decision days not in the pressroom with other reporters, but in the court's cafeteria.

Tagged with: SCOTUSblog U.S. Supreme Court