Mark Sherman

April 26, 2007 | National Law Journal

The Supreme Court threw out death sentences for three killers in Texas Wednesday because of problems with instructions given jurors who were deciding between life in prison and death. The cases stem from jury instructions that Texas has not used since 1991. Under those rules, courts have found that jurors were not allowed to give sufficient weight to factors that might cause them to impose a life sentence instead of death. The three 5-4 rulings had the same lineup of justices.

By Mark Sherman

3 minute read

February 26, 2008 | National Law Journal

Two years and 142 cases have passed since Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas last spoke up at oral arguments. It is a period of unbroken silence that contrasts with the rest of the Court's unceasing inquiries. Hardly a case goes by without eight justices peppering lawyers with questions. Oral arguments offer justices the chance to resolve nagging doubts about a case, probe its weaknesses or make a point to their colleagues. Thomas takes it all in, but he never joins in.

By Mark Sherman

4 minute read

December 04, 2008 | National Law Journal

A cigarette maker and a smoker's widow squared off for the third time at the Supreme Court on Wednesday over a $79.5 million punitive damages award, but the real battle was between the justices and their counterparts on Oregon's high court. In its latest appeal, Philip Morris contended the Oregon judges were essentially thumbing their noses at the Supreme Court. "We're here today because the Oregon court failed to follow this Court's decision," Philip Morris' lawyer, Stephen Shapiro, told the justices.

By Mark Sherman

4 minute read

January 20, 2012 | Daily Report Online

WASHINGTON AP - The Supreme Court on Friday threw out electoral maps drawn by federal judges in Texas that favored minorities. The decision ultimately could affect control of the U.S. House of Representatives and leaves the fate of Texas' April primaries unclear.The justices ordered the three-judge court in San Antonio to come up with new plans that pay more attention to maps created by Texas' Republican-dominated state Legislature.

By Mark Sherman

4 minute read

November 20, 2007 | Daily Report Online

WASHINGTON AP - The SupremeCourt said Tuesday it will decide whether the District of Columbia can ban handguns, a case that could produce the most in-depth examination of the constitutional right to "keep and bear arms" in nearly 70 years.The justices' decision to hear the case could make the divisive debate over guns an issue in the 2008 presidential and congressional elections.

By Mark Sherman

4 minute read

December 12, 2007 | National Law Journal

The U.S. Sentencing Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to make retroactive its recent easing of recommended sentences for crack cocaine offenses, which will allow some 19,500 federal prison inmates, most of them black, to seek reductions in their sentences. Roughly 3,800 inmates could be released from prison within a year after the March 3 effective date of Tuesday's decision. Federal judges will have the final say whether to reduce sentences.

By Mark Sherman

5 minute read

June 16, 2008 | Daily Report Online

WASHINGTON AP - One momentous case down, another equally historic decision to go.The Supreme Court returns to the bench Monday with 17 cases still unresolved, including its first-ever comprehensive look at the Second Amendment's right to bear arms.The guns case - including Washington, D.C.'s ban on handguns - is widely expected to be a victory for supporters of gun rights.

By MARK SHERMAN

4 minute read

September 08, 2009 | Daily Report Online

By JESSE J. HOLLAND and MARK SHERMAN

5 minute read

July 14, 2009 | Daily Report Online

WASHINGTON AP - Senate Republicans plan to confront Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor with her own words from speeches years ago and more recently decisions she rendered as appeals court judge that were later reversed by the Supreme Court.Sotomayor's confirmation hearing resumes in the Senate Judiciary Committee with question-and-answer rounds that are expected to stretch from Tuesday possibly into Thursday.

By MARK SHERMAN

4 minute read

May 14, 2013 | Daily Report Online

The Justice Department secretly obtained two months of telephone records of reporters and editors for The Associated Press in what the news cooperative's top executive called a "massive and unprecedented intrusion" into how news organizations gather the news.

By Mark Sherman

8 minute read