Mark Sherman

June 15, 2007 | Law.com

States may force public sector labor unions to get consent from workers before using their fees for political activities, the Supreme Court said Thursday. The Court unanimously upheld a Washington state law that applied to public employees who choose not to join unions. The workers are compelled to pay the equivalent of union dues, a portion of which the union uses for political activities. Justice Antonin Scalia, writing for the Court, said the law does not violate the union's First Amendment rights.

By Mark Sherman

3 minute read

May 26, 2005 | Law.com

Federal authorities on Wednesday shut down an online file-sharing network that had the new Star Wars movie before it was shown in theaters. The Elite Torrents network was engaging in high-tech piracy by allowing people to download copies of movies and other copyright material for free, authorities said. The action was the first criminal enforcement against individuals who are using cutting-edge BitTorrent technology, Justice and Homeland Security Department officials said.

By Mark Sherman

3 minute read

June 26, 2007 | Law.com

The Supreme Court tightened limits on student speech Monday, ruling against a high school student and his 14-foot-long "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" banner. Schools may prohibit student expression that can be interpreted as advocating drug use, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the Court in a 5-4 ruling. Conservative groups had backed the student, Joseph Frederick, out of concern that a ruling for his principal, Deborah Morse, would let schools clamp down on religious expression.

By Mark Sherman

2 minute read

October 29, 2007 | The Legal Intelligencer

The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to decide whether Exxon Mobil Corp. should pay $2.5 billion in punitive damages in connection with the huge Exxon Valdez oil spill that fouled more than 1,200 miles of Alaskan coastline in 1989.

By MARK SHERMAN

3 minute read

March 01, 2007 | National Law Journal

The Supreme Court unanimously reinstated a Nevada child molester's conviction Wednesday in a decision that continued the justices' refusal to apply recent rulings on criminal procedure retroactively. The question in the case was whether the Court's 2004 ruling that defendants have the constitutional right to cross-examine witnesses against them would apply to older cases. Justice Samuel Alito, writing for the Court, said the 2004 case "did not effect a change of this magnitude."

By Mark Sherman

2 minute read

October 17, 2006 | Law.com

A Boy Scouts sailing group that lost free use of a public boat slip failed to persuade the Supreme Court to take its case. The justices on Monday let stand a unanimous California Supreme Court ruling that the city of Berkeley may treat the Berkeley Sea Scouts differently from other nonprofits because the Scouts bar atheists and gays. The leader of the Sea Scouts had argued that forcing the group to pay for a berth at the marina violated the group's free speech and freedom of association rights.

By Mark Sherman

2 minute read

March 01, 2010 | Law.com

The U.S. Supreme Court dismissed an appeal Monday from the seven Chinese Muslim detainees at Guantanamo Bay because they have been offered another place to live. The justices took the unusual step of scratching a case three weeks before it was going to be argued, allowing the Obama administration to avoid a difficult Supreme Court argument over whether a judge can order detainees released into the United States.

By Mark Sherman

3 minute read

March 23, 2010 | Law.com

The Supreme Court agreed to consider a curious corner of immigration law that applies to children born outside the U.S. to one parent who is American and one who is not. Ruben Flores-Villar argues the law unfairly discriminates on the basis of gender, saying the fact that his father is an American and his mother is not complicated his attempts to acquire citizenship and avoid criminal charges for being in the country illegally. The law makes it easier for children whose mothers are citizens to become citizens themselves.

By Mark Sherman

3 minute read

April 27, 2007 | National Law Journal

When Chief Justice John Roberts took his center seat for the first time in October 2005, John Paul Stevens, the Supreme Court's senior justice, wished him "a long and happy career in our common calling." This week, Roberts had some words for Stevens, who turned 87 last week. And they were not nearly so kind. In a pointed dissent from decisions overturning death sentences for two Texas inmates, Roberts accused Stevens of engaging in revisionist history.

By Mark Sherman

2 minute read

October 02, 2007 | National Law Journal

The Supreme Court on Monday declined to enter a dispute over whether some religious organizations can be forced to pay for workers' birth-control health insurance benefits, letting stand a ruling upholding a New York law that forces religious-based social service agencies to subsidize contraceptives as part of prescription drug coverage. Religious groups argued the law violates their First Amendment rights because it forces them to violate religious teachings that regard contraception as sinful.

By Mark Sherman

3 minute read