Mark Sherman

August 13, 2008 | Law.com

By Mark Sherman

4 minute read

October 11, 2006 | Law.com

The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to consider whether W.R. Grace & Co. must pay $54 million to clean up asbestos in a Montana mining town. The case pits Grace, which operated a vermiculite mine for 27 years, against the EPA, which oversees the federal Superfund program for the nation's worst hazardous waste sites. Grace said other appeals courts ruled that companies can't be forced to pay the cost of cleaning a polluted site without being allowed to challenge whether the cleanup was necessary.

By Mark Sherman

2 minute read

October 03, 2007 | Law.com

By Mark Sherman

2 minute read

January 22, 2007 | Law.com

By Mark Sherman

3 minute read

June 22, 2005 | Law.com

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on Tuesday called for requiring federal judges to adhere to guidelines that set mandatory minimum prison sentences, saying there is evidence of growing disparity in jail terms since a landmark Supreme Court ruling in January. He also said judges should retain their discretion in imposing harsher prison terms than those set out in sentencing guidelines. Gonzales said that since January's ruling, he has seen "a drift toward lesser sentences."

By Mark Sherman

2 minute read

September 27, 2006 | Law.com

The Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to decide whether public employee unions must get special permission before spending some workers' dues on political causes, accepting an appeal from the state of Washington that involves fees paid to the Washington Education Association. At issue is whether the union needs teachers to say "yes" before the fees can be used for political causes or whether teachers must specifically object to having a portion of their fees spent for that purpose.

By Mark Sherman

3 minute read

May 22, 2007 | Law.com

The suspects were black. The occupants of the house were white, in bed and naked. Guns drawn, the sheriff's deputies ordered them out of bed anyway. The homeowners sued the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department for violating their civil rights. On Monday, the Supreme Court ended the lawsuit, saying the circumstances were regrettable but not an affront to the U.S. Constitution.

By Mark Sherman

2 minute read

December 10, 2007 | Law.com

The Supreme Court on Monday said judges may impose shorter prison terms for crack cocaine crimes, enhancing judicial discretion to reduce the disparity between sentences for crack and cocaine powder.

By MARK SHERMAN

3 minute read

October 02, 2007 | Law.com

By Mark Sherman

3 minute read

May 19, 2008 | Law.com

The Supreme Court upheld criminal penalties Monday for promoting child pornography. The Court, in a 7-2 decision, brushed aside concerns that the law could apply to mainstream movies that depict adolescent sex, classic literature or innocent e-mails that describe pictures of grandchildren. The ruling upheld part of a 2003 law that also prohibits possession of child porn. It replaced an earlier law against child pornography that the Court struck down as unconstitutional.

By Mark Sherman

3 minute read