Mark Sherman

September 30, 2010 | Law.com

Chief Justice John Roberts has sold his shares of Pfizer Inc., a move that allows him to participate in two pending Supreme Court cases involving the pharmaceutical maker. In the past, Roberts has not taken part in cases involving Pfizer because he owned less than $15,000 of the company's stock. Supreme Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg offered no explanation for Roberts' decision to sell the stock now, but it appears likely that Justice Elena Kagan's need to sit out the two cases played a role in Roberts' timing.

By Mark Sherman

3 minute read

January 09, 2007 | Law.com

After 17 years, James Stone has perhaps a few more months to wait before he learns whether he will collect up to $1 million under the False Claims Act for exposing fraud by government contractor Rockwell International at a now-closed nuclear weapons plant. The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in the case on Dec. 5. The ruling could affect an anticipated crush of fraud suits if the high court makes it harder for whistleblowers to share in the proceeds.

By Mark Sherman

5 minute read

November 13, 2006 | Law.com

By Mark Sherman

3 minute read

June 27, 2007 | Law.com

A series of 5-4 rulings Monday underlined the Supreme Court's move to the right. Five justices -- John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Anthony Kennedy, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas -- formed the majority in each decision. The Court's four liberals, Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, David Souter and John Paul Stevens, dissented each time. With its term rapidly nearing an end, the Court has perhaps the biggest issue of the year still to decide -- and many are expecting a similar ideological split.

By Mark Sherman

4 minute read

January 10, 2007 | National Law Journal

The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the conviction of Juan Resendiz-Ponce, who was caught trying to enter the United States illegally, in a case that initially was seen as a test of whether a flawed indictment could violate a defendant's rights. But in an 8-1 opinion, the Court said that the indictment of Resendiz-Ponce itself was sound. The indictment "did not deprive him of any significant protection that the constitutional guarantee of a grand jury was intended to confer," Justice John Paul Stevens said.

By Mark Sherman

2 minute read

October 19, 2005 | Law.com

Adding his voice Tuesday to an ongoing controversy, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales joined critics of the use of international law in Supreme Court opinions, calling it anti-democratic and unworkable. Gonzales made his remarks in conjunction with a lengthy defense of Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers and judicial restraint, as part of a speech at George Mason University Law School in Arlington, Va. The attorney general went on to call Miers "an extraordinary candidate."

By Mark Sherman

2 minute read

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

June 05, 2007 | Law.com

The Supreme Court reinstated the death sentence Monday of a man convicted of carjacking, rape and murder who initially won a reprieve by arguing that a potential juror was wrongly excluded from his trial. The Court, in a 5-4 decision, said the Washington state judge who presided over the trial properly used his discretion to excuse a potential juror who expressed equivocal views about the death penalty. Justice John Paul Stevens read a strong dissent from the bench.

By Mark Sherman

3 minute read

November 14, 2006 | Law.com

The Supreme Court on Monday moved to reinstate the death penalty for Fernando Belmontes. Justices reversed an appeals court ruling that threw out Belmontes' death sentence because the trial judge misled jurors who were considering whether to give Belmontes the death penalty or life in prison. The 5-4 decision was the Court's first since starting its new term in October and reflected an increasingly common division in death penalty cases between the Court's conservative and liberal blocs.

By Mark Sherman

2 minute read

April 06, 2005 | The Legal Intelligencer

The Bush administration's two top law enforcement officials yesterday urged Congress to renew every provision of the anti-terror Patriot Act. FBI Director Robert Mueller also asked lawmakers to expand the bureau's ability to obtain records without first asking a judge.

By Mark Sherman

4 minute read