Tony Mauro

November 11, 2009 | Law.com

The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday in a case that asks: For purposes of diversity jurisdiction, where is a company's principal place of business? The answer will be crucial in determining whether a corporation can be sued in federal court or in plaintiff-friendly state courts. Though most of the Court appeared to embrace some version of a headquarters standard, some justices appeared concerned about the possibility that it might result in abuse by corporations seeking to avoid state courts.

By Tony Mauro

3 minute read

January 25, 2005 | National Law Journal

In a pair of cases with potential pocketbook impact on lawyers and their clients, the Supreme Court ruled Monday that the contingent fee portion of lawsuit settlements and awards is taxable to the client, even if the money goes directly to the attorney. Although a new law limits the ruling's implications, experts forecast more costly settlements for some types of commercial litigation, because winning plaintiffs may insist that the extra tax they have to pay be tacked onto the settlement.

By Tony Mauro

5 minute read

September 23, 2008 | The Recorder

Some legal scholars and publishers are interested in replacing heavy casebooks with easy-to-update e-books that can be read on devices such as Amazon's Kindle.

By Tony Mauro

5 minute read

September 08, 2005 | The Legal Intelligencer

By yesterday, Supreme Court nominee John Roberts Jr. was supposed to be answering the questions of Senate Judiciary Committee members as part of his confirmation hearing to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Instead, because of Chief Justice William Rehnquist's death Saturday, and the swift decision by President George W. Bush to put Roberts in the chief justice's spot instead, the Roberts hearing has been put off until Monday.

By Tony Mauro

6 minute read

November 29, 2010 | The Legal Intelligencer

The long-forgotten 17th Amendment -- the one that gave us direct election of senators -- has suddenly moved to center stage in the new debate over constitutional first principles fostered by the Tea Party movement.

By Tony Mauro

8 minute read

February 22, 2007 | New Jersey Law Journal

The Supreme Court on Tuesday tossed out a $79.5 million punitive damage award won by a smoker's widow against Philip Morris, ruling that jurors improperly considered harm to other smokers in punishing the tobacco giant.

By Tony Mauro

4 minute read

July 08, 2002 | National Law Journal

The failure of the two Supreme Court TV dramas means that the Court remains a recluse, winning in its fight to stay out of the public consciousness.

By Tony Mauro

7 minute read

February 26, 2009 | National Law Journal

Last year Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. won praise for quoting Bob Dylan in a dissent. Not to be outdone, apparently, Justice Samuel Alito Jr. on Wednesday quoted at length from John Lennon. The musical interlude occurred in Alito's major ruling in Pleasant Grove City, Utah v. Summum, which redefined monuments placed on public land -- such as a Ten Commandments monument -- as a form of government speech, rather than private speech that can run afoul of the First Amendment's Establishment Clause.

By Tony Mauro

2 minute read

April 13, 2004 | Law.com

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia expressed regret Monday over last week's episode in which a deputy U.S. marshal ordered two reporters to erase their tape recordings of a speech he was giving in Hattiesburg, Miss. But his statement did not end the controversy; Scalia's distinction between print and broadcast media -- allowing taping by the first but not the second -- drew a sharp rebuke from the Radio-Television News Directors Association.

By Tony Mauro

4 minute read

March 17, 2006 | The Legal Intelligencer

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said she and now-retired colleague Sandra Day O'Connor were the targets of an Internet death threat last year because of their citation of foreign law in decisions.

By Tony Mauro

4 minute read