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ACA's Contraceptives Mandate Could Hinge on Kennedy

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday appeared split along ideological lines as it struggled with whether for-profit corporations and their owners can claim a religious exemption from the federal requirement that employee health insurance policies cover contraceptive services.
7 minute read

Court Opens Lanham Claims to Non-Direct Competitors

Businesses can invoke the Lanham Act in suing other companies for false advertising, even if they are not direct competitors, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously on Tuesday.
3 minute read

Alito Recuses in One Pepsi Case, But Not Another

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito Jr. recused himself on Monday from a case involving Connecticut’s so-called “bottle bill,” apparently because one of the parties in the case is a Pepsi Cola bottler—and Alito owns stock in Pepsico Inc.
2 minute read

'No Plans to Change' High Court Access Policies

The U.S. Supreme Court has "no plans to change" its practices on access to its proceedings, a court spokeswoman said in a letter on March 21.
5 minute read

Creditors, Debtors Clash in Supreme Court Over Inherited IRAs

With more and more baby boomers reaching the age of retirement or death, a seemingly minor bankruptcy dispute suddenly loomed large at the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday.
3 minute read

Step Right Up For The Hottest Arguments of the Year

They may not offer the sweeping potential of the first major challenge to the Affordable Care Act in 2012, but Tuesday's U.S. Supreme Court arguments on corporations' religious objections to that law's contraception coverage will be the hottest ticket in town.
4 minute read

Milestones Ahead for Members of Supreme Court Bar

Tuesday will mark the third year in a row that Verrilli and Clement have argued on opposing sides in marquee cases in late March.
4 minute read

Small Script Change Could Presage Momentous Shift

Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. has subtly changed the “script” he uses during Supreme Court bar admissions in the court chamber—a change that may anticipate the inevitable day when a lawyer will ask the court to admit a same-sex spouse.
3 minute read

Google Maps Invoked in Qualified-Immunity Case

Judging when law enforcement officers deserve immunity from suits accusing them of violating someone's constitutional rights often bedevils and divides federal courts. In a case involving Secret Service agents and anti-Bush demonstrators, state and local governments are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to apply a technology-age tool to the age-old problem.
5 minute read

Coalition Pushes Cameras in U.S. Supreme Court

A coalition of media and public interest groups on Sunday urged Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. to allow the video recording and broadcast of U.S. Supreme Court proceedings.
3 minute read

'Truthiness' in the High Court

The Cato Institute and its client, satirist P.J. O’Rourke, have presented the court with an amicus curiae brief replete with attempts at humor—all aimed at making the point that humor and even falsehoods are essential to politics and the First Amendment.
4 minute read

Ruling Could Drive Stake Through Heart of Rails-to-Trails

In a potentially costly setback to the federal government's rails-to-trails program, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ruled that under an 1875 law, abandoned railroad rights of way belong, not to the government, but to the private parties that acquired the underlying lands.
5 minute read

The Door to Specific Jurisdiction Narrows Again

On Feb. 25, the U.S. Supreme Court concluded its trilogy of cases this term in which the defendant argued that the plaintiff had sued in the wrong forum. The combined result of these cases is that plaintiffs will have fewer choices of where to sue, mainly because it became harder to sue where the plaintiffs live.
8 minute read

'Societal Aversion to Math' Challenged in Patent Case Amicus Brief

An amicus brief by University of California at Hastings law professor Robin Feldman in Alice Corporation v. CLS Bank International argues that "our societal aversion to math" has muddled the law for software patents and led to the legal battles that have dominated the smart phone industry.
4 minute read

Court Sides With Abducting Parent on Child's Return

The U.S. Supreme Court, increasingly drawn into disputes over international child abductions, ruled on Wednesday that a treaty's one-year period to demand return of a child cannot be extended because the abducting parent concealed the child's location.
5 minute read

Justices Might Shy from Overturning Class Action Precedent

Despite the urgent plea of business advocates, the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday appeared reluctant to completely overturn a key precedent that has made it easier for plaintiffs to sue companies for securities fraud.
5 minute read

Court Receptive to Police Immunity in Shooting Deaths

Arkansas police, sued for allegedly using excessive force in a car chase that ended with the deaths of the fleeing driver and his passenger, seemed likely on Tuesday to win their claim for immunity in the U.S. Supreme Court—if the justices get to that issue.
5 minute read

Justices Expand Corporate Whistleblower Protection

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday significantly expanded legal protection for corporate whistleblowers, making it clear for the first time that thousands of workers in the mutual-fund industry and other private companies are protected from retaliation for reporting fraud.
5 minute read

Securities Class Actions Take Spotlight in High Court

On Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments in Halliburton v. Erica P. John Fund, a much anticipated case that could shape the future of securities fraud class actions.
5 minute read

High Court Questions Florida's Mental Test in Death Cases

A majority of U.S. Supreme Court justices on Monday appeared skeptical of Florida's hard IQ cutoff for determining who cannot be executed because of an intellectual disability.
4 minute read

Supreme Court Acknowledges Protest Audiotape was Redacted

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday acknowledged that a spectator's outburst during an oral argument Feb. 26 was "redacted" from the audio posted on the court's website late last week.
3 minute read

Justices Add Five Cases, Deny Review in Immigration Disputes

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday began shaping its docket for next term, agreeing to hear new cases in the fall on government accommodation of religion, juror dishonesty and securities fraud.
4 minute read

Unappetizing Options for Resolving Attorney Fee Conundrum

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday wrestled with what makes an "exceptional" patent case justifying an attorney fee award—and appeared dissatisfied with the options available.
6 minute read

Justices OK Suits Against Law Firms in Ponzi Scheme

Private investors burned in Allen Stanford's $7 billion Ponzi scheme can move ahead with their state-law class actions against two prominent law firms and insurance brokers, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday.
5 minute read

'Citizens United' Critic Disrupts Supreme Court Session

Patent cases may not make the most exciting arguments for public observers in the U.S. Supreme Court, but on Wednesday they became the forum for a rare public outburst over one of the Roberts Court's most disliked decisions.
2 minute read

Warrantless Police Search Permitted Over Tenant's Objection, High Court Says

Police may search an apartment without a warrant when one tenant gives the OK, even if another tenant who is on the premises objects, but then is arrested and removed, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday.
4 minute read

Justices Say No Challenges to Grand Juries on Frozen Assets

An indicted criminal defendant has no constitutional right to challenge the government's pretrial freezing of assets needed to hire a lawyer, a divided U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday.
5 minute read

Cases Present Chance to Discourage Patent Trolls

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday devotes its entire argument time to two patent cases involving the award of attorney fees.
9 minute read

Justices: Trial Lawyer, Judge Didn't Research Key Legal Point

A man on Alabama's death row for 28 years won a new opportunity to show that his trial lawyer was ineffective on Monday, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that both the lawyer and the trial judge misunderstood a point of law fundamental to his case.
5 minute read

Justices Divided Over Greenhouse Gas Regulations

U.S. Supreme Court justices appeared to be in the market for a compromise on Monday in a high-stakes dispute over the Environmental Protection Agency's power to regulate greenhouse gases from stationary sources.
5 minute read

Supreme Court Spurns NRA, Lets Gun Restrictions Stand

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to re-enter Second Amendment gun controversies when it turned away two challenges brought by the National Rifle Association.
4 minute read

Poker Players Ask Justices: Is it Gambling?

The late Chief Justice William Rehnquist ran a monthly poker game. Chief Justice and President William Howard Taft was an avid poker player, as were justices Robert Jackson and William Douglas. And Justice Antonin Scalia in a recent New York Magazine interview said, "I'm a damn good poker player." Poker is back in the U.S. Supreme Court, but not in the way those famous aficionados knew it.
6 minute read

Litigator Known for his Bow Ties and His Winning Record

As Michigan's solicitor general, John Bursch compiled a U.S. Supreme Court argument record that even more veteran high court advocates would envy.
5 minute read

Three Sidley Lawyers to Argue in Three Days in High Court

It will be Sidley Austin week at the U.S. Supreme Court starting Feb. 24, with three of the firm's top partners slated to argue—one on each of the three days the court will be sitting.
4 minute read

Advertising Campaign Pitches Cameras in Supreme Court

A coalition of media, public interest and open-government organizations on Tuesday launched an unprecedented advertising and petition campaign to persuade the U.S. Supreme Court to open its doors to cameras.
5 minute read

Law Professors Launch SCOTUS E-Book Series

Two law professors have teamed with an independent publishing house to produce quick e-books about significant U.S. Supreme Court decisions.
4 minute read

Justice Kagan on Opinion Writing, Legacy

Speaking to an audience in Washington, Justice Elena Kagan recently reflected on her future legacy as a justice—and on what a possible Kagan bobblehead would look like.
4 minute read

Sidley's Peter Keisler to Argue Greenhouse-Gas Case

The five private parties that are challenging the Environmental Protection Agency's power to regulate greenhouse gases from stationary sources have given the nod to Sidley Austin partner Peter Keisler to argue before the U.S. Supreme Court on Feb. 24.
4 minute read

For Jones Day and Noel Francisco, Advocacy is an Avocation

In the litigation war against President Obama's health care reforms in particular, and expansive government regulation in general, one law firm has emerged as a major strategic adversary of the government: Jones Day.
6 minute read

Justices Asked to Define 'Mentally Retarded' in Death Cases

Freddie Lee Hall sits on Florida's death row for the 1978 abduction and murder of a 21-year-old woman who was seven months pregnant. He should not be executed because, he claims, he is "mentally retarded."
6 minute read

Wall Street Firm Bolsters High Court Practice

Jeffrey Wall is the latest lawyer to decamp the U.S. solicitor general's office to lead or co-lead a major law firm's appellate practice. But Wall traveled a slightly different path when he left last fall, signing on as special counsel at Sullivan & Cromwell, a Wall Street titan, rather than heading to a Washington or Chicago firm with deep experience at the high court.
5 minute read

Civil Liberties Group Backs Supreme Court Protester

The American Civil Liberties Union of the Nation's Capital jumps into a First Amendment dispute in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, backing a protester who successfully challenged the federal law restricting certain expressive activity at the U.S. Supreme Court.
5 minute read

Justices Deliver Major Rulings in Drug, Workplace Cases

Before heading off for a long winter recess, the Supreme Court on Monday issued a major decision that could affect prosecutions when a crime victim dies of multiple causes.
6 minute read

Court: Airlines Enjoy Broad Immunity for Threat Reports

Federal law gives airlines and their employees broad immunity from civil lawsuits when they alert transportation authorities to potential threats, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Monday as it reversed a $1.4 million defamation verdict against an airline that reported a pilot was "mentally unstable."
5 minute read

Former High Court Clerk Named Ill. Solicitor General

U.S. Supreme Court scholar Carolyn Shapiro is the latest former high court law clerk to become a state solicitor general.
3 minute read

Justices Block Contraception Mandate in Nuns' Case

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday blocked enforcement of a contraceptive insurance requirement against an order of Catholic nuns until its appeal is decided by a federal appellate court.
2 minute read

Justices Lift 'Burden of Proof' From Medical Device Company

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled unanimously in favor of the medical device company Medtronic Inc. in a patent dispute over who has the burden of proof in certain infringement lawsuits.
4 minute read

Court Struggles With Restitution for Child Porn Victim

Three lawyers offered the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday three "stark choices" about how to pay restitution to child pornography victims, but none seemed to satisfy all of the justices.
6 minute read

Are 'Boobies' Bracelets the New Black Armbands?

Federal courts are split over whether schools can ban bracelets that say “i ♥ boobies! (KEEP A BREAST).” The bracelets are part of a breast cancer awareness movement targeted at youth, but some middle and high school administrators view them differently. A petition for certiorari on this free speech issue is pending at the U.S. Supreme Court.
4 minute read

How Reasonable Was Delay in 'Raging Bull' Claims?

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday struggled with whether a person's unreasonable delay in filing a copyright infringement action can be used to bar that lawsuit.
5 minute read

Justices Weigh First Amendment Fight Over Union Dues

With the future of public employee unions potentially at stake, the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday heard arguments in a case brought by Illinois homecare workers who object to fees charged by a union they don't want to join.
5 minute read

Narrowing the Availability of General Personal Jurisdiction

It is clear that the court has decided that general jurisdiction will be available against a corporation in relatively few, if any, jurisdictions outside its states of incorporation and principal place of business.
10 minute read

Both Sides Challenged in Arguments Over Gun Loophole

The Obama administration on Wednesday urged the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a lower court decision that, it warned, would open a legal loophole allowing guns in the hands of convicted domestic abusers throughout the country.
5 minute read

Abortion Clinic Buffer Zone Divides Justices

A Massachusetts law creating a 35-foot no-protest zone around abortion clinics appeared in jeopardy Wednesday as the U.S. Supreme Court questioned the sweep of its restriction on free speech.
5 minute read

Anonymous Police Tips Face High Court Scrutiny

Anyone who has driven on Highway 1 in California knows that parts of the road are curvy and hard to maneuver. But does an anonymous tip about a swerving car give a cop license to pull the vehicle over even though the officer did not see dangerous driving? The Supreme Court will consider that question on Jan. 21 in Navarette v. California.
4 minute read

Justices Review Power of Bankruptcy Judges

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday appeared ready to clean up the disarray it created in 2011 when it cast doubt on the power of bankruptcy court judges to make final judgments in disputed cases.
4 minute read

State AGs Win Right to Sue Corporations in State Court

State attorneys general who have been aggressively pursuing companies for alleged violations of their antitrust and consumer protection laws scored a major victory on Tuesday when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that their lawsuits belong in state, not federal, courts.
4 minute read

Justices Shield Multinational Companies in Dirty War Case

In a case arising out of Argentina's "Dirty War," the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday significantly limited the general jurisdiction of federal courts over injured victims' lawsuits against corporations doing business in the United States.
5 minute read

Justices Skeptical About Obama's Recess-Appointments Argument

The Obama administration appeared to face an uphill battle on Monday in persuading the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a broad ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit limiting the president's power to make recess appointments.
6 minute read

NYT Reporter Takes First Amendment Fight to High Court

Lawyers for a New York Times reporter tangled up in a fight with federal prosecutors urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to undo an appeals court ruling that would force his testimony in a CIA leak prosecution.
3 minute read

Justices Decline to Hear Arizona Abortion Law

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review a hotly disputed Arizona law restricting abortions, signaling that the justices may not be in a hurry to scrutinize the latest wave of state laws limiting the medical procedure.
4 minute read

Abortion Protest Case Tests First Amendment Boundaries

Abortion returns to the U.S. Supreme Court docket on Jan. 15, in the form of a First Amendment dispute over the right to protest outside reproductive health clinics.
4 minute read

Justices to Decide the Scope of Recess-Appointment Authority

History and dictionaries are the weapons of choice in a major constitutional battle between the administration and the U.S. Senate over the president's power to make appointments during recesses of that legislative body.
7 minute read

Little Pause for High Court Advocates

Two lawyers arguing before the U.S. Supreme Court this month have given new meaning to the phrase "busy holiday season."
4 minute read

Center Advocates for State and Local Governments

Buffer zones are not just for abortion clinics. That is the message the State and Local Legal Center wants to convey to the Supreme Court as it considers McCullen v. Coakley, set for argument on Jan. 15.
4 minute read

Notable Supreme Court Books of 2013

Justices read books as well as briefs. Their recommendations are worth following as guidance for gifts for the Supreme Court aficionado in your life.
4 minute read

Fireworks Expected at High Court

As the U.S. Supreme Court begins a monthlong holiday recess, court watchers await the unwrapping of decisions in some of the term's hot-button cases.
7 minute read

Laugh Tracking at the High Court

As the new term opened this fall, laughter temporarily disappeared from argument transcripts and a mild rumpus ensued on social media. Laughter eventually did make a comeback, but not without some unanswered questions.
4 minute read

Case Tests Limits of Child-Abduction Treaty

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday waded into the emotionally weighted arena of international child abductions in a battle between Columbian parents of a little girl now living in the United States.
5 minute read

High Court Sidesteps Final Decision in Union Challenge

A major challenge involving neutrality agreements between employers and unions fizzled in the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday.
4 minute read

Justices Warm to EPA Air Pollution Standards

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in a key Clean Air Act case on Tuesday, with justices displaying mixed feelings about the balance of power between the Environmental Protection Agency and the states in regulating air pollution that drifts across state lines.
5 minute read

Opinion: Justices Sensibly Resolve a 'Forum Shopping' Problem

The unanimous decision written by Justice Samuel Alito is a decision that lawyers and judges will actually love because it settles real world problems of forum shopping in a clear, fair and sensible manner.
8 minute read

Case Tests Scope of Airlines' Immunity for Reporting Threats

A regional airline and the Obama administration urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to grant broad immunity from lawsuits to airlines and their employees who report potential threats or suspicious activity to the Transportation Security Administration.
5 minute read

In Bankruptcy Dispute, ABA Warns of Caseload Consequences

The American Bar Association warns in an amicus curiae brief that Executive Benefits Insurance Agency v. Arkison, which the U.S. Supreme Court will hear on Jan. 14, could add scores of claims to these already crowded dockets.
4 minute read

Justices Could Ground Frequent Flyer's Suit

Frequent flyers may experience the occasional bump from a full flight, but what do they do if they get bumped out of their frequent-flyer program? Well, they end up in the U.S. Supreme Court, of course!
6 minute read

Supreme Court Confronts 'Forum Fights' in Business Disputes

The Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that when it comes to picking the forum where a business dispute should be resolved, a contract is a contract.
4 minute read

In Military Protest Case, Where Will Justices Draw the Line?

On the first Wednesday of every month, John Dennis Apel is usually demonstrating against nuclear weapons at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. But this Wednesday he will be at the U.S. Supreme Court, watching the justices debate whether he can be barred from protesting there forever.
4 minute read

Justices Sit Out Internet Retailers' Sales Tax Dispute

Intentionally or not, the U.S. Supreme Court chose Cyber Monday to announce it would not slow down the march of states seeking to impose sales taxes on Internet retail purchases.
4 minute read

States Urge Justices to Curtail Indian Tribal Immunity

The state of Michigan, backed by more than a dozen other states, on Monday urged the U.S. Supreme Court to curtail Indian tribes' immunity from lawsuits over their commercial activities.
5 minute read

How the High Court Came to Spell Pot

Henry Lind, the U.S. Supreme Court's former reporter of decisions who died last month, may not have thought that getting the court to decide how to spell "marijuana" was his most lasting contribution.
3 minute read
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Who Got The Work

Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.

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Who Got The Work

Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.

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Who Got The Work

Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.

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Who Got The Work

David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.

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Who Got The Work

Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.

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