The Term ended with a bang last Thursday, but we’ll continue to bring you our take on the Court’s final decisions. This Update is devoted to National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius (11-393). Unless you have been resting comfortably on some (sadly fictional) media-free island, you know the outcome: the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“ACA”), including its Individual Mandate, survived mostly
Read More National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius (11-393)
We’re back . . . quicker than you thought, huh? This Update will cover: Arizona v. United States (11-182), where the Court gutted Arizona’s controversial immigration law; and Southern Union Co. v. United States (11-94), which extended to criminal fines the Apprendi rule that facts relevant to punishment must be found by a jury.
We’ll tackle Arizona v. United States (11-182) first, since
Read More Arizona v. United States (11-182) and Southern Union Co. v. United States (11-94)
We’re back with some reading to pass the time while the bookmakers continue to handicap the odds on the Affordable Care Act’s survival. We offer two significant criminal decisions cases for your reading pleasure: Miller v. Alabama (10-9646), holding that juvenile homicide offenders cannot automatically be sentenced to life without the possibility of parole; and Dorsey v. United States (11-5682), concluding that the
Read More Miller v. Alabama (10-9646) and Dorsey v. United States (11-5682)
With the end of June in sight, the Court’s flurry of decisions continues. Today, the Court overturned most of Arizona’s controversial immigration law, reaffirmed the right of corporations to make political contributions (after Montana blatantly refused to follow the Court’s Citizens United decision), and found that juvenile homicide offenders cannot be sentenced automatically to life without the possibility of parole. We’ll be back soon with
While we hold our collective breath for the Court’s decisions on the health care law and other headline grabbers, the Justices continue to churn out decisions on the other remaining cases of the Term. Today we bring you Armour v. Indianapolis (11-161), an interesting application of rational basis review to a not-so-interesting subject (tax assessments for municipal sewer projects), and Elgin v. Department of
Read More Armour v. Indianpolis (11-161) and Elgin v. Department of the Treasury (11-45)
This Update will bring you two per curiam habeas decisions, Coleman v. Johnson (11-1052) and Parker v. Matthews (11-845), as well as a number of recent cert grants. (Hey, they can’t all be news breakers!)
In Coleman v. Johnson (11-1052), the Court reversed the Third Circuit’s decision granting Johnson habeas relief based on insufficiency of the evidence. The Court didn’t find the evidence
Read More Coleman v. Johnson (11-1052), Parker v. Matthews (11-845) and Order List