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Greetings Court fans!
Only two opinions yesterday, but several interesting grants for next Term. I’ll begin with the opinions.
First, in Thornton v. United States (03-5165), the Court officially expanded the scope of the car-search-incident-to-arrest exception to the Fourth Amendment warrant requirement. In New York v. Belton (1981), the Court held that when an officer makes a lawful arrest of an automobile occupant, he

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Read More Thornton v. United States (03-5165), Nelson v. Campbell (03-6821) and order list

Greetings, Court Fans!
The Court came back Monday with three more decisions. We’ll cover two in this Update, then bring you the third after we see what else the Court issues tomorrow.
In Brendlin v. California (06-8120), the Court unanimously held that when police make a traffic stop, all passengers in the car as well as the driver have been “seized” within the meaning

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Read More Brendlin v. California (06-8120), Powerex Corp. v. Reliant Energy Services, Inc. (05-85) and order list

Greetings, Court fans!
Welcome to the last edition of the Supreme Court Update for the October 2006 Term. (We’ll be back with an electronic version of our Term in Review, which provides our take on the highlights of the Term and a handy guide to all the case summaries, in a few weeks.) After last Thursday’s and Friday’s Updates, we’re going out with a whimper,

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Read More End of Term – Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC v. Billing (05-1157) and Wilkie v. Robbins (06-219)

Greetings, Court Fans!

The Court issued three opinions on Monday and granted cert in two cases. It was a banner day for people bucking the system – criminal defendants went 2 for 2, while two taxpayers successfully challenged the Tax Court’s practice of keeping secret the findings of its special trial judges.

In Wilkinson v. Dotson (03-287), a case with potentially far-reaching ramifications, the Court…
Read More Wilkinson v. Dotson (03-287), Shepard v. United States (03-9168), Ballard v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue (03-184), Estate of Kanter v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue (03-1034) and order list

Greetings, Court Fans!
The Court returned Tuesday with a splash, releasing an opinion most of you probably have already heard about – Philip Morris USA v. Williams (05-1256), involving an $80 million punitive damages award against the tobacco company. While the case represents a victory (for now) for Philip Morris, the 5-4 opinion isn’t necessarily as revolutionary as the headlines have made it appear.

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Read More Philip Morris USA v. Williams (05-1256), Weyerhauser Co. v. Ross-Simmons Hardwood Lumber Co. (05-381), Lawrence v. Florida (05-8820) and order list