Search Results for: elena kagan

The US Supreme Court unanimously refused Wednesday to overturn precedent that gives power to agencies are when interpreting their own regulations. The majority opinion, authored by Justice Elena Kagan, detailed ways to constrain this heavy agency deference, commonly known as the Auer doctrine. The case, Kisor v. Wilkie, revolved around the Department of Veteran Affairs [...]

The US Supreme Court held Monday in Iancu v. Brunetti that the US government’s ban on trademarks on “immoral” or “scandalous” words and symbols violates the First Amendment. This case arose when a Los Angeles streetwear designer, Erik Brunetti, got turned down by US Patent and Trademark Office when he sought to trademark his brand [...]

The US Supreme Court ruled on Friday that property owners who have had their property taken by state or local governments may file a Fifth Amendment takings claim in federal court without having to first exhaust remedies in state court. The Fifth Amendment’s Takings Clause requires that the government provide “just compensation” when taking private [...]

The US Supreme Court ruled Monday that federal agencies are not “persons” who may take advantage of administrative procedures for challenging patents. The agency in question, the US Postal Service (USPS), attempted to use administrative procedures from the America Invents Act to challenge a patent held by Return Mail, Inc. USPS had originally tried to [...]

The US Supreme Court denied a stay of execution for Alabama inmate Christopher Lee Price on Thursday. Price was convicted and sentenced to death after he murdered a pastor in 1991. The Supreme Court had first denied the stay in April over the objections of the court’s more liberal wing. Price argued that the state’s use [...]

In what may have been one of the most consequential decisions since the notorious Korematsu case of 1944, when the Supreme Court upheld the incarceration of Japanese-Americans during World War II, the Court (in June 2018) voted 5-4 vote to uphold President Donald Trump’s travel ban. Like the Korematsu judicial ruling, Trump v. Hawaii raises [...]

The US Supreme Court heard arguments in three cases Tuesday, including a case challenging the Trump administration’s citizenship question in the 2020 census, another concerning the Fourth Amendment’s scope in relation to blood draw of unconscious motorists, and the last regarding the meaning of “knowingly violates” under the Firearm Owners’ Protection Act. In Department of [...]

The US Supreme Court ruled Friday morning to allow Alabama to continue with its planned execution of Christopher Lee Price. Price is a death row inmate convicted of murdering a pastor in 1991. The 5-4 ruling occurred two hours after Price’s death warrant expiration at 12 AM EST Friday, so Alabama must now reapply to [...]

The US Supreme Court stayed the execution of Patrick Murphy, a Texas inmate who was denied a Buddhist spiritual adviser at his execution, late Thursday evening. Previously, under Texas law only spiritual advisers for Christianity or Islam were allowed in the execution chamber. All others would be required to remain in the viewing area. Murphy [...]

The US Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that rivers that pass through national parks in Alaska are not federally owned and therefore not subject to the jurisdiction of the National Park Service (NPS). John Sturgeon, a resident of Alaska and avid moose hunter, was stopped by Park Service rangers for piloting his hovercraft along a section [...]