Supreme Court declines to assist Florida in restoring convicted felons' right to vote
The Supreme Court has declined to block a Florida law that prevents convicted felons from voting. Justices Sotomayor, Ginsburg and Kagan all dissented from the majority’s denial of application to vacate stay. The dissent explained: This Court’s order prevents thousands of otherwise eligible voters from participating in Florida’s primary election simply because they are poor. [...]
Second federal inmate executed after Supreme Court overturns injunction 5-4
In a 5-4 decision issued on Thursday morning, the US Supreme Court vacated a preliminary injunction that had halted the execution of Wesley Purkey, clearing the way for the second federal execution of the week. Purkey was convicted in federal court and sentenced to death in 2004 for the kidnapping and killing of 16-year-old Jennifer [...]
On Friday, June 26, 2020, the Supreme Court of the United States decided a Suspension Clause challenge to expedited immigration proceedings. In the widely anticipated judgment, the Court determined that no habeas could be brought as the original habeas petitioner was not in fact asking for the habeas relief of release. In so many words, [...]
Supreme Court upholds contraception exemptions to Affordable Care Act
The US Supreme Court on Wednesday released its opinions in Little Sisters of the Poor Saints Peter and Paul Home v. Pennsylvania. The Little Sisters case reversed the opinion of the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. It centered on the requirement under the Affordable Care Act of 2010 for employers to provide women [...]
Supreme Court restricts government-debt collection robocalls
The US Supreme Court ruled Monday that an exception allowing robocalls to cell phones for government-debt collection is an impermissible exception to the law restricting nearly all other robocalls. The court was asked to decide whether the law was a content-based speech restriction, and if so, whether the government-debt exception could be severed from the [...]
Supreme Court allows state funding for Montana religious schools
The US Supreme Court held Tuesday in Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue that the “no aid” provision of the Montana Constitution violates the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment, allowing some state funding to go to religious schools. In 2015, the Montana Legislature created a dollar-for-dollar tax credit program for taxpayers who donated [...]
The US Supreme Court ruled 8-1 Tuesday that the addition of “.com” to a generic term can create a protectable mark, handing a win to hotel reservation site Booking.com. In United States Patent and Trademark Office v Booking.com BV, the court upheld a Fourth Circuit decision stating that simply adding a top-level domain to a [...]
Supreme Court refuses to block execution of 4 federal inmates
The US Supreme Court denied certiorari Monday in the case of Bourgeois v. Barr, refusing to block the execution of four federal death row inmates. While federal executions have been sparse in the last three decades, Attorney General William Barr announced last year that executions would resume, scheduling of five executions set to be carried [...]
Supreme Court limits First Amendment rights of US companies' foreign affiliates
The US Supreme Court ruled 5-3 Monday that requiring foreign groups to have explicit policies opposing prostitution and sex trafficking in order to receive federal funds applies to US companies’ foreign affiliates because they do not possess First Amendment rights. The court stated that there are two fundamental principles that lead to this decision. First, [...]
In a 5-4 decision, the US Supreme Court on Monday struck down a Louisiana abortion law because it placed an undue burden on women seeking an abortion. In June Medical Services LLC v. Russo, the court reversed the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit’s decision and agreed with the district court’s findings that [...]
