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 [...]
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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, [...]
Supreme Court rules asylum seekers cannot obtain review under federal habeas statute
The US Supreme Court ruled 7-2 Thursday in Department of Homeland Security v. Thuraissigiam that asylum seekers can be denied review of their immigration status under the federal habeas statute. This case came about when Vijayakumar Thuraissigiam was caught crossing the border into the US. He claimed that he was fleeing Sri Lanka and seeking [...]
The Supreme Court created quite a stir recently when it held in Bostock v. Clayton Country, Georgia that Title VII, the major federal anti-employment-discrimination law, protected gay and transgender employees on the same basis as heterosexual employees. Deciding three companion cases involving different employees, the Court filled a major gap in employee protection – most [...]
Supreme Court broadens scope of federal post-conviction review
The US Supreme Court held Monday in Banister v. Davis that Rule 59(e) of federal civil procedure does not change a habeas court’s judgment, and it thus is not considered a “second or successive habeas petition,” expanding the scope of federal post-conviction review. The petitioner in this case is Gregory Banister, who was convicted for [...]
Supreme Court rules courts can hear denials of cancellation of removal
The US Supreme Court ruled Monday in Nasrallah v. Barr that courts can review an immigrant’s factual challenge to a denial of their application to stay deportation under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). Under US immigration law, “noncitizens who commit certain crimes are removable from the United States.” However, during these removal proceedings, a “noncitizen [...]
Supreme Court hears arguments on subpoena of Trump financial documents
The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the House subpoena of President Donald Trump’s financial documents Tuesday morning. The Supreme Court consolidated Trump v. Mazars USA, LLP and Trump v. Deutsche Bank AG, two cases that arose out of House Democrat efforts to subpoena Trump’s financial records from when he was a private citizen. [...]
Supreme Court hears oral arguments on ACA birth control mandate exemptions and political robocalls
The Supreme Court continued oral arguments by conference call on Wednesday, hearing both Little Sisters of the Poor Saints Peter and Paul Home v. Pennsylvania and Barr v. American Association of Political Consultants Inc. The first case involves the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) birth control mandate, which requires employers to provide health insurance that includes [...]
Supreme Court orders Pennsylvania to respond to challenge to stay-at-home order
US Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito ordered the Pennsylvania government to respond to arguments that Governor Tom Wolf’s stay-at-home order is unconstitutional. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court gave Pennsylvania until May 4 to respond to a petition that accuses the commonwealth of violating the constitutional rights of its citizens. The petition was brought by Friends [...]
A group of Pennsylvania businesses petitioned the US Supreme Court Monday in their lawsuit seeking to overturn Governor Tom Wolf’s March 19 executive order closing “non-life-sustaining” business in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Last Friday the Pennsylvania Supreme Court denied their request to stay the order, finding that the group had “not established any basis [...]