Category: Current

In Lewis v Clarke, 581 U. S. ____ (2017), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the doctrine of tribal sovereign immunity does not apply to tribal employees who are sued in their official capacity as agents of the tribe. The Court’s decision was unanimo...

Bad-Faith Conduct In Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. v. Haeger, 581 U. S. ____ (2017), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the lower court exceeded its authority when it imposed a $2.7 million sanction against Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. for discove...

The U.S. Supreme Court held that the State of Colorado must return fines and costs assessed against criminal defendants whose convictions have been reversed. The justices decided Nelson v Colorado, 581 U. S. ____ (2017) by a vote of 7-1, with Justice...

The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in seven cases last week. The justices will spend the remainder of the term rendering decisions and selecting cases to consider next term.   Below is a brief summary of the last seven cases befor...

Justice Neil Gorsuch heard oral arguments in his first cases as a newly sworn-in member of the U.S. Supreme Court. One of the cases, Trinity Lutheran Church v. Pauley, could be blockbuster.   In Trinity, the justices must decide whether th...

In Dean v United States, 581 U. S. ____ (2017), the U.S. Supreme Court held that district courts have the discretion to determine whether a defendant has already been given a mandatory sentence for one crime when considering an appropriate sentence ...

In Manuel v. City of Joliet, 580 U. S. ____ (2017), the U.S. Supreme Court held that a Fourth Amendment malicious prosecution claim is the proper avenue for challenging an unlawful post-arrest detention. According to the seven-member majority, such a...

In McLane v. EEOC, 581 U. S. ____ (2017), the U.S. Supreme Court held that a district court’s decision whether to enforce or quash a subpoena issued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) should be reviewed for abuse of discretion ra...

In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a New York law prohibiting merchants from charging surcharges for paying via credit card is subject to scrutiny under the First Amendment. The Court’s narrow decision in Expressions Hair De...

In Moore v Texas, 581 U. S. ____ (2017), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the standard used by the State of Texas to determine whether a mentally disabled defendant can be subjected to the death penalty violated the Constitution. By a vote of 5-3, th...