Covering the Supreme Court, lower courts, and the law

Tomorrow, the Supreme Court examines a constitutional right put in the Bill of Rights out of Americans’ revulsion at the infamous treason trial of Sir Walter Raleigh in England.  The Court also will hold a second hearing Wednesday, on the power of the federal tax collector to probe private records when seeking to collect a… Read More

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court will be drawn deep into constitutional history, as it explores the limit on where one may be tried for a crime.   A second hearing will seek to unravel lower court disagreements on federal judges’ sentencing powers. The Court will broadcast “live” the audio (no video) of the hearings on its… Read More

The Supreme Court continues tomorrow its recent study of laws that protect “intellectual property” – creative inventions of the mind or the laboratory.  This time, the Court will be applying in a modern setting a legal principle it spelled out in 1888, when it upheld the patents on Alexander Graham Bell’s invention of the telephone…. Read More

The Supreme Court on Wednesday completes this week’s hearings with a single case, another look at trademark law.  This time, the case grows out of a dispute over a humorous spoof of the famous trademarks on Jack Daniel’s whiskey. The Court will broadcast “live” the audio (no video) of the hearing on its homepage, supremecourt.gov … Read More

The Biden Administration, implying that the Supreme Court may have jumped too hastily into the middle of a historic constitutional dispute over federal elections, told the Justices on Monday that they may now have lost the power to decide it. The government’s position, filed by the Justice Department legal office that the Court regularly relies… Read More

In world commerce, the U.S. is a dominant player — but do its laws apply to businesses in other countries?  That is the issue the Supreme Court will consider in a hearing on Tuesday.  In a second case, it will take its first look at the get-rich-quick scheme of investing in cryptocurrency, focusing on one… Read More

The Colorado River, vital to life in America’s parched West, is in crisis: it is – literally – running out of water after two decades of drought.  On Monday, the Supreme Court will examine the latest legal dispute over how to ration what is left of that dwindling resource. The Court will broadcast “live” the… Read More

The Supreme Court on Thursday asked lawyers for advice on whether the Justices still can decide the most important voting rights case in years – a basic test under the Constitution of who in state government controls federal elections. In a new order, the Justices called for new legal briefs discussing the impact of the… Read More

In a Supreme Court hearing Wednesday that may bring back memories of the famous 1954 movie, On the Waterfront, the Justices will examine a constitutional idea that had its origins even before the Constitution existed. The Court will broadcast “live” the audio (no video) of the hearing on its homepage, supremecourt.gov  To listen, click on… Read More

The Supreme Court on Tuesday takes on the complex puzzle over President Biden’s plan to forgive more than $400 billion of college loan debt owed by students and graduates.  Two cases raise core constitutional questions about presidential power and the authority of the courts against a background of intense political and cultural controversy. The Court… Read More