This post also appears on scotusblog.com If it is true that lawyers can make a simple proposition into something bewilderingly complex, it may also be true that judges sometimes prefer the simple, and go with that instead. Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr., proved the latter point in an argument on Wednesday, and the Supreme Court… Read More
A fisherman slips through federal prosecutors’ net
This post also appears on scotusblog.com In opinions using a boatload of fishing metaphors, a divided Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that a federal criminal law against destroying corporate records cannot be used against a commercial fisherman for throwing undersized fish overboard to avoid prosecution. The ruling split the Court’s nine Justices widely on the… Read More
Texas judge won’t rush states on immigration
The federal judge in Texas who put the Obama administration’s new immigration policy on hold last week decided not to rush on the government request to move swiftly. On Tuesday, he gave the challenging states a full week to reply. The government on Monday had asked that he decide the issue in only two days. Justice… Read More
Government: No fix if health care subsidies nullified by Court
This post also appears on scotusblog.com Answering a question from a member of Congress, Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell said on Tuesday that the Obama administration would have no way to fix “the massive damage” if the Supreme Court were to strike down the current system of subsidies for those who need… Read More
Faith and a workplace dress code: A preview
A version of this post also appears on scotusblog.com Can a retail store’s dress code for its sales clerks get the management into legal trouble? Potentially, it can, if the code conflicts with the religious scruples of a worker seeking a job — at least if the store can find a way to respect those… Read More
Is a seven-year-old case getting too expensive?
This post also appears on scotusblog.com If two states have already split payment of fees and costs running well into six figures to keep a case going before the Supreme Court, but it could be resolved now for a final five-figure amount, is it worth continuing? And if, as interstate river disputes go, this one… Read More
U.S. seeks fast action on immigration policy (UPDATED)
UPDATED 6:15 p.m. The 26 states that challenged the new immigration policy urged the judge in Texas not to act quickly on the government request. They argued that they should have at least a week to respond. Urging a federal trial judge in Texas to act within two days, the Obama administration on Monday filed… Read More
No new cases granted today
The Supreme Court issued new orders Monday morning after a four-week recess, but it granted no new cases for review. There also were no cases referred to the federal government for its views. Among the more significant denials came in the Court’s refusal to hear a case by a young Illinois man accused of a… Read More
A lawyer seeks the Court’s mercy
Reprinted from scotusblog.com In an anxious plea not to be given a career-threatening punishment by the Supreme Court, a Washington, D.C., attorney — speaking through a high-profile Court advocate — argued this week that a frankly flawed petition he filed at the Court was the result of a difficult client’s demand to be the primary… Read More
Government to move quickly on immigration case
The Obama administration plans to move next week to get a delay of the federal judge’s ruling blocking the new deportation-delay policy, the White House told news reporters on Friday. The challenge will be filed no later than Monday, according to the president’s press secretary, Josh Earnest, as quoted by various media. It was not immediately clear… Read More