This post appeared originally on scotusblog.com Without a noted dissent, the Supreme Court on Wednesday afternoon delayed the scheduled execution of three Oklahoma death-row inmates, whose case the Justices will hear in late April. The executions were put on hold, but only so far as the state would use a specific drug in the procedure —… Read More
Jan 27 2015
Court allows Georgia execution
This post originally appeared on scotusblog.com UPDATE 8:20 p.m. Georgia completed the execution of Warren Hill, with death pronounced at 7:55 p.m. In two brief orders allowing the state of Georgia to execute a man whose lawyers claim he is intellectually disabled, the Supreme Court gave a strong signal on Tuesday evening that it is not… Read More
Jan 27 2015
Court docket on lawyer discipline to be public
Beginning on February 1, the Supreme Court will publicly disclose documents on actions it is considering or taking to discipline lawyers who are members of its bar, long shielded in privacy, the Court announced on Tuesday. Currently, that file is treated as confidential, although final disciplinary actions are made public along with regular orders on pending… Read More
Jan 27 2015
State judge sees “tyranny” in same-sex marriage rulings
Alabama’s state Chief Justice, Roy S. Moore, on Tuesday urged the governor of his state to join with him in stopping “the judicial tyranny” of federal courts ruling in favor of same-sex marriage. In a three-page letter to Governor Robert Bentley, the state’s highest judicial officer argued that state courts are not bound by rulings by… Read More
Jan 27 2015
Breyer turns down generic firms’ plea
Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer on Tuesday refused to order a quick release of the Court’s new ruling in the Copaxone drug patent case, but he left open the option for the generic companies to ask another Justice to take the step. Breye…
Jan 26 2015
New dispute over Copaxone patent (FURTHER UPDATED)
FURTHER UPDATE Monday 4:52 p.m. The generic companies have now filed their reply brief, arguing that Teva has not actually taken any significant step — and may not be able to do so — in the trial court, so the Supreme Court should go ahea…
Jan 26 2015
Oklahoma takes next step on executions (UPDATED)
The state of Oklahoma will ask the Supreme Court on Monday to delay three executions by lethal drugs while the Justices weigh a new test case, but it will also seek the option of resuming executions if the officials put together a new drug protocol, l…
Jan 23 2015
Judge strikes down Alabama same-sex marriage ban (UPDATED)
UPDATE Monday 12:11 p.m. Judge Granade has delayed her ruling for fourteen days to allow the state to seek a longer delay from the Eleventh Circuit Court. ————— The still-lengthening list of court decisions nullifying state bans on same-sex marriage added another Deep South state on Friday as a federal judge in Mobile struck down Alabama’s laws against such unions. U.S…. Read More
Jan 23 2015
Court to rule on lethal-injection protocol
The Supreme Court agreed on Friday afternoon to hear the appeal of three Oklahoma death-row inmates who are challenging the three-drug protocol the state now uses for executions. The Court on January 15 had refused, by a five-to-four vote, to grant d…
Jan 22 2015
Do court decisions in favor of civil rights create real rights?
January 22, 2016 — Reprinted from Constitution Daily, the blog of the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. Lyle Denniston, the National Constitution Center’s constitutional literacy adviser, looks at one of the most significant issues the Supreme Court faces in the same-sex marriage controversy: where it should be resolved.
