Supreme Court

Justices probe global consequences of allowing U.S. prosecutions of companies owned by foreign governments

The Supreme Court heard oral argument on Tuesday in the case of a Turkish bank that the U.S. government accuses of committing money laundering and fraud as part of a scheme to evade U.S. sanctions against Iran. During over 90 minutes of debate, the justices appeared skeptical of the bank’s contention that federal laws bar the government from prosecuting the bank, but they also expressed concern about the consequences of allowing the prosecution to go forward.

Halkbank, whose majority … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Court will confront jurisdictional jumble in the case of a transgender woman seeking relief from deportation

The nation’s immigration courts are breaking under the cumulative weight of a byzantine statutory scheme, chronic understaffing, and insurmountable case backlogs. The noncitizens appearing before them face a host of daunting challenges — language barriers, financial strain, lack of legal assistance, and years-long delays — before they can entertain any hope of resolving their immigration status. Against this rather bleak backdrop comes the low-profile case of Santos-Zacaria v. Garland, which the Supreme Court will hear on Tuesday. In … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Court grants review in new batch of cases, including dispute on religious rights of employees

The Supreme Court will review how employers must accommodate their employees’ religious practices, how courts should decide whether threatening statements are protected by the First Amendment, and whether a local government violated the Constitution when it confiscated and sold a $ 40,000 home based on the owner’s failure to pay $ 15,000 in property taxes.

Those issues are among a slew of new disputes that the justices added to their docket on Friday afternoon in an order list from … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Relist-palooza: Religious exercise, the False Claims Act, takings clause, RICO, bank secrecy, and more

The Relist Watch column examines cert petitions that the Supreme Court has “relisted” for its upcoming conference. A short explanation of relists is available here.

This Friday’s conference represents a significant date in the Supreme Court’s schedule: Based on the schedule prescribed by the court’s rules, it is the last conference at which a cert petition can be granted and the case heard during the court’s April sitting. Because it appears that sitting is mostly empty at … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Justices revive Texas man’s bid to throw out conviction that state prosecutors no longer defend

The Supreme Court on Monday revived efforts by a Texas inmate to throw out his conviction and death sentence in a case in which prosecutors agree that he should get a new trial. The ruling in favor of Areli Escobar came on a list of orders released from the justices’ private conference last week. The justices did not grant any new cases, but they called for the Biden administration’s views in three cases and denied review in over 300 … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Homeowners ask the justices to enforce a New York consumer-protection law against banks

The Petitions of the Week column highlights a selection of cert petitions recently filed in the Supreme Court. A list of all petitions we’re watching is available here.

A response to the mortgage crisis of 2007, the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 ushered in a host of new federal rules and oversight for the financial sector. This week, we highlight cert petitions that ask the court to consider, among other things, whether that … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Court will mull scope of attorney-client privilege when lawyers give both legal and nonlegal advice

A lawyer’s legal advice is privileged. A court cannot order the lawyer or the client to disclose it. But a lawyer’s nonlegal advice is not privileged. What happens when advice is partly legal and partly nonlegal and the two parts cannot be untangled? In such dual-purpose situations, does the privilege protect all the advice or none of it?

On Monday, the Supreme Court will hear opposing answers to that question in a case known as In re Grand Jury… Read the rest

Supreme Court

The morning read for Tuesday, Jan. 3

Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court. To suggest a piece for us to consider, email us at roundup@scotusblog.com.

Here’s the Tuesday morning read:

A Charity Tied to the Supreme Court Offers Donors Access to the Justices (Jo Becker & Julie Tate, The New York Times)
How Justice Kagan lost her battle as a consensus builder (Josh Gerstein, POLITICO)
At the Supreme Court, it’s taking

… Read the rest