Justices clear the way for House committee to obtain Trump’s tax returns

Justices clear the way for House committee to obtain Trump’s tax returns

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The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a request from former President Donald Trump to block the disclosure of his tax returns to a congressional committee. The brief order clears the way for the House Committee on Ways and Means to obtain six years’ worth of federal tax returns for Trump and his companies.

The court did not explain its reasoning, and no justices noted dissent.

The order is the latest, and perhaps final, chapter in long-running litigation that began … Read the rest

Justices will review scope of identity theft in case involving Medicaid fraud

Justices will review scope of identity theft in case involving Medicaid fraud

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The Supreme Court announced on Thursday afternoon that it will weigh in on what it means to commit identity theft. After holding their private conference a day early because Friday is a federal holiday, the justices released a one-sentence order list that added one new case to their merits docket for the 2022-23 term: Dubin v. United States.

The defendant in the case is David Dubin, who was convicted of Medicaid fraud. As the dispute comes to the … Read the rest

Justices seem receptive to opening up early challenges to agency proceedings

Justices seem receptive to opening up early challenges to agency proceedings

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The justices heard nearly three hours of arguments Monday in a pair of cases challenging the traditional framework of agency review: Axon Enterprise v. Federal Trade Commission and Securities and Exchange Commission v. Cochran. If those arguments tell us anything, several justices are strongly inclined to accept the invitation of these cases to reshape the traditional framework, under which challenges to agency proceedings have to wait until the end of those proceedings before they can get into … Read the rest

In habeas case, the liberal justices try to untangle a complex statute

In habeas case, the liberal justices try to untangle a complex statute

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On Tuesday, the court heard argument in Jones v. Hendrix, a case that exemplifies the Gordian knot that is the federal habeas corpus statute.

As I discussed in my case preview, the underlying problem the case presents is weighty: The petitioner, Marcus DeAngelo Jones, was convicted at trial of being a felon in possession of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) and sentenced to more than 27 years’ incarceration. Two decades into his prison term, … Read the rest

Graham asks justices to block subpoena in election-interference probe

Graham asks justices to block subpoena in election-interference probe

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Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, asked the Supreme Court on Friday to block a Georgia grand jury from questioning him about phone calls after the 2020 election to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and his staff. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis wants to ask Graham about the calls, in which he allegedly discussed the state’s absentee-ballot process and allegations of voter fraud, as part of her investigation into possible election interference by former President … Read the rest

Justices debate whether Warhol image is “fair use” of photograph of Prince

Justices debate whether Warhol image is “fair use” of photograph of Prince

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Wednesday’s argument in Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts v. Goldsmith wandered widely, as the justices considered whether a famous set of images that Andy Warhol based on a 1981 photograph of Prince by the award-winning photographer Lynn Goldsmith were such a “fair” use of the photograph that Warhol’s successors can license them for commercial use without the permission of (or compensation to) Goldsmith.

As Roman Martinez explained on behalf of the Andy Warhol Foundation (which controls the … Read the rest

Justices vacate lower court’s ruling in Pennsylvania ballot-counting case that is now moot

Justices vacate lower court’s ruling in Pennsylvania ballot-counting case that is now moot

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The Supreme Court on Tuesday invalidated a lower-court ruling in a Pennsylvania election dispute that the losing candidate conceded three and a half months ago. When the dispute was before the justices earlier this year, Justice Samuel Alito had suggested that the lower court’s ruling on ballot counting “broke new ground” and could affect the outcome of the state’s upcoming general elections. The decision in Ritter v. Migliori came on a list of orders from the justices’ private conference … Read the rest

Justices to consider whether Warhol image is “fair use” of photograph of Prince

Justices to consider whether Warhol image is “fair use” of photograph of Prince

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In Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts v. Goldsmith, the justices get another chance to offer their take on the “fair use” doctrine in copyright law. The case involves a set of images Andy Warhol based on a 1981 photograph of Prince by the award-winning photographer Lynn Goldsmith, herself famous for iconic photographs of musicians like Roger Daltrey and Bruce Springsteen. All agree that Warhol used the Goldsmith image as a basis for his images; Vanity Fair Read the rest