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Supreme Court

A president and a justice: The shaping of securities law at the Supreme Court

So many books cover the work of the Supreme Court that the Journal of Supreme Court History can review several of them in each issue. The overwhelming majority of those books, though, analyze the work of the court interpreting the Constitution. The court’s other task — interpreting federal statutes — remains markedly underrepresented. Of course, it can be hard to craft a sustained narrative about those cases when many deal with relatively obscure statutes that the court rarely examines … Read the rest

Circuit Courts

New Supreme Court Fellows Begin Term

Four new U.S. Supreme Court Fellows will begin their 2023-2024 fellowships in September. The Supreme Court Fellows Program, established by the late Chief Justice Warren E. Burger in 1973, provides participants the opportunity to gain a greater understanding of the federal Judiciary. Fellows work alongside top officials in the judicial branch on projects that further the goals of the Judiciary.
Judiciary News – United States Courts… Read the rest

Supreme Court

Supreme Court gives government broad authority to dismiss whistleblower lawsuits

The Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the Department of Justice has broad, but not unfettered, authority to dismiss whistleblower lawsuits filed under the False Claims Act’s qui tam provision even when the government initially elected to allow the whistleblower to proceed with the action.

The FCA’s qui tam (an abbreviation for a Latin phrase meaning “who sues on behalf of the King as well as for himself”) provision encourages whistleblowers to file suit on behalf of the government. … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Supreme Court cabins reach of aggravated identity theft statute

The defendant in the case, David Dubin, was convicted of health care fraud for overbilling Medicaid while working as the managing partner of a psychological services company. The government also charged Dubin with aggravated identity theft, which carries a separate two-year sentence. Choosing between the two competing readings, “one limited and one near limitless,” the Supreme Court on Thursday handily rejected the government’s “boundless” interpretation of the aggravated identity theft statute. In an opinion by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Supreme Court rules against union over strike liability

In an 8-1 opinion on Thursday, the justices provided a new definition to the limits on the right to strike under federal labor law. At issue in Glacier Northwest v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local Union 174was whether an employer could sue its employees’ union under state law for damage the employer incurred as a result of the union’s strike. The case produced a surprisingly broad majority agreeing that the strike at issue was not even arguably protected … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Supreme Court will consider major case on power of federal regulatory agencies

Nearly 40 years ago, in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council, the Supreme Court ruled that courts should defer to a federal agency’s interpretation of an ambiguous statute as long as that interpretation is reasonable. On Monday, the Supreme Court agreed to reconsider its ruling in Chevron.

The question comes to the court in a case brought by a group of commercial fishing companies. They challenged a rule issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service that requires the fishing industry to pay … Read the rest

Supreme Court

Supreme Court further delays ruling on access to abortion pill

In a brief order, the Supreme Court continued to place on hold a trial judge’s ruling blocking the FDA’s approval of mifepristone, one of two drugs used in medication abortions. Wednesday’s order extends the court’s “administrative stay” – i.e., a stay designed to give the justices time to consider the request – of the trial judge’s ruling until Friday at midnight. The justices are extremely likely to issue a further ruling before the administrative stay expires.

A court of … Read the rest

Supreme Court

What to do with the abortion case on the Supreme Court’s docket?

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.

The Supreme Court will observe St. Patrick’s Day this year by meeting in conference to discuss which of the 184 petitions and applications for resolution that day should be granted favorable consideration. Only one of those cases is newly relisted: Chapman v. Doe. Jane Doe, then an unemancipated 17-year-old, went to Missouri … Read the rest