http://www.abajournal.com/news/ en abajournal@americanbar.org Copyright 2012 2012-05-25T17:18:18-06:00 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/rhode_island_governor_loses_bid_for_supreme_court_stay_in_showdown_over_dea/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=topics&utm_campaign=u.s.+supreme+court http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/rhode_island_governor_loses_bid_for_supreme_court_stay_in_showdown_over_dea/#:2012-05-25T13:24:15+00:00 Accused killer Jason Pleau and Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee have failed to obtain a U.S. Supreme Court stay that would prevent the defendant from being turned over to federal custody. Justice Stephen G. Breyer refused a stay on Thursday, report WPRI.com and the Providence Journal. Chafee had refused to surrender Pleau to federal authorities for prosecution because of the possibility the feds would seek the death penalty. Pleau is accused of fatally shooting a gas station manager outside a bank in September 2010. Pleau is currently serving an 18-year sentence in Rhode Island for violating probation in another case. The Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit… Constitutional Law, Criminal Justice, Death Penalty, U.S. Supreme Court Fri, 25 May 2012 08:24:15 -0500 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/supreme_court_rules_against_homeowners_who_sued_quicken_loans_over_alleged_/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=topics&utm_campaign=u.s.+supreme+court http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/supreme_court_rules_against_homeowners_who_sued_quicken_loans_over_alleged_/#:2012-05-24T15:44:10+00:00 The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled for Quicken Loans in a suit filed by three couples who claim they were charged “unearned fees” at closing in violation of federal law. In a unanimous opinion (PDF), the court ruled that the federal law bars unearned fees only when they are part of a fee-sharing arrangement. At issue was Section 2607(b) of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, which provides that no one may accept "any portion, split, or percentage" of any closing charges "other than for services actually performed.” Two of the couples claimed they were charged loan discount fees of around $1,000, but they did not get lower… Legislation & Lobbying, Real Estate & Property Law, U.S. Supreme Court Thu, 24 May 2012 10:44:10 -0500 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/forewomans_report_of_deadlock_on_lesser_charge_doesnt_bar_retrial_for_murde/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=topics&utm_campaign=u.s.+supreme+court http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/forewomans_report_of_deadlock_on_lesser_charge_doesnt_bar_retrial_for_murde/#:2012-05-24T14:56:27+00:00 The double jeopardy clause doesn’t bar the murder retrial of an Arkansas man accused in the death of his girlfriend’s toddler son, even though the jury forewoman had announced a deadlock on a lesser charge before deliberations ended, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. was joined by five other justices in the majority opinion. “The double jeopardy clause protects against being tried twice for the same offense,” he wrote. “The clause does not, however, bar a second trial if the first ended in a mistrial.” The forewoman of the jury deliberating charges against Alex Blueford had told the judge that jurors voted… Constitutional Law, Criminal Justice, Criminal Procedure, Trials & Litigation, U.S. Supreme Court Thu, 24 May 2012 09:56:27 -0500 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/retired_justice_stevens_hits_misleading_parts_of_bush_v._gore_suggests_exte/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=topics&utm_campaign=u.s.+supreme+court http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/retired_justice_stevens_hits_misleading_parts_of_bush_v._gore_suggests_exte/#:2012-05-23T13:03:37+00:00 Retired Justice John Paul Stevens took aim at Bush v. Gore on Monday, criticizing parts of the controversial opinion as misleading and its reliance of the equal protection clause as lacking a “coherent rationale.” Stevens spoke Monday evening at a meeting of the American Law Institute, report the New York Times Taking Note blog and the Election Law Blog. During a Question and Answer session, Stevens was asked if politics influenced the 2000 decision that effectively paved the way for George W. Bush to assume the presidency. “I don’t know,” Stevens replied. Despite that answer, Taking Note suggests Stevens… ABA Journal Production, Weekly Newsletter Stories, Constitutional Law, Election Law, U.S. Supreme Court Wed, 23 May 2012 08:03:37 -0500 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/supreme_court_to_consider_standing_in_aclu_suit_challenging_dragnet_surveil/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=topics&utm_campaign=u.s.+supreme+court http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/supreme_court_to_consider_standing_in_aclu_suit_challenging_dragnet_surveil/#:2012-05-21T16:57:03+00:00 The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether lawyers, journalists and human rights groups have standing to challenge a federal wiretap law. The American Civil Liberties Union, which filed suit on behalf of the plaintiffs, says in a press release that the law allows the National Security Agency “to conduct dragnet surveillance of Americans’ international emails and phone calls.” At issue are 2008 amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act giving the government broader power to monitor electronic communications if the targets are foreigners outside the United States. The plaintiffs claim they fear their conversations with people overseas are being wiretapped, but the Obama administration says… Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Legislation & Lobbying, Terrorism, U.S. Supreme Court Mon, 21 May 2012 11:57:03 -0500 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/supreme_court_turns_down_file_sharing_appeal_challenging_remittitur_procedu/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=topics&utm_campaign=u.s.+supreme+court http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/supreme_court_turns_down_file_sharing_appeal_challenging_remittitur_procedu/#:2012-05-21T16:26:39+00:00 The U.S. Supreme Court won’t hear the case of Joel Tenenbaum, a doctoral graduate who was originally ordered to pay $675,000 for downloading copyrighted music. The trial judge had found the verdict was constitutionally excessive and reduced the amount to $67,500. On appeal the Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the judge should have avoided the constitutional question through remittitur. The court reinstated the $675,000 award, but ordered the trial judge to consider remittitur. A Supreme Court petition filed by Harvard University law professor Charles Nesson had objected to the remittitur procedure because it allows the plaintiffs to reject the reduced… Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Internet Law, Trials & Litigation, Verdicts & Settlements, U.S. Supreme Court Mon, 21 May 2012 11:26:39 -0500 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/supreme_court_rules_immigrants_cant_avoid_deportation_based_on_length_of_pa/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=topics&utm_campaign=u.s.+supreme+court http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/supreme_court_rules_immigrants_cant_avoid_deportation_based_on_length_of_pa/#:2012-05-21T15:51:33+00:00 Two immigrants who came to the United States as children have failed to persuade the U.S. Supreme Court that they should be able to use the length of their parents’ stay and legal residency here to avoid deportation for criminal offenses. Justice Elena Kagan wrote the unanimous opinion (PDF) rejecting the claims of Carlos Gutierrez, accused of smuggling three minors into the country, and Damien Sawyers, convicted of a drug offense. Under federal immigration law, immigrants who have been lawful permanent residents for at least five years and have lived continuously here for at least seven years may seek leniency in deportation proceedings. Gutierrez had… Immigration Law, U.S. Supreme Court Mon, 21 May 2012 10:51:33 -0500 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/supreme_court_in_vitro_twins_conceived_after_dads_death_are_not_entitled_to/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=topics&utm_campaign=u.s.+supreme+court http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/supreme_court_in_vitro_twins_conceived_after_dads_death_are_not_entitled_to/#:2012-05-21T15:14:12+00:00 Florida twins conceived through in vitro fertilization after their father’s death are not entitled to Social Security survivor benefits, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled. The case, Astrue v. Capato, involves twins born 18 months after their father, Robert Capato, died of cancer. Capato’s widow, Karen, used frozen sperm for the in vitro process. The unanimous opinion (PDF) by Justice Ruth Bader Ginbsurg supports the Social Security Administration’s interpretation of the governing statute. According to the SSA, children are entitled to benefits from a wage earner who dies if they qualify for inheritance under state law. In Florida, a child may not inherit through intestate succession unless conceived… ABA Journal Production, Weekly Newsletter Stories, Administrative Law, Family Law, Science & Technology Law, Trusts & Estates, U.S. Supreme Court Mon, 21 May 2012 10:14:12 -0500 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/justice_breyer_is_crime_victim_once_again_this_time_burglar_nabbed_silver_i/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=topics&utm_campaign=u.s.+supreme+court http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/justice_breyer_is_crime_victim_once_again_this_time_burglar_nabbed_silver_i/#:2012-05-18T11:20:11+00:00 Justice Stephen G. Breyer has been victimized by criminals for two months in a row. In the latest incident, Breyer’s Washington, D.C., home was burglarized, according to the Washington Post blog the Reliable Source. The burglar made off with a pair of $500 silver candlesticks and a silver set valued at $2,500, the story says. A housekeeper reported the crime when she arrived at the house on May 4. In February, a machete-wielding robber interrupted a bridge game at Breyer’s home on the Caribbean island of Nevis, stealing about $1,000 from the justice, his wife and two others. A suspect turned himself in… Judiciary, Personal Lives, U.S. Supreme Court Fri, 18 May 2012 06:20:11 -0500 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/cert_petition_record_industry_sought_to_create_frightening_urban_legend_wit/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=topics&utm_campaign=u.s.+supreme+court http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/cert_petition_record_industry_sought_to_create_frightening_urban_legend_wit/#:2012-05-17T11:00:40+00:00 A cert petition filed by Harvard University law professor Charles Nesson claims the recording industry had an ulterior motive when it engaged in a “litigation assault” against illegal music downloaders—its purpose was to frighten the Internet-savvy children of America. Nesson represents Joel Tenenbaum, a Boston University doctoral graduate originally ordered to pay $675,000 for downloading copyrighted music, Ars Technica's Law & Disorder blog reports. The industry's ulterior purpose, Nesson wrote in the Supreme Court petition (PDF), was to create "an urban legend so frightening to children using the Internet, and so frightening for parents and teachers of students using the Internet, that they will… Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Internet Law, Law Professors, U.S. Supreme Court Thu, 17 May 2012 06:00:40 -0500 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/officers_who_tasered_pregnant_woman_ask_supreme_court_to_hear_their_case/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=topics&utm_campaign=u.s.+supreme+court http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/officers_who_tasered_pregnant_woman_ask_supreme_court_to_hear_their_case/#:2012-05-16T11:00:02+00:00 Seattle police officers are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to grant cert and rule they did not use excessive force by using a Taser stun gun on a pregnant woman who would not get out of her car. The justices are expected to consider whether to hear the case next week, the New York Times reports. The woman, Malaika Brooks, was seven months pregnant when she was pulled over for going 32 miles an hour, 12 miles an hour over the limit in a school speed zone, according to the story. She refused to sign the ticket, as required by state law, and refused an order… Constitutional Law, Criminal Justice, U.S. Supreme Court Wed, 16 May 2012 06:00:02 -0500 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/how_a_kennedy_concurrence_turned_into_a_majority_opinion_in_citizens_united/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=topics&utm_campaign=u.s.+supreme+court http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/how_a_kennedy_concurrence_turned_into_a_majority_opinion_in_citizens_united/#:2012-05-15T13:14:39+00:00 Citizens United v. FEC was initially a case about a video critical of Hillary Clinton and whether a campaign finance law regulating TV advertising barred its on-demand broadcast before elections. The issue was one of statutory interpretation. “There did not seem to be a lot riding on the outcome,” the New Yorker reports. “After all, how many nonprofits wanted to run documentaries about presidential candidates, using relatively obscure technologies, just before elections?” That changed when Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. asked a question during oral arguments in March 2009, according to the New Yorker. The Wall Street Journal Law Blog has the highlights of… Constitutional Law, First Amendment, Election Law, U.S. Supreme Court Tue, 15 May 2012 08:14:39 -0500 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/waxman_amicus_brief--one_of_six_urging_cert_in_rubashkin_case--raises_quest/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=topics&utm_campaign=u.s.+supreme+court http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/waxman_amicus_brief--one_of_six_urging_cert_in_rubashkin_case--raises_quest/#:2012-05-10T17:15:13+00:00 Corrected: Former Solicitor General Seth Waxman has filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to accept cert in the case of Sholom Rubashkin, an executive at a kosher meatpacking plant convicted in a multimillion-dollar bank fraud that came to light after a large-scale immigration raid. The brief is one of six amicus briefs urging the court to accept the case, according to a press release and the Yeshiva World News. “Legal observers say it is unusual for so many amicus briefs to be filed at the ‘cert petition’ stage,” notes the Yeshiva World News. Rubashkin, 51, was… Criminal Justice, Sentencing/Post Conviction, White Collar Crime, Criminal Procedure, Judiciary, Legal Ethics, Trials & Litigation, U.S. Supreme Court Thu, 10 May 2012 12:15:13 -0500 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/the_f-word_made_its_last_appearance_in_a_supreme_court_opinion_in_1993/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=topics&utm_campaign=u.s.+supreme+court http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/the_f-word_made_its_last_appearance_in_a_supreme_court_opinion_in_1993/#:2012-05-02T11:00:46+00:00 The F-word is becoming common parlance in some circles, but not at the U.S. Supreme Court. The last time the court used the word in an opinion was in 1993, the New York Times reports. It was used in just one oral argument, by a lawyer representing a protester convicted for wearing a jacket at the Los Angeles courthouse with the phrase “F--- the draft.” Between that 1971 oral argument and the court’s last use of the word, it appeared in nine Supreme Court decisions, often in a quotation of something a criminal had said, the Times says. It was used in the opinion… Appellate Practice, Constitutional Law, First Amendment, U.S. Supreme Court Wed, 02 May 2012 06:00:46 -0500 http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/show_me_your_id_cops_courts_re-evaluate_their_use_of_eyewitnesses/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=topics&utm_campaign=u.s.+supreme+court http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/show_me_your_id_cops_courts_re-evaluate_their_use_of_eyewitnesses/#:2012-05-01T08:10:41+00:00 Criminal Justice, Criminal Procedure, Trials & Litigation, Evidence, U.S. Supreme Court, The National Pulse Tue, 01 May 2012 03:10:41 -0500 http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/citizens_dis-united_justices_may_take_another_look_at_campaign_finance_case/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=topics&utm_campaign=u.s.+supreme+court http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/citizens_dis-united_justices_may_take_another_look_at_campaign_finance_case/#:2012-05-01T08:00:56+00:00 Constitutional Law, First Amendment, Corporate Law, Election Law, Government Law, Legislation & Lobbying, U.S. Supreme Court, Supreme Court Report Tue, 01 May 2012 03:00:56 -0500 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/supreme_court_to_decide_reach_of_decision_on_lawyers_obligation_to_disclose/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=topics&utm_campaign=u.s.+supreme+court http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/supreme_court_to_decide_reach_of_decision_on_lawyers_obligation_to_disclose/#:2012-04-30T15:05:17+00:00 The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to consider the retroactivy of its 2010 decision finding that lawyers have a Sixth Amendment obligation to warn their clients when guilty pleas can result in deportation. The Supreme Court granted cert today, SCOTUSblog reports. At issue is whether the ruling in Padilla v. Kentucky applies to defendants whose convictions became final before the date of the opinion, the blog says. The petitioner in the case, Roselva Chaidez, is a Mexican immigrant who moved to the United States in the 1970s, according to the cert petition (PDF). She was charged in 2003 with falsely claiming… Constitutional Law, Criminal Justice, Immigration Law, U.S. Supreme Court Mon, 30 Apr 2012 10:05:17 -0500 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/disbarred_civil_rights_lawyer_won_us_supreme_court_ban_on_ten_commandments_/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=topics&utm_campaign=u.s.+supreme+court http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/disbarred_civil_rights_lawyer_won_us_supreme_court_ban_on_ten_commandments_/#:2012-04-26T16:45:07+00:00 One of Kentucky's most prominent civil rights lawyers has been disbarred after failing to remit to three clients over $150,000 to which they were entitled. David Friedman had been suspended in August 2010 after complaints concerning two clients, one of whom was a Jefferson Family Court judge, reports the Courier-Journal. He did not contest the disbarment. Friedman, who served for 25 years as the volunteer general counsel of the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky, had argued 40 cases before the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Among his biggest victories was a 2005 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court banning a display of the Ten Commandments in… Appellate Practice, Civil Rights, Legal Ethics, U.S. Supreme Court, 6th Circuit Court, States, Kentucky Thu, 26 Apr 2012 11:45:07 -0500 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/in_another_verrilli-clement_matchup_supreme_court_appears_sympathetic_to_ar/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=topics&utm_campaign=u.s.+supreme+court http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/in_another_verrilli-clement_matchup_supreme_court_appears_sympathetic_to_ar/#:2012-04-26T13:36:34+00:00 Solicitor General Donald Verrilli Jr. and Paul Clement appeared before the U.S. Supreme Court again on Wednesday, this time arguing over an Arizona immigration law. Both matchups concerned the scope of federal power and states’ rights, the Washington Post reports. In the lawyers’ last appearance before the court, they sparred over whether the federal government had constitutional authority to enact the health care law and its insurance mandate. Clement appeared set to win at least part of his immigration law argument on behalf of the state of Arizona, according to the Washington Post, the National Law Journal, the New… Appellate Practice, Immigration Law, U.S. Supreme Court Thu, 26 Apr 2012 08:36:34 -0500 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/doj_tells_of_error_on_immigration_policy_supreme_court_cited_assertion_in_2/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=topics&utm_campaign=u.s.+supreme+court http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/doj_tells_of_error_on_immigration_policy_supreme_court_cited_assertion_in_2/#:2012-04-25T15:50:29+00:00 The U.S. Solicitor General’s office says it made an inadvertent error when it told the U.S. Supreme Court that federal officials routinely facilitate the return of wrongly deported immigrants. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. referred to the purported policy in a case that made it easier to deport aliens, the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) reports. The 2009 opinion, Nken v. Holder, found no irreparable injury if aliens are deported in error while an immigration appeal is pending. The letter said the office had wrongly implied that systematic procedures were in place to help wrongly deported immigrants return to the United States. New procedures, however,… Attorney General, Immigration Law, U.S. Supreme Court Wed, 25 Apr 2012 10:50:29 -0500