The Supreme Court released an opinion today in Knox v. SEIU. In California, public workers are not required to join a union. Those that do not are assessed a “fair share fee,” usually a payroll deduction remitted to the union for representing their interests in certain areas. The fee assessed is a percentage of the amount charged a union member. Under previous Supreme Court guidance, | Read More »
Yesterday, June 18th, the US Supreme Court announced four opinions, and three that involved the federal government and positions taken by the Obama Administration. The fourth decision was a Confrontation Clause case and DNA testimony involving a state trial in which the federal government was not involved. In the three cases- two involving Indian tribes, but having ramifications beyond Indian affairs- the federal government came | Read More »
In what can be a landmark ruling from the Supreme Court regarding the Fourth Amendment, a case out of Maryland regarding the collection of DNA samples is likely to land on the docket for consideration soon. First, some background. Every state and the federal government requires that those convicted of felonies or sex crimes submit a DNA sample to the government for placement in a | Read More »
This is one interesting case winding its way possibly to the Supreme Court originating out of Missouri. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has already sided with the state in this case and the only recourse now is before the United States Supreme Court. In 1999, the state passed the Sexually Violent Predator Act. Those deemed to be a predator were to be committed to | Read More »
This morning, in a brief session, the Supreme Court released a single opinion, granted two cases for argument next term and turned down seven different appeals by terrorist detainees being held at Guantanamo. As I mentioned in a previous post, most of this litigation stemmed from the Court’s decision in Boumediene v. Bush where detainees were granted habeas rights. Then, the Court stated that it | Read More »
Today, at their weekly conference, the Court will again be presented with the opportunity to take up a series of cases regarding detainees at Guantanamo, and a related terrorism case. Other than Obama’s fist pumping regarding recent victories in the war on terror- despite this Administration denying reality and dropping the “war” moniker- we do not hear too much about terrorism. With the economy dominating | Read More »
Recent reports out of some websites indicate that the Justice Department under Eric Holder and Barack Obama is under orders to vigorously defend the Voting Rights Act of 1965 from challenges. This extends from redistricting considerations to voter ID laws, especially the latter. The ostensible reason behind their opposition to voter ID laws is that they disenfranchise minorities, students, and seniors. Voter ID laws per | Read More »
Periodically, I intend to bring to light some disturbing cases from around the United States that may see the light of day before the Supreme Court. For example, in the past I wrote extensively on a recent Supreme Court case involving prison strip searches. Some of the comments to that article were interesting, to say the least. For example, there was the “I wouldn’t do | Read More »
As we enter the Memorial Day weekend, the Supreme Court will be finishing its term in late June. There are still several cases to be decided, the biggest of which is the fate of Obamacare. From watching the Supreme Court for many, many years now, all I can say with certainty regarding any decision is that you really cannot tell how it will come down | Read More »
The Supreme Court had their final oral arguments for this term yesterday when they heard the Arizona immigration law case. At this time, I would like to review some cases that they have yet to decide this term. In all, some 28 cases have yet to be decided. Several of them are statute interpretation cases or bankruptcy cases that would put one to sleep and | Read More »
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