United States Supreme Court (9 summaries)
Warger v. Shauers
Federal Rule of Evidence 606(b) precludes a party seeking a new trial from using one juror's affidavit of what another juror said in deliberations to demonstrate that the other juror was dishonest during jury selection.
Area(s) of Law:- Evidence
Glebe v. Frost
A limitation on closing argument is not a structural error, warranting automatic reversal, but rather allows the possibility that such a limitation is subject to harmless error review.
Area(s) of Law:- Appellate Procedure
Lopez v. Smith
Under 28 U.S.C. §2254(d), a federal court may grant habeas relief to a state prisoner only if the state court’s decision was contrary to established Federal law, as determined by the United States Supreme Court.
Area(s) of Law:- Habeas Corpus
Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.
The contraceptive coverage mandate of the Affordable Care Act substantially burdens a closely held corporation's free exercise of religion under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
Area(s) of Law:- First Amendment
Riley v. California
Police may not search an arrested individual’s cell phone data without a warrant.
Area(s) of Law:- Criminal Procedure
United States v. Clarke
A taxpayer has the right to challenge the Internal Revenue Service’s reasons for issuing a summons when that taxpayer offers credible evidence to support a plausible charge.
Area(s) of Law:- Tax Law
Clark v. Rameker
Funds contained in an inherited individual retirement account are not considered “retirement funds” for purposes of the bankruptcy exemption.
Area(s) of Law:- Bankruptcy Law
Hall v. Florida
An IQ threshold requirement, which bars a defendant from presenting intellectual disability evidence, is unconstitutional when that requirement disregards established medical practice, ignores inherent imprecision of an IQ test, and is inconsistent with the majority of the States’ legislation.
Area(s) of Law:- Sentencing
Highmark Inc. v. Allcare Health Management System, Inc.
An appellate court should review all aspects of a district court’s §285 determination for abuse of discretion only.
Area(s) of Law:- Appellate Procedure
United States Supreme Court Certiorari Granted (5 summaries)
DIRECTV, Inc. v. Imburgia
Whether California state law forbids agreements that waive customer rights to bring a class action.
Area(s) of Law:- Arbitration
Horne v. Department of Agriculture
(1) Whether the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment applies only to real property and not personal property; (2) whether government may avoid paying just compensation for a physical taking of property by reserving a contingent interest in a portion of the value of the property to the property owner; and (3) whether the California raisin marketing order is a per se taking that requires just compensation.
Area(s) of Law:- Constitutional Law
Henderson v. United States
Whether federal prohibition of felons possessing firearms under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) completely terminates an individual’s firearm ownership right when that individual is convicted of felony.
Area(s) of Law:- Property Law
Reed v. Gilbert
Whether a town's sign code, limiting the amount of time when a sign may be posted, violates the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment when the sign is used to announce religious services.
Area(s) of Law:- First Amendment
Department of Homeland Security v. MacLean
Whether Congress intended the Whistleblower Protection Act to bar penalties when a government employee unilaterally exposes sensitive security information.
Area(s) of Law:- Qualified Immunity