Supreme Court of the United States

Supreme Court releases censored appeal by foreign government

January 22, 2019

An unidentified foreign government is asking the Supreme Court to get involved in a case that may be part of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. The appeal doesn’t identify the country, a company it controls or even the lawyers who are representing it, but it says the justices should make clear that a federal law that generally protects foreign governments from civil lawsuits in the U.S. also shields them in criminal cases.

High court lets military implement transgender restrictions

January 22, 2019

The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed the Trump administration to go ahead with its plan to restrict military service by transgender people while court challenges continue. The high court split 5-4 in allowing the plan to take effect, with the court’s five conservatives greenlighting it and its four liberal members saying they would not have.

Supreme Court inaction suggests DACA safe for another year

January 21, 2019

The Obama-era program that shields young immigrants from deportation and that President Donald Trump has sought to end seems likely to survive for at least another year. That’s because the Supreme Court took no action Friday on the Trump administration’s request to decide by early summer whether Trump’s bid to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program was legal.

Justices appear ready to void Tennessee alcohol sales law

January 18, 2019

The Supreme Court appeared ready Wednesday to strike down a Tennessee provision that requires people to live in the state for two years before obtaining a license to sell alcohol. But 35 states, including Indiana, and the District of Columbia, are urging the court to uphold the two-year residency requirement.

U.S. Supreme Court again relists Indiana’s abortion petition

January 16, 2019

For the third time, the Supreme Court of the United States has distributed Indiana’s controversial abortion law for conference. The justices are now scheduled to review Indiana’s petition for writ of certiorari Friday.

State, community group urge SCOTUS to reject Lake Michigan access case

January 15, 2019

The state of Indiana and a community group favoring public access to the shore of Lake Michigan have filed briefs urging the Supreme Court of the United States to reject an appeal that could partly privatize the state’s 45 miles of Great Lakes beaches. Briefs filed Friday urge the high court to affirm the Indiana Supreme Court ruling that found the public has a right to walk along the shore of Lake Michigan from the water’s edge to the ordinary high water mark.

Sell here, live here: SCOTUS reviews liquor retailer residency requirements

January 8, 2019

The requirement that alcohol permit holders live in the state where they do business is based on the simple notion that neighbors care more about the well-being of their communities than out-of-towners do. But a Tennessee case challenging that notion in the U.S. Supreme Court could spill over on similar Indiana laws.

Indiana’s abortion petition relisted at U.S. Supreme Court

January 7, 2019

Indiana’s petition for a review of its 2016 abortion law is still pending at the Supreme Court of the United States after the justices relisted the Hoosier state’s writ of certiorari for this Friday’s conference. The state is asking the Supreme Court to overturn a preliminary injunction blocking the implementation of a law that limits when a woman may terminate her pregnancy and mandates how fetal remains should be handled.

High court to take new look at partisan electoral districts

January 7, 2019

The Supreme Court is plunging back into the issue of whether electoral districts can be too partisan. Disputes have arisen in cases involving North Carolina’s heavily Republican congressional map and a Democratic congressional district in Maryland, and the justices said Friday they will hear arguments in March.

Appeals court sides with Trump in transgender military case

January 4, 2019

A federal appeals court sided with the Trump administration Friday in a case about the Pentagon’s effort to restrict military service by transgender people, but the ruling won’t change who can serve or enlist at this point.

Low-key days at Supreme Court may be ending soon

January 4, 2019

The Supreme Court began its term with the tumultuous confirmation of Justice Brett Kavanaugh, followed by a studied avoidance of drama on the high court bench — especially anything that would divide the five conservatives and four liberals. But when they gather in private on Friday to consider new cases for arguments in April and into next term, the justices will confront a raft of high-profile appeals.

Roberts’ year-end report focuses on sexual harassment in judiciary

January 3, 2019

Following the year of the #MeToo movement and the retirement of a former 9^th Circuit Court of Appeals judge accused of sexual harassment, Chief Justice John G. Roberts pushed in his most recent end-of-the-year report that more can be done to encourage judicial employees to report misconduct.

SCOTUS to consider Indiana abortion, juvenile life cases in conference

December 27, 2018

Two cases from Indiana, including the controversial fetal remains disposal law, will be on the agenda when the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court meet for their next conference on Jan. 4, 2019.

Court: Justice Ginsburg leaves hospital after cancer surgery

December 27, 2018

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Supreme Court said Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been discharged from the hospital after cancer surgery.

Fight over Indiana abortion law still waiting at U.S. Supreme Court

December 12, 2018

While the Supreme Court of the United States has yet to agree to hear an abortion rights case this term, a petition from Indiana regarding its law regulating the disposal of fetal remains and prohibiting women from terminating their pregnancies based on race, sex or disability remains under consideration. Indiana filed a writ of certiorari after the 7^th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a preliminary injunction against 2016's House Enrolled Act 1337.

Trump administration asks Supreme Court to allow asylum ban

December 12, 2018

The Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court to allow enforcement of a ban on asylum for any immigrants who illegally cross the U.S.-Mexico border. The administration said in court papers filed Tuesday that the nationwide order preventing the policy from taking effect “is deeply flawed” and should be lifted pending an appeal that could reach the high court.

Hoosier civil forfeiture case at SCOTUS tests excessive fines prohibition

December 11, 2018

Marion resident Tyson Timbs never expected to be the face of civil forfeiture reform at the United States Supreme Court. Several times during his five-year legal battle, Timbs wanted to throw in the towel. Sometimes, all he wanted was to put his past trouble with the law behind him. But he also said he wanted to fight against what he views as widespread unjust civil forfeiture practices.

Justices won’t hear states’ appeal over Planned Parenthood

December 10, 2018

The Supreme Court on Monday avoided a high-profile case by rejecting appeals from Kansas and Louisiana in their effort to strip Medicaid money from Planned Parenthood, over the dissenting votes of three justices. The court’s order reflected a split among its conservative justices and an accusation from Justice Clarence Thomas that his colleagues seemed to be ducking the case for political reasons.

Whether a president can be prosecuted remains in dispute

December 10, 2018

For the first time, prosecutors have tied President Donald Trump to a federal crime, accusing him of directing illegal hush-money payments to women during his presidential campaign in 2016. Although Trump hasn’t been charged with any crimes, the question of whether a president can even be prosecuted while in office is a matter of legal dispute.

ACLU urges high court to let Indiana abortion rulings stand

December 7, 2018

The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana and Planned Parenthood are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to let stand two decisions that stopped portions of an Indiana abortion law signed when Vice President Mike Pence was governor.

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