Supreme Court

Stories 1981 - 1993 | << Prev 

Courts Debate Definition of 'Retarded'

Ruling on death penalty's constitutionality generates more questions than answers

(Newser) - Sentencing the mentally retarded to death is unconstitutional, and individual states set the cut-off between disabled and competent—sounds simple, but in practice, the Supreme Court's 2002 ruling has proven nearly impossible to enforce. At issue, the LA Times reports, is the gray area between low IQ and retardation, a...

Anti-abortion Groups Split by Late-Term Ban

Purists rip Dobson for praising limits, not full prohibition

(Newser) - The recent Supreme Court ruling against partial-birth abortions has ignited a battle among anti-abortion groups, the Washington Post reports. The bickering highlights a divide between groups working for a wholesale ban and those seeking limits. In newspaper ads, a religious coalition ripped the ruling as "wicked" and slammed longtime...

Ginsburg Speaks Up
Ginsburg
Speaks Up
May 31, 2007 9:18 AM CDT

Ginsburg Speaks Up

As Supreme Court veers to the right, a new voice of dissent emerges

(Newser) - Ruth Bader Ginsburg has delivered two withering oral dissents in the past six weeks, a radical departure from her previous conciliatory role. Linda Greenhouse speculates in today's Times that the unprecedented behavior may signal a new outspokenness for the Supreme Court's only female justice. "After 15 years on the...

High Court Curbs Pay Bias Suits
High Court Curbs Pay
Bias Suits
May 30, 2007 4:55 AM CDT

High Court Curbs Pay Bias Suits

Ginsburg dissents on decision limiting charges to 180 days

(Newser) - The Supreme Court severely limited the right of women to sue employers over pay discrimination in a stormy 5-4 decision yesterday. A lone woman employee at a tire factory sued because she was paid less than male coworkers over her long career; the court held that such charges must be...

Court Relaxes Patent Test
Court Relaxes Patent Test
May 1, 2007 7:36 AM CDT

Court Relaxes Patent Test

Tech companies applaud broader guidelines for "obviousness"

(Newser) - Tech companies are thrilled with a Supreme Court ruling yesterday that relaxed the "obviousness" test for patents—the standard for deciding when a combination of existing elements deserves patent protection. No longer will Silicon Valley giants have to wrangle with patent "trolls"—people who anticipate minute improvements...

Supreme Court Blocks Gitmo Detainees

Justices rule on police chases, patents; will hear Texas death-penalty case

(Newser) - The Supreme Court will not hear the cases of two Guantanamo detainees who sought to challenge the government's policy on military tribunals, it announced today. But it will hear arguments this fall in the case of a Texas death row inmate, a Mexican national whose appeal was supported by the...

High Court Eyes McCain- Feingold
High Court
Eyes McCain-
Feingold 
Apr 26, 2007 7:37 AM CDT

High Court Eyes McCain- Feingold

Alito, Roberts may reverse ban on "issue ads" during campaign

(Newser) - The Supreme Court looks poised to pull an about face on the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law by striking down its strictures on "issue ads"—pre-election commentary that mentions candidates by name. Sandra Day O'Connor joined a majority in upholding the ban in 2003; Alito and Roberts may provide...

Alito Swings Court Against Late Abortion

Justices cite moral corcerns, worry about mother's regrets

(Newser) - The Supreme Court's decision to uphold a ban partial-birth abortions is a gauntlet thrown down by the Roberts court, reports Linda Greenhouse in the Times. Samuel Alito, the newest justice, was the deciding factor in the 5-4 turnaround. While it will affect a small subset of abortion procedures, the focus...

Supreme Court Supports Late-Term Abortion Ban

5-4 decision signals shift on divisive Issue, win for abortion opponents

(Newser) - The Supreme Court voted today to uphold a ban on partial birth abortions, handing a significant victory to President Bush, whose appointees to the high court voted with the 5-4 majority. The 2003 law, which bars a controversial late-term procedure, is the first federal restriction on abortion since the 1973...

Utilities May Profit From Ruling
Utilities May Profit From Ruling
Apr 3, 2007 8:31 AM CDT

Utilities May Profit From Ruling

Some corporations may profit off tighter greenhouse gas regulations

(Newser) - Some utility  companies may actually benefit financially from the Supreme Court ruling forcing the EPA to crack down on greenhouse gas emissions, the Wall Street Journal reports.  While it will cost them millions in the short-term to meet new requirements, utilities in government-regulated markets—mostly in the Southeast, Great...

EPA Must Regulate Greenhouse Gases
EPA Must Regulate Greenhouse Gases
Apr 3, 2007 7:52 AM CDT

EPA Must Regulate Greenhouse Gases

Supreme Court ruling a rebuke to Bush's hands-off policy on auto emissions

(Newser) - Carbon dioxide must be regulated by the federal government unless it can provide a scientific reason not to, the Supreme Court ruled Monday. The 5-4 decision, which ordered the EPA to consider CO2 an "air pollutant" as defined by the Clean Air Act, was a blow to the Bush...

Supreme Court Rejects Appeals From Gitmo Detainees

Win for Bush policy on terror suspects

(Newser) - The Supreme Court declined to hear the case of detainees at Guantanamo who challenged the constitutionality of  their confinement, the Washington Post  reports. The rejected appeal  questioned the validity of the military commissions law passed last year, and the legality of being held for more than five years with being...

Bong Case 4 SCOTUS
Bong Case
4 SCOTUS
Mar 20, 2007 10:51 AM CDT

Bong Case 4 SCOTUS

A Supreme Court case weighs student's right to "glorify" drug use

(Newser) - A student glorifying illegal drug use shouldn't be protected by the First Amendment, Ken Starr argued before the Supreme Court yesterday in the case of a high school student suspended for displaying a banner reading "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" during the Winter Olympics Torch Relay in Juneau, Alaska in...

Stories 1981 - 1993 | << Prev 
Most Read on Newser