United States Supreme Court (4 summaries)
Department of Transportation v. Association of American Railroads
When Amtrak assists the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) in creating metrics and standards for rail travel it is acting as a government entity.
Area(s) of Law:- Administrative Law
Tolan v. Cotton
When ruling on a motion for summary judgment in cases dealing with qualified immunity, courts must weigh the evidence and all justifiable inferences in the nonmoving party’s favor.
Area(s) of Law:- Qualified Immunity
Lozano v. Montoya Alvarez
Equitable tolling is unavailable under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction even when the child's whereabouts is concealed.
Area(s) of Law:- Family Law
Mutual Pharmaceutical Co. v. Bartlett
State-law design-defect claims that turn on the adequacy of a drug’s warnings are pre-empted by federal law.
Area(s) of Law:- Preemption
United States Supreme Court Certiorari Granted (16 summaries)
Kingsley v. Hendrickson
Whether a pretrial detainee's 42 U.S.C. § 1983 excessive force claim requires a showing that the force used by the state actor was objectively unreasonable and that the use of force was deliberate.
Area(s) of Law:- Civil Rights § 1983
City and County of San Francisco v. Sheehan
(1) Whether police officers must make "reasonable accommodations" under the American with Disabilities Act when they are making an arrest of violent armed individual; and (2) whether entry into a residence, even though there is a clear exception to the warrant requirement can still be unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment.
Area(s) of Law:- Disability Law
Arizona State Legislature v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission
1) Can a state use a commission to create congressional districts without running afoul of the Elections Clause of the U.S. Constitution and 2 U.S.C. §2a(c)? 2) Does a state legislature have standing to bring this type of suit?
Area(s) of Law:- Election Law
Baker Botts, L.L.P. v. ASARCO, L.L.C.
Whether Bankruptcy Code §330(a) allows judges discretion in awarding attorneys compensation in litigation dealing with a fee application.
Area(s) of Law:- Bankruptcy Law
Direct Marketing Association v. Brohl
Whether the Tax Injunction Act precludes federal court jurisdiction over issues dealing with "secondary aspects of state tax administration."
Area(s) of Law:- Tax Law
Alabama Legislative Black Caucus v. Alabama; Alabama Democratic Conference v. Alabama
1. Whether a state enacted redistricting plan violates one person, one vote if the plan results in large deviations for local legislative appointments that have governing power over counties. 2. Whether the legislative redistricting plans unconstitutionally classify African American voters by race because the plans intentionally draw district lines to preserve “the supermajority percentages produced when 2010 census data are applied to the 2001 majority-black districts.”
Area(s) of Law:- Constitutional Law
Heien v. North Carolina
Whether an officer's mistaken understanding of a statute can create the reasonable suspicion needed to justify a traffic stop.
Area(s) of Law:- Criminal Procedure
WARGER, GREGORY P. V. SHAUERS, RANDY D.
Whether Federal Rule of Evidence 606(b) permits the use of statements made during jury deliberations to prove a juror lied during voir dire.
Area(s) of Law:- Evidence
Riley, David L. v. California
Whether the Fourth Amendment prohibits the warrantless search of cell phones.
Area(s) of Law:- Constitutional Law
Loughrin v. United States
Whether the government must prove, in every case against a defendant prosecuted under 18 U.S.C. § 1344, that the defendant intended to defraud a bank and expose it to risk of loss.
Area(s) of Law:- Criminal Law
Alice Corporation Pty. Ltd. v. CLS Bank International
Whether claims to computer-implemented inventions are considered patent eligible subject matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101.
Area(s) of Law:- Patents
Robers v. United States
Whether the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act of 1996, 18 U.S.C. § 3663A limits the scope of restitution to the value difference of a mortgage and final sale price of real estate.
Area(s) of Law:- Civil Law
American Lung Association v. EME Homer City Generation
(1) Whether the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) methodology was properly challenged before the court without the required objections raised during public comment; (2)whether the courts creation of its implementation method over stepped the bounds of its judicial review of an Administrative agency; And (3) whether an upwind state has any obligations to a downwind state unless and until the EPA has reported on the contribution of the upwind state to the pollution of the downwind state.
Area(s) of Law:- Environmental Law
Mount Holly v. Mt. Holly Gardens Citizens in Action, Inc.
Whether the Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. §3604, includes disparate impact claims.
Area(s) of Law:- Constitutional Law
Mississippi ex rel. Hood v. AU Optronics Corp.
Whether a state's parens patriae suit can be removed from state court under the Class Action Fairness Act as a "mass action" when the cause of action arises under state law with the state being the sole plaintiff.
Area(s) of Law:- Civil Procedure
Burnside v. T. Walters, et al.
Whether the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit erred in holding that indigent plaintiffs are prohibited from amending their pleadings under 28 U.S.C. §1915(e)(2).
Area(s) of Law:- Criminal Procedure