Cassondra Passon

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

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