Latest Stories

Court's Favorability Declines

mgruhn — Tue, 01 May 2012 17:43:41 +0000

For the last quarter century, the American public's approval of the Supreme Court has been consistently high and generally more stable than approval ratings of the other branches of the Federal government. However, a Pew Research survey has detected a steady decline in the Court's favorability that cuts across political party lines.

Arizona v. United States - Argument Preview

mgruhn — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 16:40:13 +0000

Prof. Hank Perritt of the IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law discusses the Federalism issues at stake in Arizona v. United States, the final oral argument of the Supreme Court's 2011 term.

Final Week of Arguments

mgruhn — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 17:45:58 +0000

The Court this week will hear the the final arguments of the 2011 Term. The last argument, on Wednesday, will be in Arizona v. United States, the widely watched challenge to Arizona's controversial immigration law.

The Court is expected to issue opinions on all pending cases by late June.

New cases are already being docketed for the 2012 Term, which will open in October.

Follow-up: Florence v. Board of Chosen Freeholders

mgruhn — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 19:14:16 +0000

Case:

Florence v. Board of Chosen Freeholders of the County of Burlington

Prof. Carolyn Shapiro of the IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law reviews the Supreme Court's decision.

The Affordable Care Act Cases - The Medicaid Expansion

mgruhn — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 19:30:34 +0000

Case:

The Affordable Care Act Cases

The final question the Court will address in its review of the Affordable Care Act is whether the law's expansion of Medicaid is a valid exercise of Congress' power under the Spending Clause.

The Affordable Care Act Cases - The Circuit Court Arguments

mgruhn — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 20:16:44 +0000

Case:

The Affordable Care Act Cases

The Supreme Court's review of the Affordable Care Act cases arose out of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. There, a divided three judge panel struck down the most contentious portions of the law.

As a preview of the upcoming arguments before the Supreme Court, Oyez has collected and transcribed the arguments in the Eleventh Circuit, which you can listen to below.

Part I

Download Part I

Part II

Download Part II

The Affordable Care Act Cases - The Severability Question

mgruhn — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 19:11:58 +0000

Case:

The Affordable Care Act Cases

The third question the Court will hear in its review of the Affordable Care Act concerns whether the individual mandate provision is legally severable from the rest of the law. Prof. Steve Heyman provides a primer on the question.

The Court and Healthcare Reform

mgruhn — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 01:13:53 +0000

Case:

The Affordable Care Act Cases

We've put together a special feature focused on the Supreme Court's review of the Affordable Care Act. The page contains background information on the cases and the justices, as well as videos, in plain English, that explain the issues the Court will review.

Update: We've posted the audio and transcript of the first of the four arguments. Check it out!

Astrue v. Capato - Argument Preview

mgruhn — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 19:24:37 +0000

Case:

Astrue v. Capato

Prof. Chris Seaman of the IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law highlights the issues involved in Astrue v. Capato, which will be heard by the Supreme Court on Monday, March 19, 2012.

The Affordable Care Act Cases - The Individual Mandate & the Commerce Clause

mgruhn — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 19:00:32 +0000

Case:

The Affordable Care Act Cases

Prof. Sheldon Nahmod of the IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law and author of the Nahmod Law blog discusses most watched question to be addressed by the Court in its review of President Obama's healthcare reform legislation.

The Affordable Care Act Cases - The Anti-Injunction Act

mgruhn — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 02:11:33 +0000

Case:

The Affordable Care Act Cases

At the end of this month, the Supreme Court will hear what may be one of the most significant challenges of the Roberts Era - the Affordable Care Act Cases. Prof. Kent Streseman of the IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law discusses the first, somewhat obscure question the Court will hear.

Oyez is now putting the finishing touches on a special feature that will delve deeper into the origins of the ACA cases and clarify the questions they raise. Stay tuned!

The Affordable Care Act Arguments

mgruhn — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 23:40:45 +0000

Case:

The Affordable Care Act Cases

There's been a great deal of coverage in the media about the amount of time the Court has allocated to arguments in the ACA challenges, which it will hear at the end of this month. Just how significant is it that the Court granted six hours of arguments to these challenges? The answer is a bit complicated.

First, it's worth noting that the ACA challenges are actually three distinct cases (although they all arose out of the same case in the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit). This isn't the first time the Court has granted review in multiple, closely related cases without officially consolidating them. Although such an event is rare, a similar thing happened when the Court reviewed the death penalty cases of 1976. But, because they're being argued sequentially, and because the media is treating them as such, we'll consider the ACA challenges a single event.

How, then, does it stack up compared to other long arguments? We reviewed all arguments before the Court since 1955.

So, if the ACA arguments are as long as expected, they will be the ninth longest argument since the Warren Court days.

A couple of caveats though: First, many of these cases are from the Court's original jurisdiction docket, where the Court would act as the decision-maker of first impression. And, almost all of these cases are from before 1970, when the Court reduced its normal argument length from two hours to one.

Accounting for these factors, the ACA argument length appears significantly more impressive. The six hours the Court has given to this challenge is six times greater than the normal one hour; this is something it has not done since Brown v. Board of Education (1955).

Argument Preview - Williams v. Illinois

mgruhn — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 19:45:26 +0000

Locations

United States

38° 58' 42.402" N, 76° 29' 31.8588" W

See map: Google Maps

United States

38° 58' 42.402" N, 76° 29' 31.8588" W

See map: Google Maps

Case:

Williams v. Illinois

Prof. Sanford Greenberg of the IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law discusses a case that examines the role of expert witnesses and the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment.

Special Feature - The Healthcare Arguments

mgruhn — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 03:08:09 +0000

Case:

The Affordable Care Act Cases

Prof. Jerry Goldman, executive director of The Oyez Project at Chicago-Kent, puts the noteworthy amount of time the Court has allocated for arguments on the 2010 Affordable Care Act into context.

Court to Examine Arizona Immigration Law

mgruhn — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 15:19:17 +0000

The Court today granted review in the Federal government's challenge to Arizona's controversial immigration reform law, with Justice Kagan recusing herself from the case. SCOTUSblog has a nice summary of the law.

Update: Oyez's summary of the case is now available.

This Week's Oral Argument Audio and Transcripts Now Available

mgruhn — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 22:16:57 +0000

Recordings and transcripts of this week's oral arguments are now available from Oyez.

This week, the Court heard arguments in:

Kappos v. Hyatt

Sackett v. EPA

Perry v. Perez

Knox v. Service Employees International Union

FCC v. Fox Television Stations

Coleman v. Maryland Court of Appeals

Roberts v. Sea-Land Services

Court Extends Texas Redistricting Battle

mgruhn — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 15:42:06 +0000

Case:

Perry v. Perez

The Supreme Court on Friday issued an unsigned, per curiam opinion in Perry v. Perez halting the implementation of a congressional district map drawn by a Federal district court, after the lower court rejected the Texas legislature's map.

Check out Oyez's summary of the case.

Mayo Collaborative Services v. Prometheus Labs

mgruhn — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 19:50:38 +0000

Case:

Mayo Collaborative Services v. Prometheus Laboratories, Inc.

Prof. David Schwartz of the IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law discusses an important patent case, heard by the Court on December 7.

This Week's Oral Arguments Now Available

mgruhn — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 20:31:46 +0000

The Oyez Project at Chicago-Kent has posted audio and transcripts of this week's oral arguments.

The Court heard arguments this week in the following cases:

United States v. Home Concrete & Supply

Filarsky v. Delia

Holder v. Gutierrez

Vartelas v. Holder

Court Finds Warrantless GPS Tracking Unconstitutional

mgruhn — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:30:03 +0000

Case:

United States v. Jones

In a significant Fourth Amendment decision, the Court today found that law enforcement authorities must obtain warrants before using GPS tracking devices to monitor a vehicle. The decision was unanimous.

The case is No. 10-1259, United States v. Jones.