Supreme Court News

High court dispute over who gets retirement money

AP - Tue Oct 7, 5:37 PM ET

WASHINGTON - If William Kennedy had updated all his financial paperwork in accordance with his divorce decree, chances are his daughter would not have been at the Supreme Court on Tuesday fighting for the $402,000 she thinks should be hers.

  • High court case: If harassed workers talk, can they be fired? The Christian Science Monitor - Tue Oct 7, 4:00 AM ET

    Washington - The US Supreme Court is set to hear a case this week that will provide important practical advice to workers asked to participate in an internal company investigation of alleged sexual harassment by a senior manager.

  • Court allows 'choose life' license plate in Ariz. AP - Mon Oct 6, 9:33 PM ET

    PHOENIX - An anti-abortion group has won a long legal fight to force Arizona to issue "choose life" license plates, and the proposed new plates could be available to the group's members within several months.

  • A man looks at a Tivo display. The US Supreme Court on Monday denied an appeal by EchoStar Communications Corp. against a judgment ordering it to pay nearly 74 million dollars to TiVo Inc. for patent infringement.(AFP/Getty Images/File/Justin Sullivan)
    US Supreme Court spurns EchoStar appeal AFP - Mon Oct 6, 6:24 PM ET

    WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US Supreme Court on Monday denied an appeal by EchoStar Communications Corp. against a judgment ordering it to pay nearly 74 million dollars to TiVo Inc. for patent infringement.

  • This 1994 file photo shows Mumia Abu Jamal at the Pennsylvaia Department of Corrections Facility in Huntington, Pennsylvania. The US Supreme Court Monday refused to hear arguments for a new trial for Mumia Abu-Jamal, a former Black Panther accused of killing a police officer who has become an icon for anti-capital punishment campaigners.(AFP/COC/File/Clark Kissinger)
    Top court rejects Abu-Jamal appeal for new trial AP - Mon Oct 6, 5:43 PM ET

    WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal for a new trial for death row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal, convicted in the 1981 killing of a Philadelphia police officer.

  • Members of the public line up in front of the US Supreme Court building while waiting to hear oral arguments on the first day of the court's new term in Washington, DC. Lawyers for the biggest US tobacco maker went before the Supreme Court on Monday to argue that Washington is to blame if anyone felt tricked into thinking that light cigarettes are less dangerous than regular smokes.(AFP/Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla)
    High court could block 'light' cigarettes lawsuit AP - Mon Oct 6, 4:47 PM ET

    WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court picked up Monday where it left off last term, signaling support for efforts to block lawsuits against tobacco companies over deceptive marketing of "light" cigarettes.

  • Former Solicitor General Ted Olson (R) leaves the US Supreme Court after arguing in the case Altria Group v. Stephanie Good on the first day of the court's new term in Washington, DC. Lawyers for the biggest US tobacco maker went before the Supreme Court on Monday to argue that Washington is to blame if anyone felt tricked into thinking that light cigarettes are less dangerous than regular smokes.(AFP/Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla)
    Fight over 'light cigarettes' begins in US Supreme Court AFP - Mon Oct 6, 4:07 PM ET

    WASHINGTON (AFP) - Lawyers for the biggest US tobacco maker went before the Supreme Court on Monday to argue that Washington is to blame if anyone felt tricked into thinking that light cigarettes are less dangerous than regular smokes.

  • Court denies appeal of judge's sentencing goof AP - Mon Oct 6, 3:30 PM ET

    MOBILE, Ala. - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal from an Alabama man who was sentenced to five years in prison when a judge wrongly thought the law required him to serve time.

  • People wait to get into the Supreme Court in Washington October 6, 2008. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)
    Supreme Court closely divided on tobacco case Reuters - Mon Oct 6, 3:25 PM ET

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Supreme Court seemed closely divided as it heard arguments on Monday over whether tobacco firms can be sued under state law for deceptive advertising of "light" cigarettes, a case that could affect some 40 suits around the country seeking billions of dollars.

  • People hold a protest calling for a new trial for US human rights campaigner Mumia Abu-Jamal in April 2008 in Paris. The US Supreme Court Monday refused to hear arguments for a new trial for Mumia Abu-Jamal, a former Black Panther accused of killing a police officer who has become an icon for anti-capital punishment campaigners.(AFP/File/Patrick Kovarik)
    US Supreme Court rejects new trial for former Black Panther AFP - Mon Oct 6, 2:42 PM ET

    WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US Supreme Court Monday refused to hear arguments for a new trial for Mumia Abu-Jamal, a former Black Panther accused of killing a police officer who has become an icon for anti-capital punishment campaigners.

  • Summary of actions Monday by the Supreme Court AP - Mon Oct 6, 2:29 PM ET

    The Supreme Court refused Monday to hear cases in which:

  • This undated handout image courtesy of the Georgia Department of Corrections shows death row inmate Troy Davis. The US Supreme Court Monday did not rule on whether it would hear arguments in the case of an African-American granted an 11th hour stay of execution for the murder of a white police officer.(AFP/HO/File)
    No Supreme Court decision on hearing for death row inmate AFP - Mon Oct 6, 1:36 PM ET

    WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US Supreme Court Monday did not rule on whether it would hear arguments in the case of an African-American granted an 11th hour stay of execution for the murder of a white police officer.

  • Supreme Court rejects jury Bible case AP - Mon Oct 6, 11:53 AM ET

    WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court on Monday refused to consider a murder case in which a jury foreman read passages of the Bible to hold-out jurors who subsequently voted to impose the death penalty.

  • Non-unanimous jury verdict stands AP - Mon Oct 6, 10:49 AM ET

    WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court has rejected a plea by a convicted murderer to require that jury verdicts be unanimous in all criminal cases.

  • Top court again rejects abortion poster case AP - Mon Oct 6, 10:16 AM ET

    WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court has rejected for the third time an appeal by anti-abortion activists to undo a multimillion-dollar verdict for their use of "wanted" posters to identify abortion clinic doctors.

  • The US Supreme Court in Washington DC. The US Supreme Court resumes work Monday, weighing a raft of social and environmental issues from light cigarettes to whales, amid uncertainty over the future of the oldest judge on its bench.(AFP/Getty Images/File/Mark Wilson)
    Tobacco, whales await as US Supreme Court gets back to work AFP - Sun Oct 5, 6:46 PM ET

    WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US Supreme Court resumes work Monday, weighing a raft of social and environmental issues from light cigarettes to whales, amid uncertainty over the future of the oldest judge on its bench.

  • Supreme Court Associate Justice Stephen Breyer, center, shakes hands after exiting Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle following the 55th Annual Red Mass celebration, Sunday, Oct. 5, 2008, in Washington,. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)
    Justices attend Red Mass before new term AP - Sun Oct 5, 2:16 PM ET

    WASHINGTON - The law is a guide to an orderly society, an American cardinal said an a church service Sunday that included five Supreme Court justices ahead of the start of their new term.

  • Major Supreme Court cases for the new term AP - Sat Oct 4, 10:20 AM ET

    Highlights of some high-profile cases that the Supreme Court will take up in its term that begins Monday:

  • Ahead at Supreme Court: big cases, no blockbusters The Christian Science Monitor - Fri Oct 3, 4:00 AM ET

    Washington - The new term at the US Supreme Court is a little like a vegetarian buffet, plenty of interesting items but nothing really meaty. At least not yet.

  • US Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, seen in March 2008, testifies before the House Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.(AFP/Getty Images/File/Chip Somodevilla)
    US Supreme Court upholds ban on execution for child rape AFP - Wed Oct 1, 2:48 PM ET

    WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US Supreme Court has refused to reconsider its June ruling that banned the death penalty for people convicted of child rape, the Court announced Wednesday.

  • High court rebuffs Louisiana in child rape case AP - Wed Oct 1, 12:20 PM ET

    WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court declined Wednesday to revisit its recent decision outlawing executions for people convicted of raping children.

  • A Supreme Court police officer patrols outside the Supreme Court building in Washington, July 1, 2005. (Shaun Heasley/Reuters)
    Court won't revisit child rape execution case Reuters - Wed Oct 1, 12:07 PM ET

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court rejected on Wednesday a request by Louisiana and the Bush administration to revisit its recent ruling that outlawed the death penalty for those convicted of raping a child.

  • Top court will review who pays for Superfund site AP - Wed Oct 1, 10:27 AM ET

    WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court has agreed to decide what share railroads and an oil company should bear of the cleanup of a contaminated industrial site in Arvin, Calif., near Bakersfield, that threatened drinking water supplies.

  • Conservative judges fault Scalia opinion on guns AP - Sat Sep 27, 9:39 AM ET

    WASHINGTON - Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is no stranger to criticism. He gives as good as he gets.

  • Troy Davis is seen in an undated prison photo. (Georgia Department of Corrections/Handout/Reuters)
    Top court stays Georgia inmate's execution Reuters - Tue Sep 23, 9:45 PM ET

    ATLANTA (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court granted a stay of execution to a convicted murderer due to be put to death on Tuesday night amid doubt over his guilt and appeals for clemency from the pope and former U.S. President Jimmy Carter.

  • This Georgia Department of Corrections handout photo shows death row inmate Troy Davis. The US Supreme Court granted a last-minute stay of execution to Davis, an inmate on death row in Georgia who was due to be put to death later Tuesday for the murder of a policeman.(AFP/Georgia DOC/File)
    US death row inmate gets last minute stay of execution AFP - Tue Sep 23, 7:04 PM ET

    WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US Supreme Court granted a last-minute stay of execution to Troy Davis, an African-American who was due to be put to death by lethal injection in the southern state of Georgia for the murder of a policeman.

  • Georgia Department of Corrections handout photo of death row inmate Troy Davis who was scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection on September 23, 2008. Davis was granted a last-minute stay of execution by the US Supreme Court for the August 19, 1989 killing of Savannah Police Officer Mark Allen MacPhail. REUTERS/Georgia Department of Corrections/Handout (UNITED STATES) QUALITY FROM SOURCE. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS.
    US Supreme Court stays execution of Georgia death row inmate AFP - Tue Sep 23, 5:38 PM ET

    WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US Supreme Court granted a last-minute stay of execution to Troy Davis, an inmate on death row in Georgia who was due to be put to death later Tuesday for the murder of a policeman.

  • This undated photo released by the Georgia Department of Corrections shows death-row inmate Troy Davis. More than 17 years after Davis was convicted of gunning down a Savannah, Ga. police officer, supporters say disturbing questions remain about his guilt. Still, unless the courts intervene, Davis is facing execution Tuesday night, September 23, 2008. (AP Photo/Georgia Department of Corrections)
    Ga. cop killer gets last-minute execution reprieve AP - Tue Sep 23, 7:54 PM ET

    JACKSON, Ga. - The U.S. Supreme Court gave a reprieve to a Georgia inmate less than two hours before his scheduled execution Tuesday for the 1989 slaying of an off-duty police officer.

  • The US Supreme Court (L) in Washington, DC. Lawyers for the only "enemy combatant" jailed in the United States without trial on Friday asked the Supreme Court to examine whether the government has the right to detain indefinitely terror suspects captured on US soil.(AFP/File/Karen Bleier)
    US high court asked to examine case of Qatari terror suspect AFP - Sat Sep 20, 11:44 AM ET

    WASHINGTON (AFP) - Lawyers for the only "enemy combatant" jailed in the United States without trial on Friday asked the Supreme Court to examine whether the government has the right to detain indefinitely terror suspects captured on US soil.

  • Thomas says Constitution forbids racial preference AP - Tue Sep 9, 5:34 PM ET

    WASHINGTON - Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas said Tuesday that African-Americans are better served by colorblind programs than affirmative action.