NPR Coverage of the 2004

Can Torture Victims Sue Former Captors in U.S. Courts?
Can A group of Somali immigrants escaped imprisonment and torture to start new lives in the U.S. While here, they discovered that one of the men who headed the regime responsible for their suffering was also living here. The question before the Supreme Court: Can the Somalis sue their former captors? All Things Considered, 3 March 2010.

Oral Argument in Chicago Handgun Ban Case
Two years ago, the Supreme Court ruled for the first time that the right to bear arms is an individual right, not, as the court had long implied, a right aimed at protecting state militias from federal control. The court's 5-to-4 ruling struck down a ban on handguns in the District of Columbia. But because the nation's capital is a federal enclave, the ruling only applied to federal restrictions on guns. On Tuesday, the court examined a similar ban on handguns in Chicago to determine whether the same rules apply to state and local governments. All Things Considered, 2 March 2010.

Enron's Skilling Goes to the Supreme Court
Former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling, once a high-flying energy trader credited with making Enron one of the most successful corporations in America, now sits in a federal prison serving out a 24-year prison sentence. His lawyers told the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday that his conviction should be reversed because he did not get a fair trial and because one of the statutes used to convict him is unconstitutional. All Things Considered, 1 March 2010.

Court Limits Reach of Miranda
The U.S. Supreme Court has created a new rule governing the repeat questioning of suspects without a lawyer. Morning Edition, 25 February 2010

Oral Arguments in the Patriot Act Case
At the U.S. Supreme Court, it is rare that conservative and liberal justices team up to bludgeon lawyers for both sides with equal ferocity. But that is what the justices did on Tuesday.

Before the court was a provision of the Patriot Act making it a crime to provide material support to any organization designated a terrorist group by the U.S. State Department. The definition of material support includes not just providing weapons, or cash, or bomb-making skills. It includes providing any sort of personnel, expert advice, or training — including advice on how to resolve disputes peaceably or training on how to make human rights claims before the U.N. All Things Considered, 23 February 2010.

Patriot Act and the First Amendment
The U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments Tuesday in a case that pits an individual's right of free speech and association against a federal law aimed at combating terrorism. At issue is part of the Patriot Act that makes it a crime for an American citizen to engage in peaceful, lawful activity on behalf of any group designated as a terrorist organization. Morning Edition, 23 February 2010.

Supremes Reverse 100 years of Precedent on Corporate/Union Campaign Spending
In a sweeping decision, the Supreme Court struck down Thursday the ban on corporate spending on federal and state elections. The much-anticipated opinion opens the way potentially for hundreds of millions of dollars to be spent on this year's midterm elections, All Things Considered, 13 January 2010.

Oral Arguments in the NFL Apparel Case
The justices heard arguments in a case testing the legality of the NFL's exclusive deal with Reebok to sell billions of dollars worth of hats, shirts and other apparel. Backed by other sports leagues, the NFL says it should be free from antitrust lawsuits for activities it undertakes as a league. All Things Considered, 13 January 2010.

The NFL Meets the Supremes on Anti-Trust Battlegrounds
For a decade, Reebok has had an exclusive merchandising contract with the NFL's 32 teams. American Needle Inc., a family-owned business, says the contract violates antitrust laws, and the Supreme Court will hear the case Wednesday. The result will affect not only the NFL, but also other professional and collegiate sports leagues. Morning Edition, 13 January 2010.

The Argument in the Federal Civil Commitment Case
The Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday in a case that tests the federal government's power to keep convicted sex offenders behind bars long after they have completed their prison terms. All Things Considered, 12 January 2010.

Oral Arguments in Federal Indefinite Civil Commitment Case
The U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments Tuesday in a case that tests the federal government's power to keep convicted sex offenders behind bars after they have served out their prison terms. Morning Edition, 12 January 2010.

Oral Arguments in the Crime Lab Cases
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court revisited an issue it had appeared to resolve just months ago dealing with crime lab test results and when crime lab analysts must testify in court. In two cases from Virginia, the court flirted with undermining or reversing that ruling. All Things Considered, 11 January 2010.

The Confrontation Clause and Crime Lab Testimony
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court revisits an issue it appeared to resolve just months ago: whether the prosecution in criminal cases has a constitutional duty to produce crime lab analysts to testify about their findings. Morning Edition, 11 January 2010.

Anti-Fraud Law Meets Skeptical Court
The Supreme Court cast doubt Monday on the validity of part of the anti-fraud law enacted in response to Enron and other corporate scandals early this decade. The court heard arguments in a case over the composition of the board that was created to tighten oversight of internal controls and outside auditors following accounting scandals at Enron Corp., WorldCom Inc., Tyco International Ltd. and other corporations. All Things Considered, 8 December 2009.

The Court Ponders Honest Services and Legal Scope of Sarbanes-Oxley
In the wake of the financial scandal that destroyed Enron, Congress created an independent board to watch over the accounting of all publicly traded firms. In order that the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board have total independence from political influence, Congress deemed that its members be appointed by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The court heard arguments Monday that challenge whether Congress went too far and overstepped the Separation of Powers clause of the Constitution. All Things Considered, 7 December 2009.

Supremes Ponder Sand and Takings
Florida property owners asked the U.S. Supreme Court to decide if that state's efforts to restore eroded beaches was a challenge to their property rights. The case has widespread implications for coastal communities nationwide that confront beach erosion. All Things Considered, 1 December 2009.

HIT THE BEACH!!!
The U.S. Supreme Court hears a major property rights case Wednesday, a case from Florida that pits the state's need to prevent beach erosion against the rights of property owners to keep ownership of the land at the water's edge.

At issue in the case is the demarcation of what is private and what is public land at the shoreline. And the facts in the dispute are almost as amorphous as the line of dry beach in the sway of the tides. Morning Edition, 2 December 2009.

Court Hears Student Loan Case
The Supreme Court on Tuesday heard the case of a young man who — finding himself in dire economic straits — declared bankruptcy on his debts, which included a student loan. Then, 17 years after a court first approved his bankruptcy, the lender contacted him and said that he still owed them money. All Things Considered, 1 December 2009

Student Loans and Bankruptcy
Student loans are a way of life in America, and the federal government guarantees most of those loans. The question now before the Supreme Court is what the obligations of the lender and the borrower are when a student can't pay. Morning Edition, 1 December 2009.

Oral Argument in the Minors Sentencing Case
Retribution versus the possibility of redemption were at the core of Supreme Court arguments Monday in two cases testing whether it is unconstitutionally cruel and unusual punishment to sentence a juvenile to life in prison without parole — for a crime that does not involve a death. All Things Considered, 9 November 2009

Minors, Life without Parole, and the Eighth Amendment
Is it unconstitutionally cruel and unusual punishment to send a juvenile away to prison for life, without the possibility of parole for a crime that does not involve a death? That's the question the Supreme Court ponders Monday. Morning Edition, 9 November 2009.

Oral Argument in the Prosecutorial Immunity Case
The justices of the Supreme Court struggled Wednesday to figure out whether they should allow lawsuits against prosecutors for framing a suspect. Iowa prosecutors, backed by the federal government and prosecutors across the country, contend that there is "no freestanding constitutional right not to be framed." All Things Considered, 4 November 2009

Can Prosecutors Frame Defendants without Recourse
Do prosecutors have total immunity from lawsuits for anything they do, including framing someone for murder? That is the question the justices of the Supreme Court face Wednesday. Morning Edition, 4 November 2009.

Mutual Funds Case Before the Supremes
The Supreme Court hears arguments Monday in a case testing whether some mutual funds are charging excessive fees. Some 90 million Americans invest in retail mutual funds. While the fees charged by these funds may sound small percentage-wise, they add up to big money. Morning Edition, 2 November 2009.

New Gitmo Case to Go Before The Justices

The U.S. Supreme Court has stepped back into the controversy over what to do about detainees at Guantanamo who have been found to pose no threat to the United States. The justices said today that they will review the case of Chinese Muslims, known as Uighurs, held at Guantanamo Bay since 2002. These are individuals whom the government has long agreed are not enemy combatants and are no threat to the United States.

Oral Arguments in the Cross Case
The U.S. Supreme Court took on a long-running legal fight Wednesday over an 8-foot cross in the Mojave Desert. The court heard arguments on whether the cross, which was erected on federal parkland as a war memorial, violates the rights of those who are offended by its religious symbolism. All Things Considered, 7 October 2009

A Standing Cross on Once Federal Land Is Perused for Standing Question
A white cross erected on a rock outcropping on federal land in California's Mojave Desert is at the heart of a Supreme Court case about the government's display of religious symbols. Morning Edition, 7 October 2009

Oral Arguments in the Animal Cruelty Case
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday on the Obama administration's efforts to reinstate a 10-year-old ban on the production and sale of graphic videos of animal cruelty. The case pits animal-rights groups and the government against free-speech groups and hunters organizations. All Things Considered, 6 October 2009.

Dog Fighting, Video, and the First Amendment to the Court
The Supreme Court hears a major free speech case on Tuesday that asks whether the government can make it a crime to sell or possess any depiction of animal cruelty. The case is about dogfighting videos, but critics argue that it could apply to anything from photos in Field and Stream magazine or hunting videos, to Arnold Schwarzenegger punching a camel in Conan the Barbarian. Morning Edition, 6 October 2009.

The First Day of the 2009 Term
The U.S. Supreme Court formally opened its new term Monday, turning away 1,800 appeals that had accumulated over the summer. The justices also heard their first case, involving police questioning. All Things Considered, 5 October 2009.

A Newish Supreme Court Begins a New Term
The Supreme Court is set to take up issues of campaign finance; gun rights; animal cruelty; and separation of church and state. The court must also adjust to the addition of Justice Sonia Sotomayor, taking over the seat occupied for 19 years by David Souter. Morning Edition, 5 October 2009.

Second Oral Argument in the Hillary: The Movie Case.
"Not waiting for the first Monday in October, the Supreme Court returned Wednesday for arguments in a case that could transform American politics. In its ruling, the court could reverse decades of its own decisions that have blocked corporate spending on federal candidate elections." All Things Considered, 9 September 2009.

Preview of the Re-Argument of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, The Hillary: The Movie Case.
"The justices of the U.S. Supreme Court have returned early from their summer recess to hear arguments in a case that could rip apart the legal underpinnings of the nation's campaign finance laws. For more than a century, for all practical purposes, those laws have barred corporations from spending money on candidate elections." Morning Edition, 9 September 2009.