Supreme Court to decide whether bankruptcy law violates lawyers’ free speech

October 4th, 2009 6 members of Supreme Court attend Catholic MassWASHINGTON — An American cardinal on Sunday issued a plea for the rights of the unborn at a church service that included Vice President Joe Biden, six members of the Supreme Court and hundreds of members of the legal community. Five of the six Roman Catholics on the high court — Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy and Samuel Alito — heard the homily by Cardinal Daniel DiNardo; the sixth, Justice Clarence Thomas, did not attend.

October 1st, 2009 Supreme Court justices sworn in ahead of openingLONDON — Britain's new Supreme Court won't hear its first case until Monday, but the justices are already at work. Shortly after the newly titled justices of the Supreme Court were sworn in Thursday, they got down to business — an impromptu administrative hearing relating to a case they'll decide later this month.

September 30th, 2009 Court to decide on expansion of Miranda rightsWASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is once again trying to clarify what the long-established Miranda rights require the police to do, with the justices on Wednesday agreeing to decide whether officers can interrogate a suspect who said he understood his rights but didn't invoke them. The high court agreed to hear an appeal from Michigan prosecutors who had their conviction of Van Chester Thompkins thrown out by the 6th U.S.

September 15th, 2009 Indians ask Supreme Court if 'Redskins' offendsWASHINGTON — A group of American Indians who find the Washington Redskins name offensive wants the Supreme Court to take up the matter. The group on Monday asked the justices to review a lower court decision that favored the NFL team on a legal technicality.

September 5th, 2009 Campaign finance laws before the Supreme CourtThe federal and state campaign finance laws and legal interpretations of them at stake as the Supreme Court hears a reargument of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission: The court asked lawyers to answer this question: "Should the Court overrule either or both Austin v.

September 3rd, 2009 RI judge temporarily blocks state gov shutdownPROVIDENCE, R.I. — A judge on Rhode Island's Supreme Court has blocked a planned state government shutdown until the full court can consider the case.

July 16th, 2009 Morgenthau praises Sotomayor for high courtWASHINGTON — Veteran New York district attorney Robert Morgenthau is praising one of his former assistants, Sonia Sotomayor, as someone who can be an "outstanding" member of the Supreme Court. Morgenthau told the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday that as an assistant district attorney, Sotomayor understood the importance of every criminal case to the victim.

June 29th, 2009 High court puts Georgia death penalty case on holdSAVANNAH, Ga. — The U.S.

June 29th, 2009 Court won't decide privacy of prescription padsWASHINGTON — The Supreme Court won't stop the state of New Hampshire from making doctors' prescription-writing habits confidential over the objection of companies who analyze and sell that information. The high court on Monday refused to hear an appeal from IMS Health Inc.

June 22nd, 2009 Court won't decide if fake money should look realWASHINGTON — The Supreme Court has refused to hear arguments from a Wal-Mart cashier who said the fake money she agreed to take from counterfeiters was so poorly made that she shouldn't have been convicted of working with them. The court on Monday refused to hear an appeal from Crystal Porter, a Wal-Mart cashier in Seagoville, Texas, who worked with counterfeiters to pass off photocopied $100 bills in the store in exchange for gift cards.

June 15th, 2009 High court strikes down Valdez tax on oil tankersWASHINGTON — The Supreme Court has struck down as unconstitutional a tax that a city in Alaska imposed on oil tankers using its port. The court ruled 7-2 Monday that the city of Valdez has been unfairly taxing tankers that use its port where they load up with crude oil bound for West Coast refineries.

June 15th, 2009 Court to determine if bankruptcy hearing neededWASHINGTON — The Supreme Court will decide whether student loans can be dismissed through bankruptcy with just a notice to the collector instead of a hearing proving that paying the money back would cause an "undue hardship." Francisco Espinosa gave United Student Aid Funds Inc. a Chapter 13 bankruptcy plan saying he would pay back $13,250 on his four student loans.

June 1st, 2009 Court to decide whether to limit patentsWASHINGTON — The Supreme Court has decided to take on an appeal that could decide whether someone can get a patent for a complex business idea. The high court on Monday decided to hear an appeal from Bernard Bilski and Rand Warsaw, who attempted to patent a method for managing weather-related risk having to do with trading in commodities.

April 28th, 2009 Supreme Court OKs regulation of language on TVWASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is giving tentative approval to government regulation of the use of even a single curse word on live television. But the court, in a 5-4 decision Tuesday, is refusing to pass judgment on whether the Federal Communications Commission's "fleeting expletives" policy is in line with First Amendment guarantees of free speech.

April 28th, 2009 FCC 'fleeting expletives' policy in _ for nowWASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday said the government could threaten broadcasters with fines over the use of even a single curse word on live television, yet stopped short of ruling whether the policy violates the Constitution. The court, in a 5-4 decision, refused to pass judgment on whether the Federal Communications Commission's "fleeting expletives" policy is in line with First Amendment guarantees of free speech.