http://www.oyez.org/cases/2007/podcast-decisions U.S. Supreme Court Opinion Announcements, presented by The Oyez Project (www.oyez.org) en The Oyez Project at Chicago-Kent http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_07_320/opinion Does the Millionaire’s Amendment to the 2002 campaign finance law, which raises the contribution limit for those running against a self-financed candidate, violate free speech clause of the First Amendment and the equal protection principle of the Fifth Amendment? Thu, 26 Jun 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56415 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_07_290/opinion Whether provisions of the D.C. Code generally barring the registration of handguns, prohibiting carrying a pistol without a license, and requiring all lawful firearms to be kept unloaded and either disassembled or trigger locked violate the Second Amendment rights of individuals who are not affiliated with any state-regulated militia, but who wish to keep handguns and other firearms for private use in their homes? Thu, 26 Jun 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56331 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_06_1457/opinion May the government permit utility companies to renegotiate long-term contracts with wholesale energy suppliers and, if so, what circumstances justify renegotiation? Thu, 26 Jun 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56381 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_07_219/opinion Does maritime law permit judges to award punitive damages for employee misdeeds and does maritime law allow judge-made remedies when Congress has not authorized them? Wed, 25 Jun 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56430 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_07_343/opinion Do states violate the Eight Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment by imposing the death sentence for the crime of child rape? Wed, 25 Jun 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56359 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_07_6053/opinion Are a criminal defendant's rights under the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment violated when the common law "forfeiture by wrongdoing" doctrine is applied to allow out-of-court statements made by a witness, absent due to the defendant's own conduct, into evidence without giving defendant an opportunity to cross-examine the absent witness? Wed, 25 Jun 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56418 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_07_411/opinion Under the U.S. Supreme Court's decisions in Montana v. U.S. _ and _Nevada v. Hicks, do tribal courts have jurisdiction to hear claims based on civil suits against non-members who voluntarily did business with members? Wed, 25 Jun 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56377 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_07_440/opinion Did the Fifth Circuit err in holding that Rothgery's right to counsel under the Sixth Amendment was not implicated when he was denied counsel at the time of his initial hearing for being a felon in possession of a firearm but the hearing was conducted without the involvement of a prosecutor? Mon, 23 Jun 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56337 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_07_330/opinion Do federal appellate courts have the authority to hike a criminal defendant's sentence in the absence of a government request to do so? Mon, 23 Jun 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56424 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_07_552/opinion Do third-party companies hired by pay-phone operators to collect compensation for coinless long-distance calls have standing to sue telecommunication companies over the amount of the fees? Mon, 23 Jun 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56367 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_06_923/opinion Does an insurance carrier, acting both as the entity determining when awards are to be paid and actually funding those awards, have the right to represent to a court that an individual is disabled when the insurance carrier separately determines for other purposes that the individual is in fact not disabled? Thu, 19 Jun 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56325 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_07_208/opinion Does the Court's prior ruling that a criminal defendant need only be "literate, competent, and understanding" to represent himself at trial set an appropriate standard for defining that defendant's mental competence to invoke his Sixth Amendment right to self-representation when he is otherwise unable to conduct a coherent defense? Thu, 19 Jun 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56426 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_06_1037/opinion Is the use of age as a factor in a retirement plan "arbitrary" rendering the plan discriminatory on its face in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act? Thu, 19 Jun 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56347 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_06_939/opinion Does the National Labor Relations Act, which states that companies' anti-labor speech can only be considered unfair labor practice if it threatens or coerces workers, preempt state laws prohibiting the use of state funds to "assist, promote, or deter union organizing," even if the public funds are transparently segregated? Thu, 19 Jun 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56428 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_06_1505/opinion Under the Supreme Court's decision in Smith v. City of Jackson, must the employer or the employee prove the reasonableness of adverse employment decisions occurring as part of a claim for age discrimination under the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act? Thu, 19 Jun 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56349 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_06_1181/opinion When an illegal resident agrees to voluntarily depart the United States and then files a motion to reopen removal proceedings, does the filing suspend the time period by which the illegal resident must depart the United States under the voluntary departure order? Mon, 16 Jun 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56409 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_07_312/opinion Does 11 U.S.C. Section 1146(c), a provision of the Bankruptcy Code stating that certain asset transfers "under a [confirmed Chapter 11] plan may not be taxed under any law imposing a stamp tax or similar tax," prohibit states from imposing taxes on pre-confirmation asset sales that are essential to the completion of a reorganization plan? Mon, 16 Jun 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56405 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_06_1666/opinion Do U.S. courts have jurisdiction to hear habeas corpus petitions brought on behalf of U.S. citizens detained overseas by American military authorities working as part of a multinational force? Thu, 12 Jun 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56314 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_06_7517/opinion Is a judge required to give both parties advance notice before imposing a criminal sentence that departs from the Federal Sentencing Guidelines? Thu, 12 Jun 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56308 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_07_371/opinion Does the dismissal of a claim based on a Freedom of Information Act request preclude a second individual, based on the concept of "virtual representation," from bringing a similar claim when both claims involve the same project and the parties to each suit are represented by the same attorney? Thu, 12 Jun 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56420 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_06_1204/opinion Did the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit err in approving the award of assets to creditors of former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos when the Philippine government, claiming rightful ownership of the assets, excluded itself from the proceedings based on sovereign immunity? Thu, 12 Jun 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56327 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_06_1195/opinion Should the Military Commissions Act of 2006 be interpreted to strip federal courts of jurisdiction over habeas petitions filed by foreign citizens detained at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba? If so, is the Military Commissions Act of 2006 a violation of the Suspension Clause of the Constitution? Are the detainees at Guantanamo Bay entitled to the protection of the Fifth Amendment right not to be deprived of liberty without due process of law and of the Geneva Conventions? Can the detainees challenge the adequacy of judicial review provisions of the MCA before they have sought to invoke that review? Thu, 12 Jun 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56385 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_07_214/opinion Must whistleblower claimants prove that a private company directly presented a fraudulent bill to the government in order to prevail in a False Claims Act case? Mon, 09 Jun 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56389 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_07_210/opinion May individuals and companies bring RICO lawsuits against defendants whose false statements directly harmed them, even if the defendants made these statements to a neutral third party? Mon, 09 Jun 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56310 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_06_937/opinion May a patent holder seek royalties from companies other than its direct purchaser as the patented product is integrated into larger components during the manufacturing process? Mon, 09 Jun 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56375 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_07_474/opinion Does the Court's ruling in Village of Willowbrook v. Olech, 528 U.S. 562 (2000), allow so-called "class of one" equal protection claims against government bodies in the context of employment discrimination? Mon, 09 Jun 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56320 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_06_1717/opinion Is a plaintiff who has successfully sued the federal government entitled to reimbursement of paralegal fees at market rates or as an expense compensable at cost to the firm under the Equal Access to Justice Act, which allows for recovery of "fees and other expenses" incurred in the proceedings? Mon, 02 Jun 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56339 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_06_1005/opinion In the federal money laundering statute 18 U.S.C. 1956(a)(1), which makes it a crime to use the proceeds of an illegal activity to promote the activity or conceal the proceeds, does the word "proceeds" refer to the gross income received from the illegal activity or to the net income (profits, or gross income minus expenses)? Mon, 02 Jun 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56383 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_06_1456/opinion Does the federal money laundering statute require the government to prove that the defendant was trying to portray ill-gotten gains as legitimate wealth, or must prosecutors show only that the defendant was attempting to conceal criminal proceeds? Mon, 02 Jun 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56363 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_06_1321/opinion Does the ADEA prohibit retaliation against federal employees? Tue, 27 May 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56393 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_06_1431/opinion May a worker sue his employer for retaliation under the Civil Rights Act of 1866? Tue, 27 May 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56316 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_07_77/opinion Under the Voting Rights Act of 1965, was the State of Alabama required to preclear two Alabama Supreme Court decisions invalidating state and local laws creating a special election for local officials in an action against the Governor of Alabama challenging the legality of those elections? Tue, 27 May 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56312 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_06_666/opinion Does a state violate the dormant Commerce Clause by providing an income tax exemption for interest on bonds issued by the state, while denying the exemption to interest on bonds issued by other states? Mon, 19 May 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56401 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_06_1646/opinion Does a crime qualify as “serious” for purposes of the federal career criminal law when the underlying offense is not considered grave, but carries a high prison sentence because it was not the first? Mon, 19 May 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56323 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_06_694/opinion Does the PROTECT Act abridge First Amendment freedom of speech by outlawing the pandering of material that is believed to be, or claimed to be, illegal child pornography? Mon, 19 May 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56304 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_07_455/opinion Does 18 U.S.C. Section 844(h)(2), which prohibits carrying explosives "during the commission of any felony", apply to a defendant convicted of lying to a customs agent because the explosives were not carried "in relation to" the underlying felony? Mon, 19 May 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56355 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_06_11612/opinion May a magistrate judge conduct voir dire if she has received approval from attorneys for both sides, but has not directly sought or received approval from the defendant? Mon, 12 May 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56300 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_07_21/opinion Does a law that requires voters to present either a state or federal photo identification unduly burden citizens’ right to vote? Mon, 28 Apr 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56391 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_06_1082/opinion Does the Fourth Amendment require the suppression of evidence obtained incident to an arrest when the arrest violates a provision of state law? Wed, 23 Apr 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56407 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_06_11429/opinion Did the Fourth Circuit err in determining that Burgess' sentencing hike for a drug distribution charge was sufficiently mandated by 21 U.S.C. Section 841(b)(1)(A), which requires such a hike for individuals with prior felony drug convictions regardless of length of imprisonment, when another federal statute, 21 U.S.C. Section 802, requires that a felony drug offense be "punishable by imprisonment for more than a year"? Wed, 16 Apr 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56373 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_06_11543/opinion Does driving while intoxicated qualify as a violent felony for purposes of the federal career criminal law? Wed, 16 Apr 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56413 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_07_308/opinion Whether the claims of taxpayers seeking refunds for unconstitutionally levied taxes under the Export Clause of the Tucker Act, which applies a six-year statute of limitations, are preempted by the United States Tax Code's three- year statute of limitations for such claims? Tue, 15 Apr 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56365 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_06_1413/opinion Under the governing Supreme Court precedent, Allied-Signal, Inc. v. Director, Div. of Taxation, 504 U.S. 768 (1992), may a parent company use a division as a non-taxable investment when the division is involved in a substantially different business segment but the parent provides cash infusions, investment advice and oversight? Tue, 15 Apr 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56298 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_07_5439/opinion Is the use of a four-drug lethal injection process to carry out death sentences a violation of the Eighth Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment? Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56403 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_134_orig/opinion Does Delaware, under a 1905 compact with New Jersey settling boundary disputes, have the right to refuse to grant a permit for a construction project occurring mainly on New Jersey land but involving underwater land within Delaware's coastal zone? Mon, 31 Mar 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56318 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_06_989/opinion Can a federal court enforce an arbitration agreement that provides for more expansive judicial review of an arbitration award than the narrow standard of review provided for in the Federal Arbitration Act? Tue, 25 Mar 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56432 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_06_984/opinion Did the President act within his constitutional and statutory foreign affairs authority when he determined that states must comply with the U.S. treaty obligation under the Vienna Convention by enforcing a decision of the International Court of Justice? Does the Constitution require state courts to honor the treaty obligation of the U.S. by enforcing a decision of the International Court of Justice? Tue, 25 Mar 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56361 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_06_10119/opinion Did the state's dismissal by peremptory challenge of all of the black potential jurors, combined with the prosecution's comparisons of the case to the O.J. Simpson trial, amount to a violation of the Equal Protection Clause? Wed, 19 Mar 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56379 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_06_1509/opinion Does the return of capital rule apply automatically when a company without earnings or profits distributes money to a shareholder, or must the taxpayer produce contemporaneous evidence that the money was treated as a return of capital when distributed? Mon, 03 Mar 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56333 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_06_1498/opinion Does a federal law prohibiting fraudulent communications to government agencies preempt a state law permitting plaintiffs to sue for faulty products that would not have reached the market absent the fraud? Mon, 03 Mar 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56341 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_06_1322/opinion Does an intake questionnaire submitted to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission qualify as the charge of discrimination required by the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, even if the EEOC did not treat the questionnaire as a charge? Wed, 27 Feb 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56345 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_06_1221/opinion In employment discrimination cases, must a court admit "me, too" evidence - testimony by other employees who are not parties to the case and who were allegedly discriminated against by persons who had no role in the employment decision being challenged by the plaintiff? Tue, 26 Feb 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56343 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_06_179/opinion Does Section 360k(a) of the Medical Device Amendments to the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act preempt state-law claims seeking damages for injuries caused by medical devices that received premarket approval from the Food and Drug Administration. Wed, 20 Feb 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56422 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_06_457/opinion Does the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 preempt a state law that uses the state's police power to require that air and motor carriers take steps to ensure that tobacco is not sold to minors? Wed, 20 Feb 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56387 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_06_8273/opinion When determining whether Supreme Court decisions on constitutional rules of criminal procedure apply retroactively, may state supreme courts use state-law retroactivity standards that are broader than the standard in Teague v. Lane? Wed, 20 Feb 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56302 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_06_856/opinion Does Section 502(a)(2) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 allow an employee pension plan participant to sue the plan manager for losses caused by breach of fiduciary duties in administering the plan, even when the losses affected only the participant's personal account? Does a suit brought by a plan participant against the plan manager for breach of fiduciary duty qualify as a suit for "equitable relief" for the purposes of Section 502(a)(3) of ERISA? Wed, 20 Feb 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56353 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_06_1463/opinion Must a contract dispute to go arbitration pursuant to the document’s arbitration clause when an administrative agency has exclusive jurisdiction over the disputed issue? Wed, 20 Feb 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56434 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_06_9130/opinion In the detention of goods exception to the waiver of sovereign immunity in the Federal Tort Claims Act, is the phrase "other law enforcement officer" limited to officers acting in a tax, excise, or customs capacity? Tue, 22 Jan 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56369 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_06_766/opinion Does a state judicial appointment system in which appointments are made by political party delegates elected by party members violate the First Amendment association rights of voters and candidates? Wed, 16 Jan 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56329 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_06_1286/opinion Does 26 U.S.C. 67(e) allow trusts and estates to fully deduct the cost of investment management and advisory services on their income tax returns? Wed, 16 Jan 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56351 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_06_43/opinion Are claims for deceptive conduct under Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 barred by the Court's decision in Central Bank v. First International Bank when the defendant engaged in fraudulent transactions designed to inflate a corporation's financial statements, but made no public statements concerning those transactions? Tue, 15 Jan 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56411 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_06_1164/opinion Is the six-year statute of limitations in the Tucker Act a jurisdictional requirement? Tue, 08 Jan 2008 13:00:00 +0000 56335 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_06_6330/opinion When imposing a sentence for distributing crack cocaine, may a District Court judge consider the impact of the 100-to-1 crack/powder ratio and the Sentencing Commission's view that the ratio leads to exaggerated sentences for crimes involving crack cocaine? May a District Court judge, in an effort to avoid a sentencing disparity, impose a sentence that is below the range recommended by the 100-to-1 crack/powder ratio in the Guidelines? Mon, 10 Dec 2007 13:00:00 +0000 56306 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_06_571/opinion Does the receipt of an unloaded firearm as payment for drugs constitute "use" of a firearm during a drug trafficking offense for purposes of federal law? Mon, 10 Dec 2007 13:00:00 +0000 56357 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_06_7949/opinion May Courts of Appeals apply a presumption of unreasonableness to sentences that fall outside the range in the federal sentencing guidelines, so that district courts must justify below-guidelines sentences with a finding of extraordinary circumstances? Mon, 10 Dec 2007 13:00:00 +0000 56399 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_06_6911/opinion Are convictions that do not result in loss of civil rights excluded from the three convictions necessary to activate the Armed Career Criminal Act's sentence enhancement? Tue, 04 Dec 2007 13:00:00 +0000 56371 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_06_1287/opinion Does the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 require a federal district court determining the "true market value" of railroad property to accept the valuation method chosen by the State? Tue, 04 Dec 2007 13:00:00 +0000 56397 at http://www.oyez.org http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2007/2007_06_637/opinion Does the Individuals with Disabilities Act provide for public tuition reimbursement for private school when a child has not previously received special education from a public school? Wed, 10 Oct 2007 13:00:00 +0000 56395 at http://www.oyez.org