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Associated Press
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Jun 25, 08 10:19 AM CDT
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The Supreme Court found today that the “death penalty is not a proportional punishment for the rape of a child,” striking down a Louisiana law as cruel and unusual punishment. While the court split 5-4 on the hot-button issue—swing justice Anthony Kennedy penned the opinion—there has not been an execution in 44 years for a crime that didn’t involve a victim’s death.
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Los Angeles Times
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Jun 23, 08 1:06 PM CDT
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The Supreme Court today agreed to hear the US Navy's objection to a court order that ships may not use sonar within 12 miles of the California coast because high-frequency signals are harming whales and other marine life, the Los Angeles Times reports. The Bush administration argues that the judge exceeded her authority in putting environmental concerns before national security.
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Washington Post
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Jun 21, 08 3:44 PM CDT
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President Bush ignored warnings that his detainee policy would spark a Supreme Court backlash, the Washington Post reports. Top lawyers both in and outside Washington said that jailing suspects without Congressional approval would push the court to rule on national security—but the White House either ignored the advice or disagreed.
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New York Times
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Jun 19, 08 4:33 PM CDT
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The Supreme Court ruled today that it is up to employers in age-discrimination lawsuits to prove that their actions resulted from “reasonable factors other than age,” the New York Times reports. With the opinion making it easier for employees to sue, the court explained to opponents that Congress’ wording of the law “set the balance where it is.”
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Los Angeles Times
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Jun 16, 08 3:01 PM CDT
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The Supreme Court today agreed to hear an appeal from John Ashcroft, with the former attorney general insisting top government officials cannot be sued by immigrants who allege they were beaten and abused after 9/11. Lower courts have refused to dismiss a suit from a man who was held for 6 months before being deported to Pakistan—without being charged, the Los Angeles Times reports.
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Newsweek
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Jun 15, 08 7:45 PM CDT
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President Bush forced the Supreme Court’s hand by overplaying his own over Guantanamo detainees, Stuart Taylor, Jr. writes in Newsweek . Courts usually defer to Washington on national security, but Bush so flouted ordinary "ideas of justice and liberty" that he "put the Supreme Court in an impossible position." Stuck with detainees who say they are innocent, justices have granted them full access to federal courts.
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New York Times
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Jun 14, 08 10:45 AM CDT
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The Supreme Court's ruling on Guantanamo detainees may put the court in the election spotlight for the first time in decades, Linda Greenhouse writes in the New York Times . The dramatic language of Antonin Scalia's dissent could be a signpost for conservatives worried about the court's course; because of the one-vote margin, liberals are just as concerned.
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New York Times
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Jun 13, 08 9:17 AM CDT
(Newser) -
The Supreme Court's ruling yesterday against the Bush administration will not shut down the Guantanamo Bay detention center. But by concluding that detainees can appeal their detention in US civilian courts, the high court stripped away its reason for being, erasing the government's claim that an offshore prison was beyond US law. The New York Times looks at both the legal and the military implications of the ruling.
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Salon
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Jun 12, 08 6:47 PM CDT
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Today's Supreme Court decision giving Guantanamo Bay prisoners the right to challenge their detention "will be one of the most celebrated landmark rulings of this generation," Glenn Greenwald writes in Salon. By upholding habeas corpus—a rebuke to the Bush administration and complicit pols of all stripes—the court rescued one of the nation's most important principles.
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Wall Street Journal
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Jun 12, 08 10:39 AM CDT
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Terror suspects have the right to challenge their detention in US federal courts, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 today, in yet another blow to the Bush administration's terrorism policies. The ruling dismisses the military tribunals currently in effect in Guantanamo Bay as an inadequate substitute for a court review of detainees' status as "enemy combatant."
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USA Today
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Jun 10, 08 4:15 PM CDT
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Even as Sandra Day O’Connor public profile as an advocate for Alzheimer’s disease research grows, the legal imprint of the first woman Supreme Court justice is fading, USA Today reports. Since her departure, the Roberts court has shifted course on abortion and retreated from positions supported by her swing vote on affirmative action and campaign finance.
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Oregonian (Portland)
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Jun 9, 08 1:04 PM CDT
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The Supreme Court today agreed to hear a third appeal of Oregon’s $79.5-million punitive-damage award against Philip Morris. The justices have twice sent the verdict back to Oregon’s high court, part of an effort to limit punitive damages to nine times the size of compensatory damages. This time, the AP reports, they will consider only whether Oregon courts ignored their previous ruling.
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USA Today
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Jun 9, 08 8:49 AM CDT
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The Supreme Court is poised to begin unveiling decisions today in some of the year's most heated cases, reports USA Today . As the term winds down, the 26 final opinions will be released on select days in June, and include clashes over Guantanamo detainees, DC's handgun ban, and the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill.
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Wired
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Jun 5, 08 3:28 AM CDT
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Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor isn't taking it easy now that she's no longer writing decisions, Wired reports. The first woman to be appointed to the top court is leading a project to help young people learn more about their government through a video game. Our Courts, an online game to debut next year, will let students step into the shoes of judges or attorneys arguing real cases.
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Los Angeles Times
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Jun 2, 08 2:15 PM CDT
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The Supreme Court refused today to hear an appeal by Major League Baseball against a ruling that allowed fantasy sports leagues to use real players' names and stats without paying a licensing fee, the Los Angeles Time s reports. MLB contended such leagues shouldn't "exploit players' identity for commercial gain;" the for-profit ventures said free-speech law allows it.
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