Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search

July 25, 2008 1:46:57 PM CDT

Learn about Newser Points »

The Roberts Court track this thread

Started by J Kelman; Last updated Feb 26, 08 3:39 PM CST by D Lim | View history

Rate it:
Print E-mail | Digg Seed this on Newsvine Add this link to Del.icio.us StumbleUpon | Edit thread | Notify editors | + Start a new thread
The Roberts Court

How has the Supreme Court changed under its new chief justice?

The nation's highest court has taken a swing to the right under John Roberts, with an assist from Samuel Alito, but not quite  the one some analysts expected. The Chief Justice's hope of unifying liberals and conservatives in more consensus votes has sometimes borne fruit, especially in withdrawing power from the executive branch in its War on Terror. But the decision to back a ban on late-term abortion was a rancorous 5-4 split.

Stories

Stories 1 - 20 of 41

<< Prev 1 2 3 Next >>
  • June 2008

    • Mayors Call for Middle Ground on Guns

      newser  |  Wall Street Journal  |  Jun 30, 08 9:44 AM CDT

      Mayors Call for Middle Ground on Guns

      Extremist-driven debate over gun control “made for good political theater,” but it hasn’t accomplished much, mayors Michael Bloomberg of New York and Thomas Menino of Boston write in the Wall Street Journal. Now that the Supreme Court has clarified the issue, it’s time to implement some common-sense consensus changes to the nation's gun laws. More »

    • Chief Justice Ain't Got a Bob Dylan Quote

      newser  |  New York Times  |  Jun 29, 08 4:22 PM CDT

      Chief Justice Ain't Got a Bob Dylan Quote

      A Supreme Court decision was livened up this week by a quote from 1960s thinker, Robert Dylan—known to his fans as Bob. Regarding a stand-off between phone companies, Chief Justice John Roberts quoted, "When you got nothing, you got nothing to lose," from Bob Dylan's 1965 hit Like a Rolling Stone . But Roberts left out a word that most Dylan fans remember, the New York Times reports. More »

    • McCain Would Tilt Split Court Right

      newser  |  Washington Post  |  Jun 29, 08 1:19 PM CDT

      McCain Would Tilt Split Court Right

      America’s choice for president will likely ripple all the way to the halls of the sharply divided Supreme Court, the Washington Post reports. Since the next justice to retire is likely to be left-leaning, a Barack Obama victory would maintain the status quo of four conservatives, four liberals, and Anthony M. Kennedy serving as the swing vote. But if John McCain appoints the next justice, the court could swing decidedly to the right. More »

    • Gitmo Will Be Transformed, Not Closed

      newser  |  New York Times  |  Jun 13, 08 9:17 AM CDT

      Gitmo Will Be Transformed, Not Closed

      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. More »

    • O'Connor's Imprint Fades

      newser  |  USA Today  |  Jun 10, 08 4:15 PM CDT

      O'Connor's Imprint Fades

      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. More »

    • Court Readies Term's Testiest Decisions

      newser  |  USA Today  |  Jun 9, 08 8:49 AM CDT

      Court Readies Term's Testiest Decisions

      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. More »

  • May 2008

    • Court Upholds Child Porn Law

      newser  |  Los Angeles Times  |  May 19, 08 12:11 PM CDT

      Court Upholds Child Porn Law

      The Supreme Court today upheld a tough federal child pornography law in a 7-2 decision, the Los Angeles Times reports. The law makes it illegal to offer or seek child porn online, even if there is no actual pornography, or if the images are computer-generated rather than of actual children. The decision overturns an appeals-court ruling that the law infringed on free speech. More »

  • April 2008

    • Scalia On Bush v. Gore: 'Get Over It'

      newser  |  CBS  |  Apr 24, 08 6:20 PM CDT

      Scalia On Bush v. Gore: 'Get Over It'

      "Get over it," Justice Antonin Scalia tells critics who accuse the Supreme Court of letting political motivations affect its 2000 decision in Bush v. Gore. Plus, Al Gore was responsible for pushing the Florida recount through the courts, Scalia points out in an upcoming 60 Minutes interview. And while he's a self-confessed social conservative, "it does not affect my views on cases," he says. More »

    • Lethal Injection Ruling Will Spur Executions, Lawsuits

      newser  |  New York Times  |  Apr 17, 08 10:42 AM CDT

      Lethal Injection Ruling Will Spur Executions, Lawsuits

      Executions will resume in the United States, thanks to the Supreme Court’s ruling on lethal injection yesterday, but so will lawsuits, the New York Times reports. By condoning methods “substantially similar” to Kentucky’s, the court has invited more challenges. “We have left the states with nothing resembling a bright-line rule,” said Clarence Thomas. “Today’s decision is sure to engender more litigation.” More »

    • Justices to Weigh Death Penalty for Child Rape

      newser  |  Washington Post  |  Apr 14, 08 9:02 AM CDT

      Justices to Weigh Death Penalty for Child Rape

      The Supreme Court could forbid the death penalty for child rapists in a major upcoming decision, the Washington Post reports. On Wednesday, the court will hear the case of a Louisiana man who raped his 8-year-old stepdaughter so violently she needed surgery—a case that follows a series of landmark decisions that rolled back capital punishment for the mentally impaired and minors, in accordance with "evolving standards of decency." More »

  • March 2008

    • Supreme Court Overturns La. Death Sentence

      newser  |  Washington Post  |  Mar 20, 08 5:09 AM CDT

      Supreme Court Overturns La. Death Sentence

      The Supreme Court has ordered a new trial for a former Marine awaiting execution on Louisiana's death row. Allen Snyder, an African-American, was convicted of fatally stabbing his estranged wife and her boyfriend, but the court ruled 7-2 that prosecutors acted improperly by using its challenges to seat an all-white jury, reports the Washington Post . More »

    • Supremes to Weigh On-Air Swearing

      newser  |  Reuters  |  Mar 17, 08 1:11 PM CDT

      Supremes to Weigh On-Air Swearing

      The Supreme Court might take up a gavel in one hand and a bar of soap in the other next term, when it considers a case challenging the FCC’s “fleeting utterances” standards, it announced today. The FCC is appealing a lower-court ruling—which arose when Cher dropped an F-bomb during a 2002 Fox broadcast—that it has failed to “articulate a reasoned basis” for the rules. More »

    • DC's Handgun Ban Heads to Supreme Court

      newser  |  Washington Post  |  Mar 16, 08 1:57 PM CDT

      DC's Handgun Ban Heads to Supreme Court

      John Roberts' Supreme Court will get a rare crack at an undefined piece of the Bill of Rights this week when it examines whether Washington, DC's handgun ban violates the Second Amendment. Though Americans' right to bear arms has been debated for 200 years, reports the Washington Post, the court will clarify whether the Constitution guarantees an individual right to gun ownership or if it relates only to militia service.  More »

    • Justices' Stock Portfolios Cripple Cases

      newser  |  Bloomberg  |  Mar 7, 08 7:35 PM CST

      Justices' Stock Portfolios Cripple Cases

      The stock portfolios of Supreme Court justices have become a flash point this term, in which six cases could be affected by justices recusing themselves because they own financial stakes in companies involved. Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Samuel Alito, and Justice Stephen Bryer have bowed out of cases involving Pfizer, Exxon and Cisco, respectively—apparently because of stock holdings, Bloomberg reports. More »

  • February 2008

    • Supreme Court Declines to Rule in Ageism Case

      newser  |  New York Times  |  Feb 26, 08 4:55 PM CST

      Supreme Court Declines to Rule in Ageism Case

      The Supreme Court bounced an age-discrimination case back to district court for clarification today without making a ruling, the New York Times reports. The district court had ruled that other Sprint employees could not testify in the case of Ellen Mendelsohn, who alleges Sprint fired her because of her age. She was 51 at the time. More »

    • Supreme Court Denies Tobacco Industry Appeal

      newser  |  Wall Street Journal  |  Feb 25, 08 12:30 PM CST

      Supreme Court Denies Tobacco Industry Appeal

      The Supreme Court today handed the tobacco industry a setback, rejecting without comment an appeal contending that West Virginia’s two-tiered system of consolidating cases is unconstitutional. In their appeal, industry lawyers called the process “deeply and fundamentally flawed,” the Wall Street Journal reports, but the plaintiffs' lawyers argued that hearing the cases individually would take "at least 180 judge years." More »

    • Supreme Court Ruling Boosts Medical Tech

      newser  |  New York Times  |  Feb 20, 08 6:20 PM CST

      Supreme Court Ruling Boosts Medical Tech

      A Supreme Court ruling today makes it nearly impossible for patients and their families to sue makers of federally approved medical devices under state law. The court ruled 8-1 in favor of cardiovascular device company Medtronic, dismissing a suit brought by a patient injured after one of the company's balloon catheters burst during an angioplasty, the New York Times reports. More »

  • January 2008

    • Court Skeptical of Challenge to Lethal Injection

      newser  |  Los Angeles Times  |  Jan 7, 08 2:49 PM CST

      Court Skeptical of Challenge to Lethal Injection

      As the Supreme Court opened its hearing on lethal injection today, justices expressed serious doubts that the method amounts to cruel and unusual punishment, the LA Times reports. Most of the panel, including Chief Justice John Roberts, seemed unconvinced that the three-chemical cocktail results in a painful death, or that a better option exists. A national moratorium is in place while the high court weighs the issue. More »

  • December 2007

    • Supremes: Judges Can Shorten Crack Sentences

      newser  |  CNN  |  Dec 10, 07 1:00 PM CST

      Supremes: Judges Can Shorten Crack Sentences

      The Supreme Court ruled today that federal judges can use discretion to order shorter prison sentences in crack cocaine crimes, to lessen a disparity with sentencing for powdered cocaine. It was a win for civil rights advocates, who have long argued that sentencing guidelines call for longer terms in crimes involving crack because defendants are overwhelmingly from urban and minority communities, CNN reports. More »

  • October 2007

    • Polarized Court Damages Own Legacy

      newser  |  New Republic  |  Oct 1, 07 7:07 PM CDT

      Polarized Court Damages Own Legacy

      Despite the chief justice’s declared intentions, the Roberts Court ravages the idea of “rule based on principle,” acting instead like a polarized political body, the New Republic ’s Benjamin Wittes argues. Speeches about division's acidic effects aside, John Roberts smirks at precedent even as lefty colleagues on his court, which began its third term today, get hysterical in a heartbeat. More »

Stories 1 - 20 of 41

<< Prev 1 2 3 Next >>
WASHINGTON, DC -- Judge John Roberts answers questions from senators on the second day of his Supreme Court confirmation hearings before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washingt   (KRT Photos)
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts Speaks At University Of Miami   (Getty Images)
  (Associated Press)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

Related Threads

Supreme Court  •  John Roberts  •  Antonin Scalia  •  Samuel Alito  •  Capital Punishment  •  Ruth Bader Ginsburg  •  Election 2008  •  The Gitmo Gulag  •  Clinton-Obama Tussle  •  Environment

Background

Supreme Court
The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English

Su·preme Court • n. the highest judicial court in most U.S. states. ∎  (in full U.S. Supreme ...

» Read more about Supreme Court at Encyclopedia.com

John Roberts
Wikipedia

John Glover Roberts Jr. (born January 27, 1955) is the seventeenth and current Chief Justice of the United States. Before joining the Supreme Court on September 29, 2005, Roberts was a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Previously, he spent 14 years in...

» Read more about John Roberts at Wikipedia

More Recommend Reading
Loading...

What is Newser?

2008 Codie Finalist

Newser gives you more news in less time. We search for the best and most important stories all over the web, read them for you, and deliver concise and sharp summaries—along with links to the full text. Newser provides a way to stay on top of an ever-expanding horizon of news and opinion—politics, sports, business, trends, technology, personalities, crimes, and controversies. Newser keeps you not just better informed, but, with our signature graphic interface and smart condensed format, more enjoyably informed.

Learn more »