Questions tagged [us-supreme-court]
For questions related to the Supreme Court of the United States of America.
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Can US Supreme Court justices / judges be “rotated” out against their will?
In last night's US Presidential Debate, candidate and US Senator Bernie Sanders asserted the option of being able to "rotate" Supreme Court judges / justices to other courts. As quoted in The Hill:
...
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53 views
How to find audio of US Supreme Court oral arguments?
The newer audio (starting with 2010) are available on the Supreme Court's website. Older arguments are available at www.oyez.org. Oyez page shows the written transcript of the oral arguments as well ...
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47 views
System of Checks and Balances: Judicial Overreach?
Israel has no formal constitution. Instead, it has a series of "foundational laws" that can only be changed by a supermajority and serve as a de facto constitution. In 1992, the Israeli Supreme Court ...
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1answer
94 views
What does Justice Anthony Kennedy mean by 'you're recused'?
I refer to 71:31.
71:31 And Hugo Black stands up and stalks out
71:34 of the room, which is our polite way of saying, you're recused.
71:38 And so, the argument went on.
71:41 And at the end ...
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1answer
78 views
Besides Sudan, have any other foreign countries argued before the Supreme Court of the United States?
This term the Supreme Court ruled in the case Republic of Sudan v. Harrison, in which a foreign country, namely Sudan, appeared before the Court to argue its case. Has this ever happened before?
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1answer
53 views
Given Shapiro v. Thompson, why are US states allowed to charge higher tuition fees to new residents?
If I'm reading Shapiro v. Thompson correctly, US states are not allowed to require a period of residence before providing welfare benefits to US citizens. But doesn't this mean that charging different ...
4
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1answer
82 views
Do people born in unincorporated US territories have a constitutional right to non-citizen nationality?
In Downes v. Bidwell, the Supreme Court concluded that the Citizenship Clause does not apply to people born in unincorporated territories of the United States.
Instead, if they had no other claim to ...
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2answers
217 views
Can the Supreme Court perpetually deny petitions for certiorari?
What, if anything, prevents the Supreme Court from perpetually denying all petitions for certiorari?
5
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2answers
1k views
Source of Supreme Court's authority to overrule prior Supreme Court decisions
If the Supreme Court is the final authority, where does the authority of future Supreme Courts come from, to overturn prior results? Wouldn't past and future courts be of equal authority?
0
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2answers
144 views
Can a judge/justice file a lawsuit and bring a case to their own court? What happens then?
Can a judge or justice (I'm interested in both) file a lawsuit that would normally fall under their own court's jurisdiction?
What happens in such a scenario? I'm especially interested in the answer ...
0
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2answers
617 views
Can the US Supreme Court hear an appeal from State Supreme Court w/o a federal question?
Is it a matter of choice that the US Supreme Court will reject a case from a State Supreme Court that does not have a federal question or are there binding jurisdictional requirements that would ...
0
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2answers
182 views
Textualism and originalism
In the context of interpreting the U.S. Constitution, what is the distinction between textualism and originalism? Are the two approaches applied much outside of the U.S. in other contexts?
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2answers
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Could the Supreme Court prohibit abortion? (And other misconceptions about overturning Roe v Wade)
Here's my layman's understanding of Roe v Wade:
A state had a law prohibiting abortion;
That law was challenged all the way up to the Supreme Court;
The Supreme Court found a right to abortion in the ...
5
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1answer
2k views
Can a Supreme Court Justice be recalled?
Hypothetically, an individual has been nominated by the President to fill an open position on the US Supreme Court.
The Senate has held committee hearings, the entire Senate has advised and consented,...
1
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1answer
73 views
Which Supreme Court justices have been the most anti-intellectual property? [closed]
Which Supreme Court justices, present or historical, have ruled the most against intellectual property rights?
2
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1answer
496 views
The five-year statute of limitations on lying to Congress
Part of the point of bringing someone before Congress is that they're forced to tell the truth or risk perjury charges. However, the charges only seem to apply if Congress can quickly dig up proof of ...
3
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2answers
137 views
What is the precedent for what a Supreme Court nominee can or cannot say during their hearing with the Senate Committee on the Judiciary?
Senators have asked Brett Kavanaugh about a wide number of issues these last two days. A number of exchanges have become very predictable:
Q: How do you feel about a past decision? A: It is precedent....
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2answers
485 views
Have Supreme Court cases with multiple subsequent reaffirming decisions been overturned?
Suppose Supreme Court decision A is subsequently reaffirmed in decisions B and C. Have there ever been situations where the court later overturns A, despite B and C?
1
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1answer
97 views
Washington v Davis in How To Get Away With Murder
In How To Get Away With Murder S04E13, a character says
In Washington v.
Davis, your predecessors decided that even if a law has a discriminatory effect, it is unconstitutional if that was not ...
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1answer
76 views
Would overturning Raich affect Filburn?
If SCOTUS decided that Gonzales v. Raich abuses the commerce clause to ridiculous proportions and overturns it, would they necessarily have to overturn Wickard v. Filburn also?
2
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2answers
617 views
When was pretrial detention first declared constitutional?
I assume that early on in American history, pretrial detention was at some point challenged for its constitutionality. Is that the case?
I have also heard that pretrial detention is illegal as a ...
2
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3answers
213 views
Can a judge give a direct order to a police officer?
I'm a layperson. I have seen judges tell police officers to take an action (ex.evict someone or handcuff a defendant). Are police officers required to follow instructions from judges?
I've always ...
8
votes
1answer
142 views
Why are the promises President Trump made on the travel ban not relevant to determine whether the executive order itself is constitutional?
Today (26th of June 2018), the SCOTUS decided that the Sept. 2017 Executive Order banning travelers from several predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States (the "Travel Ban") does ...
15
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1answer
3k views
What did Colorado say in Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission that Kennedy found to be “neither tolerant or respectful”?
In today's decision by the Supreme Court in the case of Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission Justice Kennedy said the treatment of the baker was "neither tolerant or respectful". ...
3
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2answers
468 views
Why is sports gambling not considered interstate commerce?
It is generally agreed that the United States can prohibit intrastate sales of goods it feels might affect interstate commerce under the Commerce Clause. How does intrastate gambling differ? ...
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3answers
100 views
Appeal from state's Supreme Court
MY anal retentive state state supreme court, refused acceptance of my appeal because the certificate of service was wrong. I sta stated the party would be notify through the E filing system but there ...
2
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1answer
305 views
What case was it where Clarence Thomas sided with the liberal justices in order to remain consistent with a previous ruling?
I have a memory of a case but I can't seem to find it.
What I remember is that there was a case in which the court split along partisan lines. Then, a few years later, a similar case came before the ...
2
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2answers
410 views
What did SCOTUS signify by 'metaphysical doubt'?
Legal Writing in Plain English (2nd edn, 2013). po. 214 Bottom - 215 Top. Link to old edition.
If the evidence is merely colorable, or is not sufficiently probative, summary
judgment is proper....
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1answer
280 views
Board of Estimate of City of New York v. Morris
In 1989, Board of Estimate of City of New York v. Morris unanimously declared New York City’s Board of Estimate Unconstitutional, as it violated the “one man, one vote” principle derived form 14th ...
2
votes
1answer
113 views
What is the history of rules requiring prosecutors to disclose evidence?
I was surprised to discover that Brady v. Maryland was decided as recently as 1963. Not knowing enough about the context in which it was decided, I am having trouble understanding exactly what ...
1
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1answer
910 views
Can the federal government force state/local governments to share resources with neighbouring states/localities?
There is an increasing amount of tension between multiple states associated with essential resources like water. Here's a link - https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/2789784 .
If a state tries to build a ...
3
votes
1answer
177 views
After US Supreme Court overturns precedent, are old cases revisited?
Hypothetical scenario:
1950: government uses method A to convict John Doe of crime B, SCOTUS upholds conviction
1990: government uses method A to convict Jake Smith of crime B
2000: government ...
3
votes
1answer
90 views
Is this an exercise of the US Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction?
I was checking the US Supreme Court’s website for recent opinions and came across one for State of Montana v. State of Wyoming and State of North Dakota. This opinion looks very different than the ...
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2answers
2k views
What is the significance of dissenting opinions in appellate court decisions?
Appellate courts often hear cases en banc and decide them by simple majority of the judges on the bench. The majority will typically sign a single "per curiam" decision, which constitutes the ...
3
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1answer
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U.S. v. Cruikshank (1876) decision
Background
According to my textbook:
In Cruikshank ... the [Supreme] Court ruled that voting rights remained a state prerogative unless the state itself violated those rights. So long as the civil ...
0
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1answer
2k views
Who would declare a law unconstitutional if the Supreme Court couldn't?
Let's say the US Congress is passing a law. They are afraid that it would be declared unconstitutional in court, so they add an addendum saying "It is illegal for the Supreme Court to try this ...
2
votes
2answers
148 views
How could Korematsu be overturned?
The US Supreme Court Case Korematsu (1944) ruled that the internment of American citizens of Japanese ancestry was legal out of concern for national security. This case is now generally regarded as a ...
0
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1answer
68 views
How do 'suicide pacts' relate to the US Constitution? [closed]
Justice Jackson's dissent in Terminiello v. City of Chicago, 337 U.S. 1 (1949):
This Court has gone far toward accepting the doctrine that civil liberty means the removal of all restraints from ...
2
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2answers
251 views
Arguments in Masterpiece Cakeshop v Colorado Civil Rights Commission
Oral arguments were recently held before the supreme court in Masterpiece Cakeshop v Colorado Civil Rights Commission. The discussion was almost exclusively about the 1st amendment's free speech ...
0
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1answer
253 views
Why can some states choose to reject the Attractive Nuisance Doctrine?
In the United States, the US Supreme Court established the Turntable Doctrine, in R.R. Co. v. Stout, 84 U.S. 657. As I understand it, In general, if a person is injured while trespassing on someone’s ...
2
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0answers
182 views
Why did Judge Bazile issue a ruling on the Loving case years after the case was closed and appeal deadlines had passed?
Everything in Hollywood's historical movies is true, right?
OK, There are known counterexamples.....
The recent film Loving is about the case in which Richard Loving and Mildred Jeter, who resided ...
0
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1answer
118 views
Contradictory rulings by two circuit courts?
How often do two circuit courts issue contradictory legal opinion (my layman's understanding is that they would tend to use the earlier opinion as precedent, so that shouldn't happen too often?)
If ...
3
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1answer
274 views
Are there any situations where SCOTUS is required as first step?
As far as I know, when the cases are heard by Federal judiciary, they are first heard by lower level courts, and only get escalated to SCOTUS once appealed from a ruling by a circuit court.
Is that ...
0
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2answers
106 views
Why did the US Supreme Court hear this case?
An op-ed entitled A Major Church-State Ruling That Shouldn't Have Happened claims that
In Trinity v. Comer, there was no remaining dispute between the actual parties
As I understand it, courts ...
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2answers
328 views
Where to find brief for Jaffe vs Roberts
I am interested in finding the brief of the petitioner in the US Supreme Court case "Robert J. Jaffe, Petitioner v. John G. Roberts, Jr., Chief Justice, Supreme Court of the United States, et al."
...
1
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2answers
300 views
USA Supreme Court and Congress response
I was viewing this video, which is the Crash Course on Government and Politics #22 : judicial Decisions
The teacher says:
"[Supreme Court] justices might be influenced by congress because they ...
1
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1answer
68 views
What would happen if an attorney was incapacitated near the start of Supreme Court oral arguments?
Presenting oral arguments at the Supreme Court seems like a high-pressure situation that usually applies to older attorneys.
What would happen if, near the beginning of oral arguments, lead counsel ...
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2answers
53 views
Is there a list of SCOTUS decisions by “side”?
Is there a source that lists all SCOTUS decisions for, say, the past 25 years, which names justices in the majority, versus dissenting justices (even better, separated by written opinion so that ...
1
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1answer
168 views
Can you go to the Supreme Court just to get a stay on a TRO?
Right now State of Washington v. Trump is, as I understand it, still a district-level case. Judge Robart issued a TRO against the order, and the DoJ appealed for a stay on the TRO. The district court ...
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2answers
221 views
How does one supreme court case set the standard for all following cases?
I was reading about forced arbitration clauses, or class action wavers, which are a type of contract of adhesion which can come with some products and services. Historically, these were deemed ...
