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FindLaw Opinion Summaries - USSC Denial of Post-Conviction Relief in Capital Case Vacated In Sears v. Upton, No. 09-8854, a capital murder prosecution, the Court vacated the Georgia Supreme Court's affirmance of the denial of post-conviction relief, holding that the state post-conviction trial court failed to apply the correct prejudice inquiry the Court had... Fourteenth Amendment Incorporates Second Amendment Right to Bear Arms McDonald v. City of Chicago, No. 08-1521, involved an action against the City of Chicago alleging that the City's handgun ban left plaintiffs vulnerable to criminals.  The Court reversed judgment for defendants, holding that the Fourteenth Amendment incorporates the Second... Limitations on Removal of Officials from Public Company Accounting Oversight Board Unconstitutional Free Enterprise Fund v. Pub. Co. Acctg. Oversight Bd., No. 08-861, concerned an action against the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and its members, seeking, inter alia, a declaratory judgment that the Board was unconstitutional and an injunction preventing the... University's Denial of Recognition to Christian Student Organization Affirmed Christian Legal Soc. v. Martinez, No. 08-1371, involved an action against Hastings College of Law, a public law school, alleging that Hastings' refusal to grant a Christian group "Registered Student Organization" status violated its First and Fourteenth Amendment rights to free speech,... Denial of Commodities Trading-Related Patent Application Affirmed Bilski v. Kappos, No. 08-964, involved a patent application seeking protection for a claimed invention explaining how commodities buyers and sellers in the energy market could protect, or hedge, against the risk of price changes.  The Court affirmed the denial... First Amendment Challenge to the Washington Public Records Act Rejected Doe v. Reed, No. 09-559, involved a First Amendment challenge to the Washington Public Records Act based on its provision permitting the disclosure of referendum petition signers' names and addresses.  The Court affirmed the Ninth Circuit's reversal of the district... Securities and Exchange Act Section 10(b) Does Not Provide Cause of Action Concerning Foreign Exchanges Morrison v. Nat'l Australia Bank Ltd., No. 08-1191, involved a securities fraud action by Australian citizens claiming that defendant corporation and its officers manipulated financial models to make the company's mortgage-servicing rights appear more valuable than they really were.  The... Collective Bargaining Act Ratification Date Was For District Court To Resolve Granite Rock Co. v. Int'l. Brotherhood of Teamsters, No. 08-1214, an action against a labor union by an employer, invoking federal jurisdiction under section 301(a) of the Labor Management Relations Act (LMRA), seeking strike-related damages for the unions' alleged breach... Capital Habeas Petition Not "Second or Successive" In Magwood v. Patterson, No. 09-158, a capital habeas matter, the Court reversed the Eleventh Circuit's reversal of the grant of petitioner's petition, holding that, because petitioner's habeas application challenged a new judgment for the first time, it was not... Former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling's Honest Services Fraud Conviction Vacated In Skilling v. US, No. 08-1394, the Court affirmed in part the Fifth Circuit's affirmance of defendant Jeffrey Skilling's honest-services fraud conviction, holding that pretrial publicity and community prejudice did not prevent Skilling from obtaining a fair trial, and he... Honest-Services Mail Fraud Convictions Vacated In Black v. US, No. 08-876, the Court vacated the Seventh Circuit's affirmance of defendants' (including Conrad Black) honest-services mail fraud convictions, holding that 1) the honest-services component of the federal mail-fraud statute, 18 U.S.C. section 1346, criminalized only schemes... Constitutional Challenge to Terrorist Support Law Rejected Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project, No. 08-1498, concerned a constitutional challenge to 18 U.S.C. section 2339B(a)(1), which prohibits knowingly providing material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization.  The Court reversed the Ninth Circuit's affirmance of partial judgment for... Court Addresses Arbitrability and a "Delegation" Provision Rent-A-Center West, Inc. v. Jackson, No. 09-497, involved an employment discrimination action.  The Court reversed the Ninth Circuit's reversal of the district court's dismissal of the action based on the parties' agreement, holding that, under the Federal Arbitration Act, where... Challenge to Approval of Deregulation of Genetically Modified Plant Monsanto Co. v. Geertson Seed Farms, No. 09-475, involved an action challenging the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's (APHIS) decision to approve the unconditional deregulation of Roundup Ready Alfalfa (RRA), a variety of alfalfa genetically engineered to tolerate the... National Labor Relations Act Requires NLRB to Maintain Membership of Three New Process Steel, L.P. v. NLRB, No. 08-1457, concerned an appeal from the Seventh Circuit's denial of petitioners' petition for review of the National Labor Relations Board's (NLRB) finding that petitioners committed unfair labor practices.  The Court reversed, on the...

Member Access Username or email Password Remember me Forgot login? Lawyers of the Year 2009: Dan Donovan   2008: Michael Donahoe   2007: Yellin, (Hunt), Banick and Holden   More...