Eighth Amendment

SCOTUS rules for grandmother in tax foreclosure takings fight; Jackson again pairs with Gorsuch

Updated: The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a 94-year-old woman could pursue a claim that a tax foreclosure sale violated her rights under the Fifth Amendment’s takings clause.

May 25, 2023 11:29 AM CDT

Weekly Briefs: Legal jobs increase in January; 11th Circuit doesn’t rule out execution by firing squad

Legal industry adds 2,400 jobs The legal services sector added 2,400 jobs in January, according to preliminary and seasonally adjusted figures released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The legal industry had 1,183,900 jobs, a gain of 13,700 jobs since January 2022. But the January 2023 number is…

Feb 3, 2023 3:09 PM CST

$2.1M IRS civil penalty for unreported Swiss bank account merits SCOTUS review, Gorsuch argues

Justice Neil Gorsuch argued Monday that the U.S. Supreme Court should have agreed to hear the case of a woman who argued that the Internal Revenue Service violated the excessive fines clause when it required her to pay a $2.1 million civil penalty for failing to report a Swiss bank account.

Jan 24, 2023 10:04 AM CST

Can the government seize property for unpaid taxes and keep the surplus after selling it? SCOTUS will decide

The U.S. Supreme Court will consider whether local governments violate the Constitution when they seize property for unpaid taxes, sell it and then fail to return the surplus to the owner.

Jan 17, 2023 12:05 PM CST

Federal appeals court rules for ex-inmate who sued over longtime solitary confinement

A federal appeals court has ruled for a former inmate in Delaware who alleged that his seven-month solitary confinement worsened his schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in violation of the Eighth Amendment.

Nov 29, 2022 10:52 AM CST

Deborah Ferguson fights to protect ballot initiative process and other rights in Idaho

“I read a quote recently that said we should think hard about what we owe each other as citizens and human beings,” Deborah Ferguson says. “I believe that.”

Nov 22, 2022 3:37 PM CST

Supreme Court protects Border Patrol agents from constitutional claims; dissent hits ‘drive-by’ immunity

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled against the owner of the “aptly named” Smuggler’s Inn in his quest to sue a Border Patrol agent for allegedly roughing him up and then retaliating against him for reporting the incident.

Jun 8, 2022 1:52 PM CDT

Inmate in solitary for 27 years asks Supreme Court to rule on his Eighth Amendment claim

Lawyers for Texas inmate Dennis Wayne Hope have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether his 27 years in solitary confinement violate the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

Feb 18, 2022 9:17 AM CST

New Tennessee law helped inmate leave death row; judge’s ruling creates possibility of parole

A former death row inmate in Tennessee will get a chance to seek parole as a result of a resentencing following prosecutors’ concession that he can’t be executed because of an intellectual disability.

Feb 2, 2022 9:07 AM CST

Justice Breyer, Supreme Court’s oldest member, will retire, reports say

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer will retire from the Supreme Court, according to media reports that rely on anonymous sources. The liberal Breyer, 83, is the oldest justice on the court.

Jan 26, 2022 11:33 AM CST

Supreme Court grows ‘increasingly hostile’ to inmates seeking to delay executions

The U.S. Supreme Court is growing “increasingly hostile” to arguments made on behalf of death row inmates, according to a Sidebar column in the New York Times.

Nov 16, 2021 8:59 AM CST

Supreme Court will decide whether innkeeper can sue border agent for First Amendment damages

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Friday to decide whether the owner of a bed and breakfast establishment called the Smugglers Inn can sue a border patrol agent for damages under the First and Fourth Amendments.

Nov 8, 2021 11:06 AM CST

ABA House addresses treatment of children and youths in pair of resolutions

The ABA House of Delegates addressed the treatment of children and youths in two resolutions at the ABA Hybrid Annual Meeting on Tuesday.

Aug 10, 2021 12:22 PM CDT

Forfeiture of convicted drug dealer’s Land Rover was an excessive fine, state supreme court rules

The Indiana Supreme Court has ruled that a convicted drug dealer who challenged the forfeiture of his Land Rover before the U.S. Supreme Court should get his vehicle back.

Jun 14, 2021 9:49 AM CDT

Chemerinsky: Precedent seems to matter little in the Roberts Court

How much weight does the Roberts Court give to precedent? This is the crucial underlying question now that the U.S. Supreme Court has granted review in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which puts the fate of Roe v. Wade before the justices. The case concerns a Mississippi law that prohibits abortions after the 15th week of pregnancy.

Jun 3, 2021 11:37 AM CDT