Topic: Samuel Alito

Top galleries, list articles, quizzes

Nine 'tea party' candidates who stand a good chance of winning

Here’s something both Democrats and the GOP establishment in Washington are going to have to come to terms with: Tea party candidates will win some elections this fall.
Alaska's Lisa Murkowski: No. 7 on list of ousted incumbents?

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R) of Alaska could become the seventh congressional incumbent to lose a primary in 2010 if her too-close-to-call race with 'tea party' favorite Joe Miller stays in Mr. Miller's favor.

All Content

Arizona immigration law: Another setback for Obama at Supreme Court?

Tough questioning by the justices suggest that at least some of the provisions of the Arizona law may be upheld, rejecting the Obama administration's expansive view of federal power.
Supreme Court approves strip searches for minor offenses

Jail officials are justified in performing strip searches as a reasonable precaution to maintain safety and order at their facilities, the Supreme Court said Monday.
Supreme Court justices appear poised to sweep aside entire health-care law

Conservative Supreme Court justices argued Wednesday morning that without the individual mandate, the entire 2,700-page health-care law must be invalidated in full.
Supreme Court health-care hearing: How bad does it look for 'Obamacare'?

Based on justices' questions in the two-hour Supreme Court health-care hearing, the fate of 'Obamacare' is in peril. Justice Kennedy expressed strong concerns about the individual mandate.
Health-care challenge at US Supreme Court: Justices seek way past Day 1 hurdle

Health-care reform proponents and detractors were on the same side Monday at the US Supreme Court, advocating that the justices move on to the constitutional issue on Tuesday.
Obama health reform law: clues to how the justices might behave

The four justices who make up the US Supreme Court's liberal wing are expected to uphold the constitutionality of the Obama health reform law. How the other five will see it is less certain.
Does Secret Service protection trump speech rights? Supreme Court hears case.

A Colorado man arrested in 2006 after telling Vice President Cheney what he thought of the Iraq war alleges that Secret Service agents retaliated against him for his opinions.
EPA wetlands order can be challenged by land owners, Supreme Court rules

The Idaho couple, saying the ‘EPA used bullying and threats of terrifying fines’ to halt building of their dream home, thanks Supreme Court justices for ‘affirming’ their right to a court hearing.
Supreme Court debate: Is lying about being a war hero protected speech?

Supreme Court justices heard arguments over the Stolen Valor Act, which bars lies over receiving military medals, but the discussion broadened into whether there is any value worth protecting in falsehood.
How Supreme Court ruling on Texas could reduce affirmative action across US

The Supreme Court, which has shifted to the right, may use the Texas case to overturn the 2003 decision that achieving classroom diversity could justify the use of race-based affirmative action.
Why is Obama now supporting super PACs?

President Obama has reversed himself, and is now allowing cabinet officials and senior White House advisers to raise funds for 'Priorities USA Action,' a super PAC.
With Facebook IPO, time to friend privacy

Facebook's IPO, or initial public offering, will lead to shareholder pressure on the firm to squeeze profits out of users' personal data. Google, too, faces more scrutiny as it mines user data even more. Privacy watchdogs need to be on the alert.
Unanimous Supreme Court: Get a warrant before installing GPS tracking device

The ruling upholds a broad right to be free from unreasonable searches. But it also highlights a struggle within the Supreme Court to balance law enforcement objectives with privacy concerns.
Supreme Court justices face tangled mess with Texas redistricting plan

Supreme Court justices heard oral arguments Monday over competing plans for redrawn legislative districts in Texas amid allegations the state Legislature was diluting Latino political power.
Supreme Court justices find government line in church-state case 'amazing'

The Supreme Court hears arguments in the case of a women who says she was discriminated against when she was fired from a religious school. The school claims First Amendment protections, but government lawyers are suggesting church-state concerns don't apply.
US Supreme Court opens, likely to wade into health care debate

It seems inevitable that the US Supreme Court will agree to hear the legal challenge to President Obama’s health care reform law, the Affordable Care Act. As the court opens Monday, gun laws, immigration, racial preferences, and separation of church and state loom as major issues as well.
US prisoners sentenced under strict crack cocaine laws get relief

At least 12,000 federal prisoners can seek reductions in their sentences for crack cocaine offenses, after a ruling Thursday by the US Sentencing Commission. The stiff sentences, meted out between 1984 and 2010, hit the black community hard.
Supreme Court: Matching funds in Arizona election law violate free speech

The Supreme Court rejected by 5 to 4 a portion of Arizona's campaign finance law that provides state matching funds to candidates who are outspent by privately funded opponents.
Supreme Court strikes down ban on selling violent video games to minors

California’s video-game ban violated the protections of the First Amendment, the Supreme Court said in a 7-to-2 decision.
CSI meets Law & Order: Supreme Court rules lab techs must testify in court

The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the practice of permitting substitutes to testify about forensic evidence violates defendants’ constitutional rights to confront their accusers.
Supreme Court dismisses women's class action lawsuit against Wal-Mart

The Supreme Court decision, seen as a victory for Wal-Mart and corporate America, makes it more difficult for employees to join together in a common lawsuit unless they are able to identify a common injury.
Supreme Court: When police question children, their age matters

In the case of a 7th-grader who confessed to break-ins, the Supreme Court ruled that police need to consider a child's age when deciding when to issue Miranda warnings.
How can cash-strapped California comply with Supreme Court ruling on prisons?

Gov. Brown, anticipating the Supreme Court order to California to reduce its prison population, signed a measure transferring inmates to county jails. But voters need to approve funding.
Supreme Court upholds Arizona law designed to thwart illegal workers

Federal immigration law does not preempt the 2007 Legal Arizona Workers Act, the Supreme Court said Thursday. The ruling gives new momentum to state efforts to crack down on illegal immigration.
California can relieve packed prisons without eroding safety

The Supreme Court ruled that overcrowded prisons in California amount to cruel and unusual punishment. Reducing the prison population does not have to pit human dignity against public safety.