U.S. Supreme Court Case Commentaries

Supreme Court Upholds Non-Fiduciary Status of HMO Decisions under ERISA: Pegram v. Herdrich

Date: Jun 13, 2000

Supreme Court Upholds Non-Fiduciary Status of HMO Decisions under ERISA: Pegram v. Herdrich Introduction In PEGRAM et al. v. HERDRICH, 530 U.S. 211 (2000), the United States Supreme Court addressed...

REEVES v. SANDERSON PLUMBING PRODUCTS, INC.: Establishing Standards for Proving Age Discrimination

Date: Jun 13, 2000

REEVES v. SANDERSON PLUMBING PRODUCTS, INC.: Establishing Standards for Proving Age Discrimination Introduction REEVES v. SANDERSON PLUMBING PRODUCTS, INC. is a landmark decision by the Supreme Court...

RAMDASS v. ANGELONE: Clarifying the Boundaries of Simmons in Parole Ineligibility Instructions

Date: Jun 13, 2000

RAMDASS v. ANGELONE: Clarifying the Boundaries of Simmons in Parole Ineligibility Instructions Introduction In the landmark case of Bobby Lee Ramdass v. Ronald J. Angelone, Director, Virginia...

Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Products: Establishing the Sufficiency of Indirect Evidence in Age Discrimination Claims

Date: Jun 13, 2000

Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Products: Establishing the Sufficiency of Indirect Evidence in Age Discrimination Claims Introduction REEVES v. SANDERSON PLUMBING PRODUCTS, INC. (530 U.S. 133, 2000) is...

Court Clarifies Lesser Included Offense Standards in Bank Robbery Cases

Date: Jun 13, 2000

Court Clarifies Lesser Included Offense Standards in Bank Robbery Cases Introduction In Floyd J. Carter v. United States, 530 U.S. 255 (2000), the United States Supreme Court addressed a pivotal...

Mixed Eligibility and Treatment Decisions by HMOs Do Not Constitute ERISA Fiduciary Acts: Pegram v. Herdrich

Date: Jun 13, 2000

Mixed Eligibility and Treatment Decisions by HMOs Do Not Constitute ERISA Fiduciary Acts: Pegram v. Herdrich Introduction In Pegram et al. v. Herdrich, 530 U.S. 211 (2000), the United States Supreme...

Exclusive Authority of Trustees under 11 U.S.C. §506(c): Insights from Hartford Underwriters Insurance Co. v. Union Planters Bank

Date: May 31, 2000

Exclusive Authority of Trustees under 11 U.S.C. §506(c): Insights from Hartford Underwriters Insurance Co. v. Union Planters Bank Introduction The United States Supreme Court case Hartford...

Preserving Substantive Burden of Proof for Tax Claims in Bankruptcy: Raleigh v. Illinois Dept. of Revenue

Date: May 31, 2000

Preserving Substantive Burden of Proof for Tax Claims in Bankruptcy: Raleigh v. Illinois Dept. of Revenue Introduction The Supreme Court case Thomas E. Raleigh, Chapter 7 Trustee for the Estate of...

Limitation of False Claims Act: States Excluded from Qui Tam Liability

Date: May 23, 2000

Limitation of False Claims Act: States Excluded from Qui Tam Liability Introduction Vermont Agency of Natural Resources v. United States ex rel. Stevens (529 U.S. 765) is a pivotal Supreme Court case...

Waiver of Objection in the Admission of Prior Convictions: Ohler v. United States

Date: May 23, 2000

Waiver of Objection in the Admission of Prior Convictions: Ohler v. United States Introduction Maria Suzuki Ohler v. United States (529 U.S. 753, 2000) is a landmark Supreme Court case that addresses...

Pre-emption of State Tort Actions by Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards: Insights from Geier v. American Honda

Date: May 23, 2000

Pre-emption of State Tort Actions by Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards: Insights from Geier v. American Honda Introduction In GEIER v. AMERICAN HONDA MOTOR COMPANY, Inc. (529 U.S. 861, 2000),...

Limiting Federal Arson Prosecution to Commerce-Related Use of Property: JONES v. UNITED STATES

Date: May 23, 2000

Limiting Federal Arson Prosecution to Commerce-Related Use of Property: JONES v. UNITED STATES Introduction JONES v. UNITED STATES is a pivotal 2000 United States Supreme Court case that addressed...

Strict Scrutiny Affirmed for Content-Based Regulations: United States v. Playboy Entertainment Group

Date: May 23, 2000

Strict Scrutiny Affirmed for Content-Based Regulations: United States v. Playboy Entertainment Group Introduction The Supreme Court case United States v. Playboy Entertainment Group, Inc., 529 U.S....

Limitation of Congress' Authority under the Commerce Clause: Brzonkala v. Morrison et al.

Date: May 16, 2000

Limitation of Congress' Authority under the Commerce Clause: Brzonkala v. Morrison et al. Introduction Brzonkala v. Morrison et al., 529 U.S. 598 (2000), is a significant case adjudicated by the...

Medicare Providers as Beneficiaries under 18 U.S.C. § 666(b): Supreme Court's Decision in Fischer v. United States

Date: May 16, 2000

Medicare Providers as Beneficiaries under 18 U.S.C. § 666(b): Supreme Court's Decision in Fischer v. United States Introduction In the landmark case of Jeffrey Allan Fischer v. United States (529...

Expanding Supervised Release Authority: Lessons from Cornell Johnson v. United States

Date: May 16, 2000

Expanding Supervised Release Authority: Lessons from Cornell Johnson v. United States Introduction Cornell Johnson v. United States, 529 U.S. 694 (2000), is a landmark decision by the United States...

Supreme Court Upholds Interior Department's Regulatory Authority under the Taylor Grazing Act

Date: May 16, 2000

Supreme Court Upholds Interior Department's Regulatory Authority under the Taylor Grazing Act Introduction In the landmark case Public Lands Council, et al. v. Bruce Babbitt, Secretary of the...

Retroactive Sufficiency of Evidence and Ex Post Facto Protections in Carmell v. Texas

Date: May 2, 2000

Retroactive Sufficiency of Evidence and Ex Post Facto Protections in Carmell v. Texas Introduction Scott Leslie Carmell was convicted in 1996 of 15 counts of sexual offenses against his stepdaughter,...

Supreme Court Upholds Authority of Public Employers to Mandate Use of Compensatory Time Under FLSA

Date: May 2, 2000

Supreme Court Upholds Authority of Public Employers to Mandate Use of Compensatory Time Under FLSA Introduction In the landmark case of Edward Christensen, et al. v. Harris County et al., decided on...

Injury from Non-Racketeering Overt Acts Precludes RICO Conspiracy Claims: An Analysis of BECK v. PRUPIS

Date: Apr 27, 2000

Injury from Non-Racketeering Overt Acts Precludes RICO Conspiracy Claims: An Analysis of BECK v. PRUPIS Introduction The case of Robert A. Beck, II v. Ronald M. Prupis et al. (529 U.S. 494) is a...