9robes

The Supreme Court reversed a Ninth Circuit decision that had granted habeas relief to a death row inmate. The Court ruled that the Ninth Circuit erred in its application of the Strickland v. Washington standard for ineffective assistance of counsel claims. The majority found that the Ninth Circuit failed to properly weigh the strong aggravating factors in the case against the mitigating evidence....

The Supreme Court vacated and remanded the Second Circuit's decision, ruling that the appeals court failed to properly analyze whether New York's interest-on-escrow law is preempted as applied to national banks in a manner consistent with the Dodd-Frank Act and the Barnett Bank precedent. The Court clarified that under Dodd-Frank, state laws are preempted "only if" they "pre...

The Supreme Court reversed in part and remanded in part a lower court ruling that found South Carolina's Congressional District 1 to be an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. The majority held that the district court's finding that race predominated in the design of District 1 was clearly erroneous, and that the plaintiffs failed to meet their burden of showing the legislature subordinate...

The Supreme Court affirmed the Ninth Circuit's ruling that when parties have two contracts - one sending arbitrability disputes to arbitration and another sending disputes to courts - a court must decide which contract governs before arbitration can be compelled. Find this and more at https://9robes.ai

The Court held that when a district court finds that a lawsuit involves an arbitrable dispute and a party has requested a stay of the court proceeding pending arbitration, Section 3 of the Federal Arbitration Act compels the court to issue a stay, and the court lacks discretion to dismiss the suit. Read this summary at https://9robes.ai

The Court held that the Copyright Act entitles a copyright owner to obtain monetary relief for any timely infringement claim, no matter when the infringement occurred. The Act's statute of limitations establishes a three-year period for filing suit, which begins when a claim accrues, but does not impose a separate three-year limit on recovering damages. Find this case and more at https://9robe...

The Court held that in civil forfeiture cases involving personal property, the Due Process Clause requires a timely forfeiture hearing but does not require a separate preliminary hearing. This case, and more, at https://9robes.ai

The Court held that an employee challenging a job transfer under Title VII must show that the transfer brought about some harm with respect to an identifiable term or condition of employment, but that harm need not be significant. The Court rejected the lower courts' requirement that the employee show a "materially significant disadvantage" from the transfer. This case and many more...

The Supreme Court vacated and remanded the Fifth Circuit's decision, holding that the property owners should be permitted to pursue their Takings Clause claims through the cause of action available under Texas state law, rather than directly under the Fifth Amendment. Hear this and other cases at https://9robes.ai

The Court held that servicemembers who accrue educational benefits under both the Montgomery and Post-9/11 GI Bills through separate periods of service may use either one, in any order, up to the 48-month aggregate benefits cap. The Court rejected the government's argument that Rudisill was limited to only the unused portion of his Montgomery GI Bill benefits when he elected to switch to Post-...

The Court held that pure omissions are not actionable under SEC Rule 10b-5(b). The failure to disclose information required by Item 303 can support a Rule 10b-5(b) claim only if the omission renders affirmative statements made misleading. Read more cases at https://9robes.ai

The Supreme Court ruled that a transportation worker does not need to work in the transportation industry to be exempt from coverage under Section 1 of the Federal Arbitration Act. The Court vacated the Second Circuit's decision and remanded the case for further proceedings. Read the case summaries at https://9robes.ai

The Court held that the Takings Clause does not distinguish between legislative and administrative land-use permit conditions. The Court vacated the judgment of the California Court of Appeal and remanded the case for further proceedings. More SCOTUS cases at https://9robes.ai

The Supreme Court affirmed the Ninth Circuit's ruling that the government failed to demonstrate the case was moot after removing Yonas Fikre from the No Fly List. The Court held that the government's declaration that Fikre would not be placed on the list again based on current information was insufficient to show the challenged conduct could not reasonably be expected to recur. Hear and re...

The Court held that a defendant facing a mandatory minimum sentence is eligible for safety-valve relief under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f)(1) only if he satisfies each of the provision's three conditions - he does not have more than four criminal-history points, does not have a prior three-point offense, and does not have a prior two-point violent offense. The Court rejected the defendant's argumen...

The Supreme Court held that a public official's social media activity constitutes state action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 only if the official (1) possessed actual authority to speak on the State's behalf on a particular matter, and (2) purported to exercise that authority when speaking in the relevant social media posts. The Court vacated the judgment of the Sixth Circuit and remanded the cas...

The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and remanded the case for further proceedings consistent with the Court's opinion in Lindke v. Freed. The Court found that the Ninth Circuit's approach to determining state action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 differed from the approach elaborated in Lindke v. Freed.

The Supreme Court unanimously reversed the Colorado Supreme Court's decision to exclude former President Trump from the state's 2024 presidential primary ballot. The Court ruled that states do not have the authority to enforce Section 3 of the 14th Amendment against federal officeholders and candidates, including presidential candidates. The Court held that responsibility for enforcing Sec...

The Supreme Court ruled that the jury's verdict of "not guilty by reason of insanity" on the malice murder charge constituted an acquittal for double jeopardy purposes, even though it was inconsistent with guilty verdicts on other charges. The Double Jeopardy Clause therefore bars retrial of McElrath on the malice murder charge. Find more case summaries at 9robes.ai

The Court held that a whistleblower who brings a claim under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act's anti-retaliation provision must prove that their protected activity was a contributing factor in the employer's unfavorable personnel action, but does not need to prove that the employer acted with "retaliatory intent" or animus. More at 9robes.ai

The Supreme Court held that a consumer may sue a federal agency for violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The Court found that the FCRA includes a clear waiver of sovereign immunity, allowing consumers to seek damages against federal agencies that provide false information to credit reporting agencies. Find this case and others like it at 9robes.ai

The legal nuance in this case revolves around the doctrine of standing, which requires a plaintiff to demonstrate a concrete injury to have the right to sue in federal court. The Court vacated the judgment of the Court of Appeals and remanded with instructions to dismiss the case as moot, after Laufer voluntarily dismissed her ADA lawsuit against Acheson Hotels following revelations of misconduct...