U.S. Supreme Court 2010 Term Arguments

A case in which the Court held that the Nevada law requiring elected officials to disqualify themselves when they are asked to vote on matters that present a conflict of interest was constitutional.

A case in which the Court held that a Vermont statute banning the sale, transmission or use of prescription drug user data violated protected speech of the pharmaceutical research companies, manufacturers and others who use that data.

A case in which the Court held that a federal sentencing court must determine whether an offense under state law is a "serious drug offense" within the meaning of the Armed Career Criminal Act by consulting the maximum sentence applicable at the time of the defendant's conviction.

A case in which the Court held that securities fraud plaintiffs need not prove loss causation in order to obtain class certification.

A case in which the Court held that the fiduciary exception to the attorney-client privilege does not apply to the general trust relationship between the United States and the Indian Tribes.

A case in which the Court that held the Clean Air Act bars suits by governmental bodies and private parties seeking to curb emissions from utilities via the federal common law.

A case in which the Court held that a challenge to a patent's validity must offer clear and convincing evidence.

A case in which the Court held that a district court may not give a defendant a longer prison sentence based on speculation about if and when the defendant would be able to participate in an inmate drug rehabilitation program.

A case in which the Court held that federal law requires local telephone companies to allow new competitors in their markets to link to their existing networks through connecting wires at low, government-regulated rates.

A case in which the Court held that generic drug makers cannot be sued for not warning about potentially dangerous side effects on their drug labels, even when they follow federal rules that only require their labels to match those of their brand-name equivalents.

A case in which the Court held that in order to prove a criminal violation of the federal witness tampering statute when a defendant allegedly kills a witness, the government must prove that the victim would have provided information regarding the crime.

A case in which the Court held that the small group who initiated a lawsuit could not represent all of Wal-Mart's female employees, and therefore could not bring a class action lawsuit against Wal-Mart.

A case in which the Court held that the Arizona campaign finance law linking public financing for candidates to the amount spent by their opponents violated the First Amendment's protection of political speech.

A case in which the Court ruled that courts should consider the age of a juvenile suspect in deciding whether he or she is in custody for Miranda purposes.

A case in which the Court held that a defendant facing incarceration for civil contempt does not have a constitutional right to a court-appointed attorney under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

A case in which the Court held that a court may award attorney's fees to civil rights defendants when the plaintiff's suit involves frivolous and non-frivolous claims, but only for the costs incurred due to the frivolous claims.

A case in which the Court held that state and local government employees may not sue their employers for retaliation under the First Amendment's Petition Clause when they petition the government on matters of private concern.

A case the Court dismissed, which would have considered whether an individual's motor vehicle records may be used as evidence if the police consulted those records only after making an illegal stop of the individual's vehicle.

A case in which the Court held that the good-faith exception to the exclusionary rule applies to a search that was authorized by precedent at the time of the search, but was subsequently ruled unconstitutional.

A case in which the Court held that a blood-alcohol test admitted without the actual testimony of the person who prepared the results violates a criminal defendant's Sixth Amendment rights under the Confrontation Clause.

A case in which the Court held that former Attorney General John Ashcroft was entitled to qualified immunity.

A case in which the Court held that a whistleblower may not use information obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests to allege violations of the Federal Claims Act by a government contractor.

A case which the Court vacated in part and remanded in favor of the defendant without addressing the Fourth Amendment question at issue.

A case in which the Court held that the term "cocaine base" encompasses every form of cocaine that is classified chemically as a base.

A case in which the Court held that patents on inventions that arise from federally-funded research do not automatically go to university where the inventor worked.

A case in which the Court ruled that induced infringement under the patent clause requires knowledge that the induced acts constitute patent infringement.

A case in which the Court held that a federal judge has the authority to reduce a criminal sentence after the U.S. Sentencing Commission amended the Sentencing Guidelines if the judge has already accepted a plea agreement.

A case in which the Court held that the time between the filing of a pretrial motion and its disposition is excluded from the deadline for commencing trial under the Speedy Trial Act.

A case in which the Court held that a defendant, convicted under a federal statute, has a right to challenge his/her conviction based on the unconstitutionality of the statute.

A case in which the Court held that corporations do not have a right of personal privacy that would prevent the disclosure of public records handed over to federal agencies.

A case in which the Court held that health care providers cannot sue drug makers for overcharging public hospitals for prescription drugs.

A case in which the Court held that the Bankruptcy Court did not have the constitutional authority to enter judgement on the petitioner's counterclaim.

A case in which the Court held that the federal court exceeded its authority under the relitigation exception to the Anti-Injunction Act when it prevented a group of plaintiffs from proceeding with a class-action lawsuit over a cholesterol-lowering drug.

A case in which the Court held that neither the government nor the contractor could pursue litigation because of the risk that state secrets might be revealed.

A case in which the Court held that a conviction for resisting arrest counts as a violent felony under the Armed Career Criminal Act.

A case in which the Court held the exclusionary rule, which forbids the use of illegally seized evidence except in emergency situations, applies when the emergency is created by lawful police action.

A case in which the Court held that a consumer cannot sue a foreign manufacturer in state court over a product that the foreign company marketed and sold in the United States.

A case in which the Court held that a consumer cannot sue a manufacturer in a U.S. court when the manufacturer's only connection with the U.S. is that another company sells its products in the country.

A case in which the Court held that a plaintiff could state a claim based on a pharmaceutical company's non-disclosure of adverse event reports, even though the reports are not alleged to be statistically significant.

A case in which the Court held that Montana did not violate the Yellowstone River Compact by leaving less water in the river for Montana's uses.

A case in which the Court held that the Truth In Lending Act did not require Chase Bank to provide notice of interest rate increases that occurred because of customer default.

A case in which the Court held that Arizona laws requiring employers to verify the employment eligibility of their employees through a federal database was not unconstitutional.

A case in which the Court held that a service provider cannot be held liable for statements for which they are not directly responsible.

A case in which the Court held that an employer violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Acts by firing the fiancee of an employee who complains about workplace discrimination.

A case in which the Court held that missing the deadline for filing a notice of appeal with the Veterans Court did not bar a plaintiff from making a claim.

A case in which the Court held that when a defendant's sentence has been set aside on appeal, a district court may consider evidence of the defendant's rehabilitation after the initial sentences, which may support lesser sentencing guidelines.

A case in which the Court held that documents related to the effect of explosions from Navy exercises did not qualify for withholding under Exception 2 of the Freedom of Information Act.

A case in which the Court held that a federal court may hear a lawsuit for prospective injunctive relief against state officials brought by another agency of the same state.

A case in which the Court held that a court order requiring California to reduce its prison population to remedy unconstitutional conditions in its correctional facilities did not violate the Prison Litigation Reform Act.