CHARLES WARE'S 2013-2014 SCOTUS REVIEW: MARYLAND'S "10 BEST" ATTORNEY

www.CharlesJeromeWare.com.  "Here to make a difference."

[Assistance acknowledged and appreciated from SCOTUSblog, www.scotusblog.com; New York Times, www.nytimes.com/06-19-2014; LII Supreme Court Bulletin, www.law.cornell.edu/StephenWirth]

Major Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) Decisions During the 2013-2014 Term:

June 30, 2014

Contraception Coverage

Burwell v. Hobby Lobby

The decision	The court ruled that corporations controlled by religious families cannot be required to pay for contraception coverage for their female workers.
Previously	In 2012, the court upheld the centerpiece of the Affordable Care Act by a 5-to-4 vote.
Outlook	The case may affect many other kinds of religious objections from businesses.

June 30, 2014

Public Unions

Harris v. Quinn

The decision	The court ruled that some government workers are not required to pay union dues.
Previously	In 1977, the court said that teachers who declined to join a union could be forced to pay for its collective bargaining expenses.
Outlook	The 1977 decision was called into question but not overruled.

June 26, 2014

Abortion Protests

McCullen v. Coakley

The decision	The court ruled that buffer zones around abortion clinics in Massachusetts violated the First Amendment.
Previously	In 2000, the court upheld similar buffer zones in a case from Colorado.
Outlook	The court left open the possibility that states may use other methods to address harrassment and violence at clinics.

June 26, 2014

Recess Appointments

N.L.R.B. v. Noel Canning

The decision	The court limited but did not eliminate presidential recess appointment powers.
Previously	Presidents of both parties have long made appointments during brief breaks in the Senate's work.
Outlook	Recess appointments remain generally permissible during breaks of 10 days or more.

June 25, 2014

Cellphone Searches

Riley v. California

The decision	The court ruled that the police need warrants to search the cellphones of people they arrest.
Previously	The courts have long allowed warrantless searches in connection with arrests. But in 2012 several justices suggested that the era of big data may require a new approach to privacy rights.
Outlook	The case will affect millions of arrests every year.

June 25, 2014

Streaming Video of Broadcast Television

ABC v. Aereo

The decision	The court ruled that it was unlawful for the Internet start-up to capture and stream broadcast television signals to subscribers.
Previously	The court has been wary of shutting down disruptive technologies. In 1984, it refused to block home video recorders.
Outlook	The majority said its decision does not affect new technologies like cloud computing.

June 23, 2014

Greenhouse Gases

Utility Air v. E.P.A.

The decision	The court largely upheld the E.P.A's authority to regulate greenhouse gases from stationary sources like power plants under two permitting programs.
Previously	In 2007, the court required the E.P.A. to regulate greenhouse gases if it found that they endangered public health.
Outlook	The E.P.A. had a good year at the court, but its more ambitious efforts to address climate change remain open to legal challenges.

May 27, 2014

Death Penalty

Hall v. Florida

The decision	The court rejected Florida's I.Q. cutoff as too rigid to decide which mentally disabled people must be spared the death penalty.
Previously	The case followed and refined a 2002 ruling from the court that banned the execution of the mentally disabled but left the determination largely to the states.
Outlook	The decision, which may spare the lives of perhaps 20 death row inmates, is part of the court's incremental approach to cutting back eligibility for the death penalty. Earlier decisions had spared juvenile offenders and people who commited crimes other than murder.

May 5, 2014

Religion

Town of Greece v. Galloway

The decision	The court ruled that town boards may start their meetings with sectarian prayers, rejecting a First Amendment challenge from residents who said the practice offended them.
Previously	In 1983, the court upheld the Nebraska Legislature's practice of starting its sessions with a prayer, saying the practice was "deeply embedded in the history and tradition of this country."
Outlook	The decision, along with earlier ones, suggests that the Roberts court is open to a larger role for religion in public life.

April 22, 2014

Affirmative Action

Schuette v. BAMN

The decision	The court upheld a Michigan voter initiative that banned taking account of race in admissions to the state's public universities.
Previously	The court has said race-conscious admissions are sometimes constitutionally permissible, though under increasingly exacting standards. The new decision essentially said the practice is not constitutionally required.
Outlook	In 2013, the justices instructed an appeals court to take a fresh look at the University of Texas' admissions practices. That case may yet return to the Supreme Court for another showdown over affirmative action.

April 2, 2014

Campaign Finance

McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission

The decision	The court struck down overall limits for contributions from individuals to candidates and political parties. It did not disturb base limits of $2,600 per election.
Previously	The court had never before struck down a federal contribution limit.
Outlook	The Roberts court has been consistently hostile to campaign finance regulation. Experts say other limits are now at risk, including base contribution limits for individuals, the ban on corporate contributions (as opposed to the independent expenditures allowed in Citizens United) and public financing of elections.