« Environment - "Pipeline set to deliver natural gas to Indiana by Monday" | Main | Ind. Courts - St. Joe Circuit Judge Michael Gotsch has ordered County Probate Judge Peter Nemeth, who handles juvenile cases, to appear in court Thursday »
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Courts - SCOTUS to decide final 3 cases on Monday
Mark Sherman of the AP reports today in the Washington Post:
WASHINGTON -- A closely watched discrimination lawsuit by white firefighters who say they have unfairly been denied promotions is one of three remaining Supreme Court cases awaiting resolution Monday.The court intends to finish its work for the summer that day, Chief Justice John Roberts said. The court also will say goodbye to Justice David Souter who has announced he will retire "when the court rises for the summer recess."
Sonia Sotomayor, nominated to take Souter's place, was one of three appeals court judges who ruled that officials in New Haven, Conn., acted properly in throwing out firefighters' promotions exams because of racially skewed results. * * *
The other two unsettled cases involve campaign finance law and states' ability to investigate alleged discrimination in lending by national banks.
The court is considering whether a movie that was critical of Hillary Rodham Clinton during her presidential campaign should be regulated as a campaign ad.
The scathing 90-minute documentary about the former New York senator and current secretary of state was made by a conservative group. It wanted to air television ads in important Democratic primary states and makes the movie available to cable subscribers on demand, without complying with federal campaign finance law.
The Federal Election Commission and a lower court in Washington have said the not-for-profit group, Citizens United, must abide by campaign finance restrictions. The high court's conservative justices appeared especially skeptical of that view when the case was argued in March.
In the dispute over investigating national banks, the Obama administration says federal law prohibits states from looking at the lending practices of those banks, even under state anti-discrimination laws.
Federal courts have so far blocked an investigation begun by New York, which is backed by the other 49 states, of whether minorities were being charged higher interest rates on home mortgage loans by national banks with branches in New York.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on June 27, 2009 10:08 AM
Posted to Courts in general