United States Supreme Court - May 2002 Opinion Summaries

BELL v. CONE

Constitutional Law, Criminal Law & Procedure, Sentencing
State court's finding, that defense counsel's failure to present mitigating evidence against imposition of the death penalty, and waiver of final...

FESTO CORP. v. SHOKETSU KINZOKU KOGYO KABUSHIKI CO., LTD.

Intellectual Property, Patent
Prosecution history estoppel may apply to any claim amendment made to satisfy the Patent Act's requirements, not just to amendments made to avoid the...

FEDERAL MAR. COMM'N v. S. CAROLINA STATE PORTS AUTH.

Administrative Law, Admiralty, Constitutional Law
State sovereign immunity bars the Federal Maritime Commission from adjudicating a private party's complaint against the South Carolina State Ports...

GISBRECHT v. BARNHART

Attorney's Fees, Government Benefits
42 U.S.C. section 406(b)(1)(A), authorizing that an attorney representing a Social Security claimant receive 25 percent of "past-due" benefits...

ALABAMA v. SHELTON

Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law & Procedure, Sentencing
A suspended sentence which may result in deprivation of liberty may not be imposed unless the defendant was accorded the assistance of counsel in the...

VERIZON MARYLAND INC. v. PUB. UTIL. COMM'N OF MARYLAND

Civil Procedure, Communications Law, Constitutional Law, Public Utilities
Jurisdiction is found under 28 U.S.C. section 1331, for a local-exchange carrier's claim that a state public utility commission's order, requiring...

US v. COTTON

Constitutional Law, Criminal Law & Procedure, Sentencing
Omission from a federal indictment of a fact enhancing the statutory maximum sentence (here quantity of drugs) does not justify a court of appeals to...

CITY OF LOS ANGELES v. ALAMEDA BOOKS, INC.

Constitutional Law
City may reasonably rely on a 1977 study, showing increased crime rates in an area with the largest concentration of adult establishments, to...

VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS, INC. v. FED. COMMUNICATIONS COMM'N

Communications Law, Public Utilities
The FCC can require state utility commissions to set rates charged by incumbent telephone service carriers for leased elements on a forward-looking...

ASHCROFT v. AMER. CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION

Constitutional Law, Cyberspace Law
The Child Online Protection Act's (COPA) use of "community standards" to identify what material "is harmful to minors" does not by itself render the...