U.S. Supreme Court 2014 Term Arguments

A case in which the Court held that circuit courts of appeals have jurisdiction over Board of Immigration Appeals decisions to deny motions to reopen immigration proceedings.

A case in which the Court held that the use of midazolam as the initial drug in a state’s execution protocol does not violate the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.

A case in which the Court held that a pretrial detainee who brings an excessive force claim need only prove that the use of force in question was objectively unreasonable.

A case in which the Court determined that the reserve requirement of the Department of Agriculture’s Marketing Order constituted a per se taking and therefore required that the government provide just compensation.

A case in which the Court decided that in order to fulfill the intent element of The Controlled Substance Analogue Enforcement Act of 1986, a person must either know that the substance is a controlled substance or be aware of what the substance is without knowing that it is controlled.

A case in which the Court determined that the residual clause of the Armed Criminal Career Act is unconstitutionally vague.

A case in which the Court held that any assets acquired after the date of filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy must be returned to the debtor when the bankruptcy is converted to Chapter 7.

A case in which the Court held that a bankruptcy court’s order denying confirmation of a repayment plan is not a final order for the purpose of immediate appeal.

A case in which the Court determined that its earlier decision in Brulotte v. Thys Co., which held that a patentee cannot continue to receive royalties after the expiration of the patent, should be upheld.

A case in which the Court decided that a good-faith belief that a patent is invalid is not a defense to a claim of induced infringement.

A case in which the Court held that a state court’s decision that a defendant was not entitled to an evidentiary hearing on intellectual disability despite evidence of a borderline IQ score and potential adaptive skills impairment was an unreasonable determination of facts.

A case in which the Court determined that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) unreasonably interpreted the Clean Air Act by not considering costs to power plants in deciding that regulation was “appropriate and necessary.”

A case in which the court ruled that Section 506 (d) of the Bankruptcy Code does not allow a debtor filing for bankruptcy to void a second mortgage when the debt owed on the first one exceeds the value of the collateral property.

A case in which the Court held that an unwarranted entry does not violate the Fourth Amendment when it does not violate a clearly established constitutional or statutory right and is reasonable under the circumstances.

Texas' specialty license plates constitute government speech that does not require viewpoint neutrality under the First Amendment.

A case in which the Court determined that the plain language of the Affordable Care Act extended tax credits to federally-created exchanges as well as those the states created.

A case in which the Court held that, when a state court has adjudicated constitutional claims on the merits, a federal court can only overturn that determination if the state court’s decision was based on an unreasonable view of the facts or contrary to clearly established federal law, and that there must be grave doubt regarding whether a possible constitutional error was harmless in order to hold that it was not.

A case in which the Court determined that a municipal ordinance that allows the police to inspect hotel records without a warrant violates the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition against unreasonable searches unless the business owner is given the opportunity for pre-compliance review.

A case in which the Court held that the introduction of a child’s testimony at trial through a teacher does not violate the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment.

A case in which the Court determined that the Elections Clause of the U.S. Constitution does not prohibit a state from creating an independent redistricting commission by initiative.