On Tuesday, the Supreme Court ruled that the use of trained police dogs to sniff around the outside of a suspect’s house without a warrant constitutes an unreasonable search, prohibited by the Fourth Amendment. Although overshadowed by this week’s landmark oral arguments on the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act and California’s Proposition 8 (which will be covered extensively in the May issue of Supreme Court Debates), the decision in Florida v. Jardines is a noteworthy one. For instance, the case created some strange ideological bedfellows Conservative Justice Antonin Scalia wrote the majority opinion, joined by Justice Clarence Thomas…

On December 31, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts released his annual Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary —a State of the Union address, as it were, for the Judiciary Branch. In the 16-page document, the Chief Justice — in a writing style much more conversational than he uses in his Court opinions — discussed judicial efforts to keep a tight budget and the need for judicial vacancies to be filled promptly, and summarized of the workload of the various courts in the Federal system. He even spent several pages on the history of the Revolutionary War-era frigate the U.S.S….

The U.S. Supreme Court has granted certiorari in two cases dealing with the issue of gay marriage. In United States v. Windsor, the Court will consider the constitutionality of the Federal Defense of Marriage Act. In Hollingsworth v. Perry, the Court tackles the constitutionality of California’s Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage in the State. The Court’s action sets the stage for a highly contentious, closely watched legal battle — the first time the High Court has directly addressed the issue of gay marriage. Oral arguments are expected in March, with a decision by the beginning of summer. Future issues of Supreme…

The Supreme Court’s landmark series of decisions on the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in June of this year may not be the last word on the matter. Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court instructed the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to rehear a lawsuit challenging the law’s mandate that companies and organizations with more than 50 employees provide health care or pay a penalty. Although the Supreme Court had upheld the requirement that all Americans have insurance or pay a fine (technically, a tax) — the so-called individual mandate — it declined to rule…

The U.S. Supreme Court kicked off its 2012-13 term on Monday with an upcoming docket that, while perhaps not containing the high stakes legal fireworks that marked the end of the 2011-12 term, has a number of interesting cases set for the coming months. In its first case of the new term, the Court heard oral arguments in Kiobel v. Dutch Petroleum, which deals with whether parties — including corporations — can be sued under Federal law for human rights violations on either U.S. or foreign soil. Kiobel was originally argued last term, but it was relisted in order to…