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Weekly Roundup – July 30, 2014

Did you miss your Supreme Court news this week? Let our Weekly Roundup help. (To stay on top of the latest Supreme Court happenings, follow ISCOTUS on Twitter.)

Wondering what the Court will hear next term? Check out Oyez’s 2014 list of cases thus far

What happens when you invite Justice Ginsburg to your wedding? She responds.

Looking for a detailed explanation of the Supreme Court decision in Fifth Third v. DudenhoefferWatch our latest video

Conflicting rulings from appellate courts last week nearly guarantees Obamacare landing before the Supreme Court once again

What does the Aereo decision mean for the future of the cloud?

Find out which of the Justices has a theatrical past

Linda Greenhouse predicts that the Supreme Court will not rehear Fisher’s affirmative action case

Weekly Roundup – July 23, 2014

Did you miss your Supreme Court news this week? Let our Weekly Roundup help. (To stay on top of the latest Supreme Court happenings, follow ISCOTUS on Twitter.)

Chief Justice Roberts calls opposing lawyers “friends” – does it make a difference?

What’s happening in the Town of Greece after the recent Supreme Court ruling?

Might Congress pass a bill that would effectively overrule the Hobby Lobby decision?

One of the first cases the Court will hear in the October 2014 Term deals with prisoners’ religious freedom

Ever wonder what the Supreme Court justices do in their downtime? Wonder no longer — there’s a map for that

Will Aereo’s next idea prevent its own untimely end?

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Weekly Roundup – July 16, 2014

Did you miss your Supreme Court news this week? Let our Weekly Roundup help. (To stay on top of the latest Supreme Court happenings, follow ISCOTUS on Twitter.)

In case you missed it: Find all of our videos explaining the decisions from this Supreme Court Term in one place

The Supreme Court chose not to hear the appeal of Google’s Street View case, leaving Google vulnerable to lawsuits for collecting personal data

The Supreme Court will hear a case challenging UPS’s refused accommodation for a pregnant employee

Hobby Lobby, Corporations & Constitutional Rights, by Prof. Christopher Schmidt

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Weekly Roundup – July 3, 2014

Did you miss your Supreme Court news this week? Let our Weekly Roundup help. (To stay on top of the latest Supreme Court happenings, follow ISCOTUS on Twitter.)

Our director, Professor Christopher Schmidt, explains the Hobby Lobby ruling and its implications

Learn more about the Supreme Court’s decision in the Aereo case from Prof. Ed Lee in this video

A unanimous Supreme Court holds that police need a warrant to search the cell phone of an arrestee. Prof. Godfrey explains in our video

The Supreme Court ruled to limit the president’s recess appointment power. Prof. Greenberg explores the ruling in our video

Professor Schmidt discusses corporate rights in light of this week’s ruling in favor of Hobby Lobby

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Hobby Lobby, Corporations & Constitutional Rights

Yesterday’s decision in the Hobby Lobby case offers yet another chapter in the still-unfolding story of the extent to which corporations are “persons” for purposes of claiming constitutional rights. Judicial recognition that corporations might claim constitutional rights has a long history, dating back to the late nineteenth century. In recent years, the Supreme Court has sparked renewed attention to the issue, most notably with its 2010 decision in Citizens United in which a 5-4 majority held that certain campaign funding restrictions violated the First Amendment free speech rights of corporations.

In the Hobby Lobby case, one of the government’s arguments in defending the challenged contraception coverage of the Affordable Care Act was that the plaintiffs lacked the standing to even make this kind of religious freedom claim. Only Justices Ginsburg and Sotomayor bought that argument (Justices Breyer and Kagan did not join that section of Justice Ginsburg’s dissent in which she challenged “the notion that free exercise rights pertain to for-profit corporations”).

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Hobby Lobby at SCOTUS: Behind the Decision

On June 30, 2014, the Supreme Court decided one of the most closely-watched cases of the Term. In their ruling in favor of Hobby Lobby, the Court held that the Affordable Care Act’s birth control mandate does not require closely held for-profit companies to provide contraception coverage in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores. Professor Christopher Schmidt (IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law) explains the case, the ruling, and its implications in this video.

Weekly Roundup – June 27, 2014

Did you miss your Supreme Court news this week? Let our Weekly Roundup help. (To stay on top of the latest Supreme Court happenings, follow ISCOTUS on Twitter.)

About the decisions

Learn more about the Supreme Court’s decision in the Aereo case from Prof. Ed Lee in this video

A unanimous Supreme Court holds that police need a warrant to search the cell phone of an arrestee. Prof. Godfrey explains in our video

The Supreme Court ruled to limit the president’s recess appointment power. Prof. Greenberg explores the ruling in our video

Interested in Lane v. Franks, the employee free speech case? Learn about it from Professor Sheldon Nahmod, who submitted an amicus brief to the case

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National Labor Relations Board v. Noel Canning: Behind the Decision

On June 26, 2014, the Supreme Court declared the recent use of presidential recess appointment power unconstitutional in National Labor Relations Board v. Noel Canning. Professor Sanford Greenberg (IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law) explains this highly technical, yet very important, ruling.

Breyer and Scalia Debate the Role of Established Practice in Constitutional Interpretation

Although Justices Breyer and Scalia ended up on the same side in today’s landmark decision on the President’s recess appointment power, they offered starkly opposing views on the question of whether the past practice of the executive can resolve this constitutional question.

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