Weekly Roundup – January 16, 2015

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.)

Despite the Court’s silence on same-sex marriage on Monday, pressure from both sides in the debate and a circuit split means that the Court will most likely have to address the issue sooner or later.

The Supreme Court justices shouldn’t attend the State of the Union address, argues Jeff Jacoby of the Boston Globe.

The Court decided Whitfield v. U.S. on Tuesday, upholding a bank robbery law from the John Dillinger era that imposes long prison terms for hostage-taking—even if that means moving someone only a few feet in one room.

The Whitfield v. U.S. decision was also notable for being the first Supreme Court opinion to cite Pride and Prejudice.

Can a sock be considered drug paraphernalia? In Mellouli v. Holder, argued on Wednesday, the Court considered the question.

In Wednesday’s other case, Wellness International Network v. Sharif, the Court weighed the powers of federal bankruptcy judges.

In March, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in a lawsuit that challenges a key provision of the Affordable Care Act, which provides tax credits to consumers purchasing insurance through federal exchanges. Now, states’ attempts to protect these credits for consumers are running up against political and practical obstacles.

Are all signs created equal under the First Amendment? A case coming before the Court will consider the government’s ability to prioritize certain signs over others.

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