Supreme Court Watch

With Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist working from home while receiving chemotherapy for thyroid cancer, the Supreme Court reviewed several cases this week.

Heard arguments in two cases without Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, who is working from home while he receives radiation and chemotherapy for thyroid cancer.

Cases Reviewed . . .
_Declined to hear an appeal from Washington state to stop minority felons from seeking the right to vote. The felons challenge as racially discriminatory a law stripping them of their right to vote. Every state but Maine and Vermont bar imprisoned felons from voting.

_Refused to consider whether health insurers violate antitrust laws when they team up with doctors to adopt reimbursement policies that siphon business away from chiropractors.

_Wrangled with a case that seeks to clarify when police can be sued for arresting suspects on charges that later fall apart. The Washington state case being argued involves a man who sued over his arrest during a traffic stop.

_Passed up a chance to consider whether the U.S. Coast Guard (news - web sites) can be sued for providing questionable emergency care to an injured Florida diver who later became paralyzed.

_Declined to review four Massachusetts discrimination cases involving judgments of thousands of dollars that employers say should have been decided by juries, not judges.

Cases Heard . . .
The Court heard a death penalty case to consider whether a jury correctly took into consideration a killer's religious conversion.
The case is Brown v. Payton, 03-1039

The Court also hear arguments in an Illinois case over the use of police dogs in a search. The case involves a traffic stop in which a drug-sniffing dog "comes buy" and finds drugs in the vehicle. The case was overturned by a lower court saying that the search was improper.

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan answered a Justice question about the intimidation factor of a dog by saying, "millions of American have dogs." Nice one Lisa, that will certainly impress the High Court.

The case is Illinois v. Caballes, 03-923

Rulings . . .

Writing for the majority, Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist said that a drunk driving charge is not sufficient for deportation of an immigrant. Saying that a DUI can not be considered a "crime of violence," the Court overturned a lower court ruling in the case.

The case is Leocal v. Ashcroft, 03-583

In a second ruling Tuesday, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor (news - web sites) wrote a decision in a case involving a dispute over cargo damaged in a train wreck. The court ruled unanimously that a contract negotiated as part of a federal maritime law protects Norfolk Southern Railway Co. from having to pay large damages, even though the accident happened on land, not at sea.

The accident caused about $1.5 million in damage to machinery being shipped from Australia to Huntsville, Ala.

The case is Norfolk Southern Railway Co. v. Kirby, 02-1028.


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