September 2010

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia on Friday evening put on hold a Louisiana state court ruling that would require major tobacco companies to start paying into a $241.5 million fund to finance programs to help smokers stop using cigarettes.  The action will postpone the payment duty until after the Supreme Court completes action on an appeal the companies will be filing later this year.  Scalia explained his order in a five-page opinion, saying he thought it likely the Court would grant review, and that it was "significantly possible" that the Justices in the end would overturn the state decision.  Scalia also suggested that the case may raise a fundamental constitutional issue on limiting state court class-action lawsuits.

Thousands of cases are scheduled for consideration at the Court's "long conference" on September 27, including a dispute over the exclusion of audience members from a public presidential speaking engagement and a plea that the Court review a rule which bars the review of a...

The long-running controversy over consumers' complaints pursued through large class-action lawsuits is building anew in the Supreme Court as the new Term dawns.  Following up the recent appeal on class-action issues in the federal courts in the Wal-Mart Stores case, major tobacco companies are challenging the handling of such cases in the state courts.  At this point, Justice Antonin Scalia is pondering the tobacco companies' plea to temporarily stay a Louisiana court ruling pending a coming appeal.

For the first time since "Tea Party" candidates began making waves in this year's congressional election campaign, a case has reached the Supreme Court to test the rights of such independent candidates.  Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., on Wednesday called for a response to the case by Virginia election officials by next Monday afternoon. The case is a challenge to a Virginia law that limits who may witness signatures on a nominating petition.