Supreme Court Update 060412

The Supreme Court issued rulings in two cases this morning.

• In the first case, Armour v. City of Indianapolis, the Court held that the Constitution allows a city to refuse to refund taxes some taxpayers paid up front, even if it forgave the remaining taxes of others paying on an installment plan.
• In the second case, Reichle v. Howards, the Court held that two Secret Service agents are entitled to qualified immunity from a lawsuit claiming they arrested a man in retaliation for his remarks about Vice President Cheney. The Court held that an arrest supported by probable cause could not give rise to a First Amendment violation.

On May 24 and 29, the Supreme Court decided the following cases:

• In Freeman v. Quicken Loans, the Court unanimously ruled that plaintiffs need to demonstrate that an unearned fee for mortgage loan settlement services was divided between two or more persons.
• In Blueford v. Arkansas, the Court held that the Double Jeopardy Clause did not prohibit prosecutors from re-trying a defendant on capital murder and first-degree murder charges when a jury previously failed to reach a verdict on a manslaughter charge.
• In RadLAX Gateway Hotel, LLC v. Amalgamated Bank, the Court ruled that in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings a secured creditor does not have to set aside its lien interest when bidding for collateral of the debtor.
• More decisions are expected to be announced this Thursday.

Supreme Court Decisions Remaining This Term

With today’s decision, there are 14 cases yet to be decided this term. The Court has yet to determine the constitutionality of:

• The Affordable Care Act;
• The federal law criminalizing lies about military service and honors;
• The Federal Communications Commission’s indecency standards;
• Arizona’s efforts at cooperative law enforcement;
• The First Amendment rights of union employees.