Wednesday round-up
on Jan 29, 2014 at 8:28 am
Reporting and commentary on Monday’s three opinions in argued cases continue. Writing for this blog, Cristina Tilley covers the decision in Air Wisconsin Airlines Corp. v. Hoeper, in which the Court held that airlines are stripped of their immunity under the Aviation and Transportation Security Act only for statements that are materially false. Other coverage and analysis come from Jess Bravin of The Wall Street Journal and W. Chris Harrison at the Ogletree Deakins blog. Sam Bagenstos breaks down the decision in Sandifer v. U.S. Steel Corporation, in which the Court held that the workers in this case were not entitled to compensation for donning and doffing their protective gear, for this blog; Archis Parasharami and Kevin Ranlett do the same at Mayer Brown’s Class Defense blog. Finally, at his Harmless Error blog, Luke Rioux analyzes the decision in Burrage v. United States, in which the Court limited the availability of enhanced sentences for drug dealers whose customers die or suffer serious injuries.
Other coverage of the Court focuses on the amicus briefs filed yesterday in the challenges to the Affordable Care Act’s contraception mandate. Lyle Denniston reported on one such brief, which urges the Court to hold that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act is unconstitutional, for this blog; elsewhere in the blogosphere, Marty Lederman (at Balkinization) uses the amicus briefs as a jumping-off point from which to discuss what he “consider[s] to be a more useful way of thinking about the question of whose religious exercise is potentially burdened, and how, in these cases.” And at Cato at Liberty, Ilya Shapiro summarizes Cato’s brief in the case, which “argu[es] that the government can’t force people to pick and choose among their constitutionally protected individual liberties.”
Briefly:
- In The National Law Journal, Tony Mauro reports on the Justices’ attendance at (or absence from) yesterday’s State of the Union address.
[Disclosure: Goldstein & Russell, P.C., whose attorneys contribute to this blog in various capacities, served as counsel to the respondent in Air Wisconsin. However, I am no longer affiliated with the firm.]
