Most Americans think Supreme Court justices base their rulings on personal political views rather than legal interpretation, polls show, and Thursday's ruling on the politically charged health care reform law will probably reinforce that.
Money in presidential and congressional campaigns has already reached record heights so far this election year, thanks in part to recent rulings by the Supreme Court and other federal judges that loosened long-standing restrictions on outside corporate spending.
Explain it to me: CNN's Tom Foreman explains how presidential hopefuls spend money.
Retired Justice John Paul Stevens had harsh words for his former conservative colleagues Wednesday, saying they have inconsistently applied the law two years after a sweeping ruling dealing with campaign finance reform.
CNN's Jeffery Toobin interviews retired Justice John Paul Stevens. See the rest of the interview Friday on John King USA.
Retired Justice John Paul Stevens arrives for our conversation looking dapper in a three-piece dark suit and trademark bow tie. But do not mistake the "retired" that comes with his title as a sign the 91-year-old Stevens is slowing down.
Supreme Court justices like to say their job is mostly reading and writing, the kind of of dry, tedious legal briefs and opinions that are not designed to excite or engage. So no wonder many on the nation's highest court are discovering their creative side through an often lucrative side business of writing books.
Retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens has voiced support for the killing of al Qaeda terrorist leader Osama bin Laden by U.S. forces, saying it was legally justified.
John Paul Stevens is retired from the U.S. Supreme Court, but a feeling of bench envy seems to linger, judging by comments this week on current hot-button cases.
Executions in the United States continued to decrease in 2010, with the 46 death sentences carried out representing a 12% drop from the year before, according to a report issued Tuesday.
Retired Justice John Paul Stevens expressed support Thursday for a planned Islamic community center near the site of the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York, urging religious and ethnic tolerance.
Ideology is hard to characterize, particularly in judges who presumably are not disposed to view the law through a strictly political lens.
The Supreme Court under Chief Justice John Roberts is marking its fifth year under his leadership, with a high-powered bench that has been invigorated with four new members in that time to make for a shaky, divided conservative majority.
The Supreme Court closed its term for the summer Monday with tributes to two members of its family.
Diversity is not a word that describes the Supreme Court's makeup over most of its existence. Only three women justices have served (the first in 1981), and only two African-Americans (the first in 1967).
The Supreme Court unanimously ruled against the National Football League over its exclusive contract with an apparel maker in one of the most important sports law cases in decades.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday reinstated the criminal conviction of a sex trafficker known as the "S&M Svengali."
Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan on Wednesday kicked off what has become a ritual for modern high court nominees: making the rounds of key senators' offices on Capitol Hill while saying little to a boisterous press corps in tow.
President Obama took a key step in cementing his judicial legacy Monday, nominating Solicitor General Elena Kagan to replace retiring Justice John Paul Stevens on the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court narrowly ruled Wednesday that a white cross, erected as a war memorial and sitting on national parkland in the Mojave Desert, does not violate the constitutional separation of church and state.
President Obama named Solicitor General Elena Kagan as his nominee to replace retiring Justice John Paul Stevens on the Supreme Court.
CNN's Kate Bolduan profiles Solicitor General and possible Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan.
President Obama has nominated Solicitor General Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court, picking her to fill the seat being vacated by retiring Justice John Paul Stevens.
For most of American history, a Supreme Court with no Protestant Christian judges would have been unthinkable. Nearly three-quarters of all justices who've ever served on the nation's high court have been Protestant. And roughly half of all Americans today identify themselves as Protestant.
CNN has reported President Obama has personally met with four leading candidates for the upcoming Supreme Court vacancy.
President Obama met with Senate leaders to discuss a replacement for retiring Justice John Paul Stevens.
President Obama met Wednesday with Senate leaders from both parties to discuss a replacement for retiring Justice John Paul Stevens.
Campaign finance reform advocates will lose a great hero when Justice John Paul Stevens retires from the Supreme Court. As the last remaining World War II veteran in such a place of eminence, he brings an invaluable perspective to the bench.
President Obama has been privately reaching out this week to candidates for the Supreme Court vacancy, an administration source told CNN on Tuesday.
The Supreme Court has struck down a federal law designed to stop the sale and marketing of videos showing dogfights and other acts of animal cruelty, saying it is an unconstitutional violation of free speech.
The White House search for a new Supreme Court justice is progressing smoothly, said government sources close to the selection process, who expect President Obama to make a decision by early May.
It was no surprise over at the White House that Justice John Paul Stevens has decided to retire from the court after nearly 35 years. And they're clearly ready with a list of names -- some fully vetted and even interviewed by the president -- after the Sonia Sotomayor choice last spring.
When the nation's capital was turned upside down Friday with the announcement that Justice John Paul Stevens was retiring after 40 years on the federal bench, he was miles away from the political circus -- literally and figuratively.
President Obama on Friday received his second opportunity to shape the U.S. Supreme Court when Justice John Paul Stevens announced his retirement.
President Obama talks about the qualities he will be looking for in the next Supreme Court justice.
With the retirement of Justice John Paul Stevens, the United States Supreme Court loses a judge with an unusual ability to get the big things right by getting the little things right.
Two leading senators on the Judiciary Committee, which will consider President Obama's upcoming Supreme Court nominee, signaled Sunday that a bruising fight is likely.
Americans can expect a roaring debate over social issues in the discussion of the next Supreme Court nominee, but in the end, President Obama's choice to succeed Justice John Paul Stevens is likely to be confirmed, CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin says.
As if this year's political climate wasn't heated enough, the retirement of Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens hands the Obama administration another difficult and high-stakes decision.
CNN's Mark Preston says Justice John Paul Stevens retirement gives the President to make his mark on the Supreme Court.
As reaction mounted to Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens' announcement that he will retire from the high court this summer, members of both parties drew lines over the upcoming battle to replace him.
CNN's Jeffrey Toobin thinks that President Obama will pick a moderate liberal to fill Justice John Paul Stevens' seat.
Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, who announced his retirement Friday, has served as a central liberal voice on the high court, at times leading negotiations to sway opinions on critical cases -- and ultimately having a remarkable impact on the court and on society at large.
President Obama speaks on the retirement of Justice Stevens and says he won't wait to nominate a replacement.
Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens said Friday he will retire this year, giving President Obama another opportunity to shape the nation's highest court.
If history is any guide, the White House could announce its nominee to replace retiring U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens within days.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens announced Friday he is retiring from the bench. Stevens, 89, is the oldest justice serving on the court.
Justice John Paul Stevens hints at retirement after almost 35 years on the Supreme Court. CNN's Kate Bolduan reports
Justice John Paul Stevens is expected to announce by month's end whether he will retire from the Supreme Court, sources close to him tell CNN. His departure after nearly 35 years on the bench would give President Obama another opportunity to shape the nation's highest court.
Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens says he will soon decide whether to step down after 35 years as the leader of the liberal wing of the nation's highest court.
Defense attorneys have a fundamental obligation to tell their immigrant clients they face possible deportation when pleading guilty to certain crimes, the Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.
Sometimes the most complicated of cases at the Supreme Court brings out the best arguments. It certainly brought out the giggles in a little-watched appeal Tuesday over federal prison terms.
The wife of Clarence Thomas says she is starting a Web-based lobbying group with ties to the Tea Party movement.
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. is fond of pointing out the original reason that judges came to wear black robes. It's to make them look alike, to minimize the differences between the individuals who occupy the role and to suggest that the law will be applied even-handedly, no matter who happens to be dressed in black.
The White House has begun quiet preparations for the possibility of a Supreme Court vacancy in coming months, government sources tell CNN.
So much for the demise of corporate America, at least in the popular imagination. Just a little while ago, we were petrified about the auto companies in Detroit and the larger manufacturing infrastructure. Wall Street behemoths like Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns were crushed. AIG was saved only by Uncle Sam. Even the iconic Goldman Sachs, today riding high with record profits of $13.4 billion for 2009, needed a temporary bailout. The president acted, Congress enacted emergency legislation, crises were stemmed. Now, though, comes the U.S. Supreme Court to rescue corporations not from financial ruin but from laws barring them from swaying elections. Who knew this was such a problem?
The Supreme Court has given big business, unions and nonprofits more power to spend freely in federal elections, a major turnaround that threatens a century of government efforts to regulate the power of corporations to bankroll American politics.
Two Supreme Court justices engaged in a late-night exchange of harsh words before the execution early Wednesday of a convicted Tennessee killer who had been sitting on death row for nearly three decades.
The Supreme Court on Thursday denied a stay of deportation for alleged Nazi death camp guard John Demjanjuk, who faces a war crimes prosecution in Germany.
The Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday federal regulators have the authority to clamp down on the broadcast TV networks that air isolated cases of profanity, known as "fleeting expletives."
Justice John Paul Stevens is approaching his 40th year on the federal bench -- the last 34 on the Supreme Court, deciding thousands of cases. But he said his love of the law was nurtured decades earlier by a professor's dedication and the enduring power of a political dispute that blossomed into a landmark decision known as Marbury v. Madison.
Two Supreme Court justices on opposite sides of the ideological aisle exchanged tough words Monday over the fate of a Florida murderer who has been on death row for 32 years.
Tobacco companies can be sued under state laws for deceptive advertising of "light cigarettes," the Supreme Court ruled in a closely divided ruling Monday.
Taken alone, a California woman's 20-minute video "scrapbook" is basically a collection of photographic memories spanning her 19-year-old daughter's all-too-brief life. Birthday parties, picnics, graduations -- all set to evocative music and narrated matter-of-factly by the mother.
It looked like the makings of a perfect storm of animosity in the last week of the Supreme Court's current term, before it wrapped up for the summer recess Thursday.
The National Rifle Association is hailing the Supreme Court ruling that overturned a gun ban a 'monumental victory.'
Despite two dramatic 5-4 decisions, the court is actually starting to move beyond its predictable ideological split
The Supreme Court has reaffirmed an individual's right to gun ownership, but don't expect gun control laws to go away
A majority ruling allowing terror suspects to challenge their detention provokes fierce criticism from conservative justices and politicians
Most of the Supreme Court justices piled up a lot frequent flyer miles in 2007, jetting to such exotic locales as Austria, India and Hawaii, according to financial disclosure reports released Friday.
The Supreme Court dealt federal prosecutors dual setbacks Monday in efforts to prosecute the laundering of drug ring and organized crime profits.
The Supreme Court on Monday backed Indiana's law requiring voters to show photo identification, despite concerns thousands of elderly, poor and minority voters could be locked out of their right to cast ballots.
CNN's Kelli Arena explains the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that could change voter guidelines in November.
The Supreme Court ruled Monday that states can require voters to produce photo identification without violating their constitutional rights, validating Republican-inspired voter ID laws
The Supreme Court's opinion may clear the way for most executions, but the death penalty debate remain confused
The Supreme Court dealt a blow Tuesday to investors seeking to recover damages from alleged corporate fraud, a potentially huge liability case being closely watched by owners of stock, the business community and government regulators.
The U.S. Supreme Court appeared divided along ideological lines Monday over whether lethal-injection execution methods in about three dozen states are being properly and humanely applied.
The Supreme Court is to decide if lethal injection is cruel and unusual punishment. CNN's Gary Nurenberg reports
It had been at least 25 years since the nation turned its collective attention to the Supreme Court to resolve a question of such importance.
One Supreme Court justice says his fellow conservatives are "too dismissive" of government efforts to ensure racial diversity in schools. Another more liberal member says those on the right did "serious violence" to a high school student's free speech rights.
A bitterly divided U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday issued what is likely to be a landmark opinion -- ruling that race cannot be a factor in the assignment of children to public schools.
Was it a pro-drug banner or just a silly joke? Either way, the Supreme Court says it isn't protected by the First Amendment, setting a new (but fair) limit on student free speech
The Supreme Court once again split 5-4 on an important death penalty case on Monday, with a majority of conservative justices rejecting an Arizona killer's claims his legal team did not do enough to keep him off death row.
The graphic details of a disputed abortion procedure filled the Supreme Court on Wednesday as justices voiced concern with a federal ban on that operation.
A sharply divided Supreme Court limited the reach of federal regulators to block private development that might affect water quality, in an important property rights dispute that exposed deep divisions among the justices.
Ruling in an important property rights dispute, a divided U.S. Supreme Court limited the reach of federal regulators to block private development that might affect water quality.
A unanimous Supreme Court ruled Monday that Utah officers properly entered a private home without a search warrant after witnessing a fight.
The Supreme Court made it harder Tuesday for investors to file class-action lawsuits claiming that companies misled them.
Court watchers looking for an anecdote that illustrates how John Roberts is doing in his new role as chief justice point to the "Halloween incident."
Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens steered the debate over President Bush's nominee to a new subject -- capital punishment -- sharply condemning the country's death penalty system.
As the hunt continued for the victims and perpetrators of London's terrorist attacks, Britain was mourning the dead, recalling the heroism of a war fought 60 years ago -- and reeling from a fresh security alert.
In a victory for cities, a divided Supreme Court concluded Thursday that local governments have the authority to seize private land and turn the property over to private developers for economic development.
In a victory for older workers, the Supreme Court concluded Wednesday that people over 40 can sue for alleged age discrimination under a less burdensome legal standard of proof.
He had to beat back a challenge from conservatives who were wary of his pro-choice views, but now Arlen Specter, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is leading the Senate's scrutiny of President Bush's court nominees.
A slim majority of people responding to a poll taken last month said it would be OK to consider a Supreme Court nominee's position on certain social "hot-button" issues, if the nominee were qualified and had no ethical problems.
British police have released without charge four Britons who arrived back in the UK after being held for nearly three years at the U.S. detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Police were due Wednesday to quiz four Britons who arrived back in the UK after being held for nearly three years at the U.S. detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The Supreme Court has again given police greater power to stop and question suspects, ruling Monday that a Nevada cowboy could not refuse to give his name to officers who tried to question him along a roadside.
As is well known, the U.S. leads all other nations in worrying about discrimination. It has various laws barring discrimination based on race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age, handicap, ...
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