US Supreme Court issues 3 decisions
Safeco Insurance v. BurrThe United States Supreme Court issued 3 decisions today:
Safeco Insurance v. Burr (splintered decision with all 9 justices joining in the result - a company can be found to have willfully violated the federal truth-in-credit law based upon "reckless disregard" of its duties toward consumers).
Sole v. Wyner (unanimous opinion - a party that files a civil rights case cannot recover attorney's fees for winning a preliminary injunction but ultimately losing a case on the merits)
Uttecht v. Brown.
In Uttecht, the Court issued a 5-4 decision on the issue of federal court deference to trial courts on questions of whether to remove a juror from a death penalty trial because of the potential juror's views about capital punishment. Justice Kennedy authored the majority opinion and Justice Stevens authored the dissenting opinion.
The Court also dismissed the sentencing guidelines case of Claiborne v. United States, based upon the fact that the petitioner was killed last week.
The Court also issued a summary decision in Erickson v. Pardus, which involved a prison inmate's equate medical care. The Court upheld the dismissal of the civil rights complaint based upon the plaintiff's depature from conventional pleading standards.
As always, thanks to Scotusblog for the early summaries.