2007 Term

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Overview

During its 2007 Term, the high Court made headlines. High profile cases sparked media coverage, captured public attention and generated intense debate. The subjects of these far reaching pronouncements ranged from guns to Guantanamo, from child porn to child rapists and the death penalty, and from the nation's worst maritime environmental disaster to the regulatory response to California's 1999 energy crisis when in-state rates for elecricity jumped fifteen-fold. The Court expansively read the Second Amendment to give individuals a right to keep and bear arms, ruled that Guantanamo Bay detainees may invoke the constitutional writ of habeas corpus to challenge their detentions, refused to strike a federal law aimed at perpetrators of child porn, and held that the Eighth Amendment forbade States from imposing the death penalty for child rapists, but allowed States to execute murderers by lethal injection.         
            The Court dramatically reduced a punitive damages award against Exxon for the infamous Exxon Valdez oil spill, advancing its two decades run to limit punitive damages.  The Justices showed no let-up in preempting state tort suits for complex devices approved by the FDA, stressed state courts must honor arbitration clauses, continued beggaring the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures, and gave guidance on  vexing issues following its 2004 decision, U.S. v. Booker, holding the federal Sentencing Guidelines violated the Sixth Amendment and though no longer mandatory, retained some vitality.  The Court was unfriendly to securities law plaintiffs, narrowed the False Claims Act, ruled for a plaintiff in a civil RICO case, decided against corporate defendants in ERISA cases, remained unsympathetic to taxpayers seeking refunds, issued four decisions interpreting the ADEA, resolved several federal criminal law questions, limited enforcement of a treaty giving foreign nationals a right of consular access when arrested, and determined that a civil rights claimant may bring a claim for retaliation under 42 U.S.C. § 1981.
Although split 5-4 decisions on social issues are not uncommon, the Court has drifted to the right.  Overall, plaintiffs fared better than in last several Terms, but the Court remains friendly to government and large business.  The articles listed below summarize 2007 Term decisions that likely are of interest to Tennessee lawyers and conclude with observations about the upcoming presidential election and its impact on the Court.

Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)

Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA)

Arbitration

Bankruptcy

Batson Error

Brief Reviews

Child Pornography

Civil Rights

Commerce Clause

Eighth Amendment, Death Penalty

Energy Regulation

Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)

Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA)

False Claims Act (FCA)

First Amendment, Elections

Fourth Amendment

Fourteenth Amendment

Habeas Corpus

Money Laundering

Preemption

Punitive Damages, Maritime Law

Racketeer Influenced & Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO)

Second Amendment

Securities

Sentencing Guidelines (SG) & Sentencing

Sixth Amendment, Incompetence, Self-Representation, Right to Counsel & Confrontation

Taxes

Treaties

The Presidential Election and the Court