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Supreme Court Decision Syllabus (SCOTUS Podcast)
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Supreme Court Decision Syllabus (SCOTUS Podcast)

Author: Jake Leahy

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Following what the Supreme Court is actually doing can be daunting. Reporting on the subject is often only done within the context of political narratives of the day -- and following the Court's decisions and reading every new case can be a non-starter. The purpose of this Podcast is to make it as easy as possible for members of the public to source information about what is happening at the Supreme Court. For that reason, we read every Opinion Syllabus without any commentary whatsoever. Further, there are no advertisements or sponsors. We call it "information sourcing," and we hope that the podcast is a useful resource for members of the public who want to understand the legal issues of the day, prospective law students who want to get to know legal language and understand good legal writing, and attorneys who can use the podcast to be better advocates for their clients. 

*Note this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only.

466 Episodes
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Send us a text ​In City and County of San Francisco v. Environmental Protection Agency, the Supreme Court addressed the scope of the EPA's authority under the Clean Water Act (CWA). The case arose when the EPA issued a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit to San Francisco's wastewater treatment facilities, including provisions that prohibited discharges contributing to violations of water quality standards and creating pollution or nuisance as defined by California l...
Send us a text In Dewberry Group, Inc. v. Dewberry Engineers Inc., the Supreme Court addressed the scope of monetary remedies under the Lanham Act. The case arose from a trademark dispute between two entities using the "Dewberry" name. The district court awarded the plaintiff not only the defendant's profits but also those of affiliated companies. The Fourth Circuit upheld this award, reasoning that a broad interpretation of "defendant’s profits" was permissible under the statute.​ The ...
Send us a text In Waetzig v. Halliburton Energy Services, Inc., the Supreme Court held that a case voluntarily dismissed without prejudice under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(a) qualifies as a "final proceeding" under Rule 60(b), allowing a district court to reopen the case. Gary Waetzig sued Halliburton for age discrimination but later dismissed his case without prejudice and pursued arbitration. After losing in arbitration, he sought to reopen his federal case and vacate the arbitratio...
Send us a text In Glossip v. Oklahoma, the Supreme Court held that a criminal defendant is entitled to a new trial when the prosecution knowingly fails to correct false testimony and that error could have contributed to the verdict. Richard Glossip was convicted and sentenced to death based primarily on the testimony of Justin Sneed, who claimed Glossip orchestrated the 1997 murder of Barry Van Treese. Years later, newly discovered evidence revealed that the prosecution withheld key documents...
Send us a text In Lackey v. Stinnie, the Supreme Court held that plaintiffs who secure only preliminary injunctive relief before their case becomes moot do not qualify as "prevailing parties" entitled to attorney’s fees under 42 U.S.C. §1988(b). Virginia drivers challenged the constitutionality of a law suspending licenses for unpaid court fines. After a district court granted a preliminary injunction, the Virginia General Assembly repealed the law, and restored licenses -- making the case mo...
Send us a text In Williams v. Reed, the Supreme Court rejects Alabama’s administrative-exhaustion rule, holding that states cannot require claimants to complete an allegedly delayed administrative process before filing a 42 U.S.C. §1983 lawsuit challenging that very delay. Writing for the Court, Justice Kavanaugh explains that the Alabama Supreme Court’s decision effectively immunized state officials from §1983 claims, contradicting prior precedents such as Felder v. Casey and Haywood v. Drow...
Send us a text In Wisconsin Bell, Inc. v. United States ex rel. Heath, the Supreme Court unanimously affirms that E-Rate reimbursement requests qualify as “claims” under the False Claims Act (FCA). The case centers on whether federal subsidies distributed through the E-Rate program—funded by contributions from telecommunications carriers and administered by a private corporation—constitute government-provided money for FCA purposes. Writing for the Court, Justice Kagan holds that becaus...
Hungary v. Simon

Hungary v. Simon

2025-02-2508:05

Send us a text In Republic of Hungary v. Simon, the Supreme Court held the mere allegation of commingling funds doesn't satisfy the commercial nexus requirement under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA)’s expropriation exception. Holocaust survivors sued Hungary and its national railway, seeking damages for property seized during World War II, arguing that Hungary liquidated the property, commingled the proceeds with government funds, and later used some of those funds in U.S. commerc...
Send us a text Andrew v. White In Andrew v. White, the Supreme Court reviewed the Tenth Circuit's decision to reject Brenda Andrew's due process challenge to her conviction for murder. Andrew was charged with murdering her husband -- at trial, the prosecution introduced prejudicial evidence with little probative value to the issue of her guilt. This included her sexual history, personal attire, and alleged failings as a wife and mother. The prosecution further elicited evidence meant to cont...
Send us a text ***Special edition -- with no syllabus in this case -- the recording includes the entire per curiam decision, as well as the two concurring opinions.*** In TikTok Inc. v. Garland, the Supreme Court reviewed the constitutionality of the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act. The Act prohibits U.S. companies from providing services to TikTok unless its U.S. operations are separated from Chinese control. TikTok and a group of U.S. users argued th...
Send us a text E.M.D. Sales, Inc. v. Carrera (Decided January 15, 2025) In E.M.D. Sales, Inc. v. Carrera, the Supreme Court considered the standard of proof employers must meet to classify employees as exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act's (FLSA) overtime-pay provisions. The case arose when sales representatives sued E.M.D. Sales, alleging they were improperly denied overtime pay under the FLSA. E.M.D. argued that the employees were exempt as "outside salesmen," but the lower courts requ...
Send us a text Royal Canin U.S.A., Inc. v. Wullschleger (Decided January 15, 2025) In Royal Canin U.S.A., Inc. v. Wullschleger, the Supreme Court addressed whether a federal court retains supplemental jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. §1367 when a plaintiff amends their complaint to remove all federal claims after a case is removed to federal court. The case arose after Wullschleger sued Royal Canin in state court, asserting both federal and state claims. Following removal to federal court, Wullsc...
Send us a text Bouarfa v. Mayorkas (Decided December 10, 2024) In Bouarfa v. Mayorkas, the Supreme Court addressed whether federal courts have jurisdiction to review the revocation of a previously approved visa petition under the Immigration and Nationality Act. The case involved Amina Bouarfa, a U.S. citizen, whose petition for her noncitizen spouse was revoked by USCIS upon suspicion of a prior sham marriage. The agency cited its authority under 8 U.S.C. §1155 to revoke approvals “for good ...
Send us a text Chiaverini v. City of Napoleon This case involves a dispute between petitioner Jascha Chiaverini and police officers from Napoleon, Ohio. The officers charged Chiaverini, a jewelry store owner, with three crimes: receiving stolen property, a misdemeanor; dealing in precious metals without a license, also a misdemeanor; and money laundering, a felony. After obtaining a warrant, the police arrested Chiaverini and detained him for three days. But county prosecutors later dropped...
Send us a text In Harrow v. Department of Defense, Stuart Harrow appealed an adverse administrative decision after the 60-day deadline -- claiming that he was unaware of the deadline. He filed this appeal to the Federal Circuit. Because the Federal Circuit saw the mandatory "shall" language in the statute (that is, it shall be filed within 60 days), the Court denied his request, reasoning that it lacked jurisdiction. The issue in front of the Supreme Court was whether t...
Send us a text Smith v. Spizzirri The Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) sets forth procedures for enforcing arbitration agreements in federal court. Section 3 of the FAA, entitled “Stay of proceedings where issue therein referable to arbitration,” provides that when a dispute is subject to arbitration, the court “shall on application of one of the parties stay the trial of the action until such arbitration has been had in accordance with the terms of the agreement, providing the applicant for ...
Send us a text CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU ET AL. v. COMMUNITY FINANCIAL SERVICES ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA, LTD., ET AL. The Constitution gives Congress control over the public fisc subject to the command that “[n]o Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law.” Art. I, §9, cl. 7. For most federal agencies, Congress provides funding through annual appropriations. For the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, however, Congress provided a sta...
Send us a text Culley v. Marshall Petitioner Halima Culley loaned her car to her son, who was later pulled over by Alabama police officers and arrested for possession of marijuana. Petitioner Lena Sutton loaned her car to a friend, who was stopped by Alabama police and arrested for trafficking methamphetamine. In both cases, petitioners’ cars were seized under an Alabama civil forfeiture law that permitted seizure of a car “incident to an arrest” so long as the State then “promptly” initiate...
Send us a text Warner Chappell Music v. Nealy Under the Copyright Act, a plaintiff must file suit “within three years after the claim accrued.” 17 U. S. C. §507(b). On one understanding of that limitations provision, a copyright claim “accrue[s]” when “an infringing act occurs.” Petrella v. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc., 572 U. S. 663, 670. But under an alternative view, the so-called discovery rule, a claim accrues when “the plaintiff discovers, or with due diligence should have discovered,” th...
Send us a text Muldrow v. City of St. Louis Sergeant Jatonya Clayborn Muldrow maintains that her employer, the St. Louis Police Department, transferred her from one job to another because she is a woman. From 2008 through 2017, Muldrow worked as a plainclothes officer in the Department’s specialized Intelligence Division. In 2017, the new Intelligence Division commander asked to transfer Muldrow out of the unit so he could replace her with a male police officer. Against Muldrow’s wishes, th...
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