Winter v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc.
Winter v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc.
Moore v. U.S.: Some people must have been too busy to read.
Brunner v. Ohio Republican Party: Stop the Vote!
Winter v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc.: Navy Sonar vs. the Whales
Bell v. Kelly: If Providence is God, is improvidence Satan?
Hedgpeth v. Pulido: Is it just a harmless little error?
Altria Group v. Good: Smoking is bad for you. So is lying.
This is the portion of this website that attempts to make clear the most important federal court cases in the country.
The simple truth is, almost every Supreme Court decision has a formula: parties/litigants, facts, law, an exposition that explains the conclusion, and the conclusion. One of the Justices who voted for the winner writes the decision. There's also (increasingly often) dissenting opinions, where the Justices who voted for the loser gripe about how the majority have made a mistake,and next time they'll get it right. Ultimately, the formula is king; simple, easy for law clerks to write, easy for lawyers to read, and steeped in 200 years of legal history.
But, even for lawyers, the formula can be mind bogglingly dull to read. CLARINET.WOODWINDS.COM will break it down into its component parts: Who is suing who? What happened? How did these loser*ahem* litigants make it to the Supreme Court? Who won? What's the big idea?
Even after all that, there's still the other big questions: What's the quotable quote from this opinion? What's the biggest word that the Court manages to use? What are those dissenters complaining about this time? What's the life lesson? All these questions and more.