No exit; Supreme Court finds no easy path to terminate structural injunctions
Article Abstract:
The 1991 term, with the cases of Rufo v. Inmates of Suffolk County Jail and Freeman v Pitts, gave the US Supreme Court the opportunity to deliberate on the issue of structural injunctions. The structural injunction has been used more since the well-known Brown v Board of Education case in 1954 as a way of bringing about social change through court orders. Freeman v Pitts concerned the issue of whether a desegregation plan managed by federal court structural injunction could be lifted in stages. Rufo v Inmates of Suffolk County Jail sought modification of a consent decree on prison overcrowding.
Publication Name: ABA Journal
Subject: Law
ISSN: 0747-0088
Year: 1992
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Advantage government; is it easier for the government to win in the Supreme Court?
Article Abstract:
The federal government emerged as the victorious party in two spring 1992 cases, and the justices who dissented feel the government is being shown favoritism. In United States v Williams, the justices ruled that federal prosecutors are not obliged to divulge exculpatory evidence when seeking an indictment from a grand jury. In Department of Energy v Ohio, the state wanted a federal agency to pay civil penalties due to environmental damage caused by an atomic weapons plant, but the justices ruled that the federal government is shielded by sovereign immunity from liability for these penalties.
Publication Name: ABA Journal
Subject: Law
ISSN: 0747-0088
Year: 1992
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Green law; Supreme Court's environmental law docket blossoms
Article Abstract:
Environmental regulation is one exception to the courts' tendency to defer to administrative expertise rather than promulgate judge-made law. The 1991-92 US Supreme Court term saw nine environmental law decisions. Issues raised included federal versus state power, congressional power over the courts, the Commerce clause, standing, and the takings clause of the Fifth Amendment. The justices showed little inclination to adapt constitutional principles to environmental crises.
Publication Name: ABA Journal
Subject: Law
ISSN: 0747-0088
Year: 1992
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