The nation's highest court has taken a swing to the right under John Roberts, with an assist from Samuel Alito, but not quite  the one some analysts expected. The Chief Justice's hope of unifying liberals and conservatives in more consensus votes has sometimes borne fruit, especially in withdrawing power from the executive branch in its War on Terror. But the decision to back a ban on late-term abortion was a rancorous 5-4 split.http://www.newser.com/2008 - Newseren-usNewser Feed GeneratorTue, 07 Oct 2008 6:34:34 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/39288/high-court-appears-cool-to-smokers-suit.html?refid=rss_all_defaultSupreme Court justices appeared skeptical over a lawsuit against Philip Morris cigarette ads today, McClatchy reports. A group of Maine smokers claim that ads for Marlboro Lights are deceptive, saying the company knew smokers would inhale more deeply on them and draw in more chemicals. At stake is the power of a state law to hobble the company's national ad campaign.http://www.newser.com/story/39288/high-court-appears-cool-to-smokers-suit.html?refid=rss_all_defaultMon, 06 Oct 2008 16:29:07 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/39211/profanity-tobacco-cases-top-courts-new-term.html?refid=rss_all_defaultThe Supreme Court and its Bush-era conservative additions launch a second term today, set to consider "pre-emption" cases that determine whether federal regulation makes drug and tobacco companies immune from state-level lawsuits. Other cases will determine penalties against profanity on radio or TV, a major sexual harassment question, and whether religious groups can erect public monuments, reports NPR.http://www.newser.com/story/39211/profanity-tobacco-cases-top-courts-new-term.html?refid=rss_all_defaultMon, 06 Oct 2008 8:02:45 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/37846/supreme-court-to-hear-huge-consumer-rights-case.html?refid=rss_all_defaultThe Supreme Court will soon hear arguments in what could be one of the biggest consumer-rights cases in years, reports the New York Times . The case focuses on whether customers who have been harmed by products that meet federal regulations can sue the manufacturer for damages, and is centered on a Vermont woman whose arm was amputated after an intravenous migraine drug gave her gangrene.http://www.newser.com/story/37846/supreme-court-to-hear-huge-consumer-rights-case.html?refid=rss_all_defaultFri, 19 Sep 2008 5:53:53 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/31281/mayors-call-for-middle-ground-on-guns.html?refid=rss_all_defaultExtremist-driven debate over gun control “made for good political theater,” but it hasn’t accomplished much, mayors Michael Bloomberg of New York and Thomas Menino of Boston write in the Wall Street Journal. Now that the Supreme Court has clarified the issue, it’s time to implement some common-sense consensus changes to the nation's gun laws.http://www.newser.com/story/31281/mayors-call-for-middle-ground-on-guns.html?refid=rss_all_defaultMon, 30 Jun 2008 9:21:49 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/31222/chief-justice-aint-got-a-bob-dylan-quote.html?refid=rss_all_defaultA Supreme Court decision was livened up this week by a quote from 1960s thinker, Robert Dylan—known to his fans as Bob. Regarding a stand-off between phone companies, Chief Justice John Roberts quoted, "When you got nothing, you got nothing to lose," from Bob Dylan's 1965 hit Like a Rolling Stone . But Roberts left out a word that most Dylan fans remember, the New York Times reports.http://www.newser.com/story/31222/chief-justice-aint-got-a-bob-dylan-quote.html?refid=rss_all_defaultSun, 29 Jun 2008 13:03:59 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/31207/mccain-would-tilt-split-court-right.html?refid=rss_all_defaultAmerica’s choice for president will likely ripple all the way to the halls of the sharply divided Supreme Court, the Washington Post reports. Since the next justice to retire is likely to be left-leaning, a Barack Obama victory would maintain the status quo of four conservatives, four liberals, and Anthony M. Kennedy serving as the swing vote. But if John McCain appoints the next justice, the court could swing decidedly to the right.http://www.newser.com/story/31207/mccain-would-tilt-split-court-right.html?refid=rss_all_defaultSun, 29 Jun 2008 6:28:52 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/29924/gitmo-will-be-transformed-not-closed.html?refid=rss_all_defaultThe Supreme Court's ruling yesterday against the Bush administration will not shut down the Guantanamo Bay detention center. But by concluding that detainees can appeal their detention in US civilian courts, the high court stripped away its reason for being, erasing the government's claim that an offshore prison was beyond US law. The New York Times looks at both the legal and the military implications of the ruling.http://www.newser.com/story/29924/gitmo-will-be-transformed-not-closed.html?refid=rss_all_defaultFri, 13 Jun 2008 7:38:53 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/29670/oconnors-imprint-fades.html?refid=rss_all_defaultEven as Sandra Day O’Connor public profile as an advocate for Alzheimer’s disease research grows, the legal imprint of the first woman Supreme Court justice is fading, USA Today reports. Since her departure, the Roberts court has shifted course on abortion and retreated from positions supported by her swing vote on affirmative action and campaign finance.http://www.newser.com/story/29670/oconnors-imprint-fades.html?refid=rss_all_defaultTue, 10 Jun 2008 14:11:01 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/29534/court-readies-terms-testiest-decisions.html?refid=rss_all_defaultThe Supreme Court is poised to begin unveiling decisions today in some of the year's most heated cases, reports USA Today . As the term winds down, the 26 final opinions will be released on select days in June, and include clashes over Guantanamo detainees, DC's handgun ban, and the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill.http://www.newser.com/story/29534/court-readies-terms-testiest-decisions.html?refid=rss_all_defaultMon, 09 Jun 2008 8:18:58 CDT