A case in which the Court will decide (1) whether taking and selling a home to satisfy a debt to the government, and keeping the surplus value as a windfall, violates the Fifth Amendment’s Takings Clause; and (2) whether the forfeiture of property worth far more than needed to satisfy a debt, plus interest, penalties, and costs, is a fine within the meaning of the Eighth Amendment.

U.S. Supreme Court Oral Arguments

Tyler v. Hennepin County, Minnesota

A case in which the Court will decide whether a foreign plaintiff with no alleged connection to the United States can state a cognizable claim under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act when it suffers an injury to an intangible property.

Yegiazaryan v. Smagin

A case in which the Court will decide whether the Bankruptcy Code unequivocally expresses Congress’s intent to abrogate the sovereign immunity of Native American tribes.

Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians v. Coughlin

A case in which the Court will decide whether, to preserve the issue for appellate review, a party must reassert in a post-trial motion a purely legal issue rejected at summary judgment.

Dupree v. Younger

A case in which the Court will decide whether, to establish that a statement is a "true threat" unprotected by the First Amendment, the government must show that the speaker subjectively knew or intended the threatening nature of the statement.

Counterman v. Colorado

A case in which the Court will clarify what constitutes an “undue hardship” for an employer under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 when an employee alleges discrimination based on religion.

Groff v. DeJoy

A case in which the Court will decide whether and when a defendant’s contemporaneous subjective understanding or beliefs about the lawfulness of its conduct are relevant to whether it “knowingly” violated the False Claims Act.

U.S. ex rel. Schutte v. SuperValu Inc.

A case in which the Court will decide whether Virginia’s offense of accessory after the fact to a felony is an offense relating to obstruction of justice under the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Pugin v. Garland

A case in which the Court will decide whether Sections 11 and 12(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933 require plaintiffs to plead and prove that they bought shares registered under the registration statement they claim is misleading.

Slack Technologies v. Pirani

A case in which the Court will decide whether admitting a codefendant’s redacted out-of-court confession that immediately inculpates a defendant based on context violates the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment.

Samia v. United States

A case in which the Court will decide whether the exception in I.R.C. § 7609(c)(2)(D)(i) to the notice requirements for an Internal Revenue Service summons on third-party recordkeepers applies to a summons for anyone’s records whenever the IRS thinks that person’s records might somehow help it collect a delinquent taxpayer’s liability.

Polselli v. Internal Revenue Service

A case in which the Court will decide the proper remedy for the government’s failure to prove venue in a criminal prosecution.

Smith v. United States

A case in which the Court will decide whether a federal criminal sentencing law requires a man who was convicted and sentenced for his role in a drug-trafficking-related murder to serve consecutive, rather than concurrent, sentences.

Lora v. United States

A case in which the Court will decide whether 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a)(1)(A)(iv) and (B)(i)’s prohibition against encouraging or inducing unlawful immigration for commercial advantage or private financial gain is facially unconstitutional under the First Amendment.

United States v. Hansen

A case in which the Court will decide what an applicant for a patent must provide to meet the statutory requirement of a description of the invention that would enable a “skilled artisan” to “make and use” the claimed invention.