Not-so-big issues; sorting through little-noted decisions from the Court's last term

Article Abstract:

The US Supreme Court's 1992-1993 term included decisions which generated little publicity. These included Eighth Amendment cases on 'excessive fines' and 'cruel and unusual punishment.' The term was also marked by a fraying of the justices' usual veneer of civility in TXO Production Corp v. Alliance Resources Corp, a case on the constitutionality of a punitive damages award. United States National Bank v. Independent Insurance Agents may win an award for peculiarity since it presented the judges with the question of when a statute ceases to be a statute.

United States. Supreme Court, 1993 AD

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Shutting the door; decisions impose new burdens on aliens seeking a home in the United States

Article Abstract:

Recent Supreme Court decisions indicate a tendency to give the executive branch great power over immigration matters. Baker v Haitian Refugee Center stayed a court order blocking the forced return of Haitians fleeing political repression. INS v Elias-Zacarias narrowed the definition of political persecution. INS v Doherty gave the attorney general broad discretion to decide whether to reopen a deportation. Employment of aliens contesting their deportation and legal fees for aliens' counsel were restricted in other decisions.

Cases, Political aspects, Illegal immigrants, Deportation, Emigration and immigration law, Immigration law

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Prisoner rights rebound; inmates score victories in recent Supreme Court decisions

Article Abstract:

The 1991-92 US Supreme Court term has seen the justices agreeing with prisoners about violations of their constitutional rights in a number of cases. Chief Justice Rehnquist sided with the majority in all the pro-prisoner decisions, while Justice Thomas accused his colleagues of turning the Eighth Amendment into a law of prison regulation. These pro-prisoner decisions are particularly surprising in view of the court's conservative criminal justice views in other areas, such as the stress on confining habeas corpus review.

Sentences (Criminal procedure), Prisoners, Prisoners' rights

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