Sam Hananel

Read the latest stories and analysis from Sam Hananel.

The Supreme Court building in Washington, Monday, June 30, 2014, following various court decisions. The court ruled on birth control, union fees and other cases.

Court: Public union can’t make nonmembers pay fees

Sam Hananel · June 30, 2014 10:11 pm

Court to weigh gov’t duty to settle bias claims

Sam Hananel · June 30, 2014 1:58 pm

FILE -,This June 25, 2014 file photo shows President Barack Obama speaking in Washington. The Supreme Court on Thursday limited the president's power to fill high-level vacancies with temporary appointments, ruling in favor of Senate Republicans in their partisan clash with President Barack Obama. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

Ruling limits president’s recess appointments

Sam Hananel · June 26, 2014 8:59 pm

Court raises bar for securities class action cases

Sam Hananel · June 23, 2014 8:34 pm

Supreme Court to hear Amtrak dispute

Sam Hananel · June 23, 2014 1:47 pm

FILE - This Sept. 19, 2013 file photo shows Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor in Newark, Del. The First Amendment protects public employees from job retaliation when they are called to testify in court about official corruption, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday.The justices decided in favor of former Alabama community College official Edward Lane, with Sotomayor saying Lane's testimony was constitutionally protected because he was speaking as a citizen on a matter of public concern, even if it covered facts he learned at work. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

High court: Whistleblowers’ testimony is protected

Sam Hananel · June 19, 2014 9:07 pm

FILE - This Feb. 25, 2011 file photo shows Tthe U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in Alexandria, Va. The Supreme Court on Thursday tossed out an Australian company's patent for business software in a decision that clarifies standards for awarding patents, but not as much as some firms had hoped. In a case closely watched by the industry, justices ruled unanimously that the government should not have issued a patent to Alice Corp. in the 1990s because the company simply took an abstract idea that has been around for years and programmed it to run through a computer. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Supreme Court tosses ‘abstract’ software patent

Sam Hananel · June 19, 2014 7:01 pm

Court OKs challenge to Ohio ban on campaign lies

Sam Hananel · June 16, 2014 8:34 pm

High court will hear appeal over illegal threats

Sam Hananel · June 16, 2014 7:31 pm

FILE - This April 29, 2014 file photo shows a visitor to the Supreme Court uses his cellphone to take a photo of the court in Washington. A divided Supreme Court sided with gun control groups and the Obama administration Monday, ruling that the federal ban on "straw" purchases of guns can be enforced even if the ultimate buyer is legally allowed to own a gun. The justices ruled 5-4 that the law applied to a Virginia man who bought a gun with the intention of transferring it to a relative in Pennsylvania who was not prohibited from owning firearms. (AP Photo, File)

Supreme Court rules on ‘straw purchaser’ law

Sam Hananel · June 16, 2014 6:44 pm

This undated photo obtained by The Associated Press, used in an exhibit filed in the Supreme Court case, shows the front of a bottle of Minute Maid Pomegranate Blueberry beverage. The Supreme Court on Thursday sided with juice maker Pom Wonderful in its long-running false advertising dispute with Coca Cola, a decision that could open the door to more litigation against food makers for deceptive labeling. The justices ruled 8-0 that Pom can go forward with a lawsuit alleging the label on a "Pomegranate Blueberry" beverage offered by Coke's Minute Maid unit is misleading because 99 percent of the drink consists of apple and grape juice.

Court rules for Pom Wonderful in dispute with Coke

Sam Hananel · June 12, 2014 9:20 pm

Court rules for Pom Wonderful in dispute with Coke

Sam Hananel · June 12, 2014 2:36 pm