Supreme Court Rulings

He's a right-leaning New Jersey native with a lifelong love of the Phillies. She's a liberal New Yorker who grew up near Yankee Stadium. They're eying each other warily these days from opposite ends of the Supreme Court bench. Justices Samuel Alito and Sonia Sotomayor make no secret of their rooting interests in the World Series, though neither would say whether they have a wager on the outcome. Alito was unusually quiet when the court met Monday. Was he glum over the ninth-inning meltdown by Phillies closer Brad Lidge in the team's loss Sunday night? He was more verbal Tuesday, asking questions a day ... Read Full Story

The U.S. Supreme Court is taking a close look at a question individual investors have long asked about their mutual funds, but the courts have largely ignored: Why am I getting charged twice as much as big institutional clients? Sure enough, the money-management services that different classes of fund clients get aren't the same. Institutions like pension funds and foundations may not need toll-free customer hotlines. They don't require as many of the prospectuses and other fund reports that individuals often throw away, even though they're printed and mailed at great expense. Individuals move relatively paltry sums in and out of a fund, piling ... Read Full Story

Clarence Thomas, the justice long known as the silent member of the Supreme Court, criticized his colleagues Friday for badgering attorneys rather than letting them speak during oral arguments. Thomas — who hasn't asked a lawyer a question during arguments in nearly four years — said he and the other eight justices virtually always know where they stand on a case by reading legal briefs before oral arguments. "So why do you beat up on people if you already know? I don't know, because I don't beat up on 'em. I refuse to participate. I don't like it, so I don't do it," Thomas ... Read Full Story

Chief Justice John Roberts once famously and controversially described a judge's role as akin to an umpire who merely calls balls and strikes. On Wednesday, Roberts offered a new take on that argument in a Supreme Court case about whether lawyers who sued to force changes in Georgia's foster care program could receive extra pay for their efforts. A federal judge awarded the lawyers an extra $4.5 million on top of the $6 million they were due under a formula. U.S. District Judge Marvin Shoob said their work was the best he'd seen in 27 years on the bench. Georgia appealed Shoob's decision. Roberts ... Read Full Story

(Editor’s note: Brad Feld is a n early stage investor and co-founder of Foundry Group. This post originally appeared on his blog .) I had an incredible experience this week. My friend Phil Weiser, who is now the Deputy Assistant Attorney General at the US Department of Justice, Antitrust Division (I prefer to call him America’s Top Cop on Agriculture) invited me, my partner Jason Mendelson, and my wife Amy Batchelor to attend the Supreme Court Oral Arguments for re Bilski . For those that know about my fervent anti-patent bias with regards to software , Bilski is an important case. Depending on how ... Read Full Story