Workers who fill orders for Internet retailer Amazon might be out of luck in their quest to be paid for time they spend going through security checkpoints each day, WRCB reports from the Associated Press. Several Supreme Court justices expressed doubts during arguments today over whether federal law entitles workers to compensation for security measures to prevent employee theft. The case is being watched closely by business groups concerned that employers could be liable for billions of dollars in retroactive pay for security check procedures that have become routine in retail and other industries.

Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy today allowed same-sex marriage to begin in Nevada, clarifying that an earlier order temporarily blocking gay unions applies only to Idaho. Kennedy said in a brief order that he was lifting the hold he imposed five hours earlier on same-sex weddings in Nevada. He said his order would continue to block gay marriage in Idaho, where state officials have asked for the delay. Nevada officials did not make a similar request. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco declared gay marriage legal in Idaho and Nevada on Tuesday. A day earlier, the Supreme Court let similar rulings from three other appeals courts become final and effectively raised to 30 the number of states where same-sex couples can marry, or soon will be able to do so. WRCB has more from the Associated Press.

Six U.S. Supreme Court justices on Sunday attended the Roman Catholic Red Mass in Washington, D.C., an annual ritual that heralds the new judicial season that begins on the first Monday in October. Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. and justices Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas, Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan were in the front pews of the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle to watch the spectacle, replete with incense, bishops and priests in scarlet vestments and soaring choir music. Roberts, Scalia, Kennedy and Thomas are Catholic; Breyer and Kagan, who are Jewish, have become regular attendees. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, also Jewish, stopped attending earlier in her tenure after one mass in which the sermon was “outrageously anti-abortion,” as she later described it. Justices Samuel Alito Jr. and Sonia Sotomayor are also Catholic, although they were absent Sunday. The National Law Journal has more (Subscription required.)

The U.S. Supreme Court opened its new term Monday with a case questioning whether a police officer’s misunderstanding of the law can justify a traffic stop that led to the seizure of illegal drugs. A divided North Carolina Supreme Court said the mistake was reasonable enough to justify the routine traffic stop and refused to toss out the drug evidence. Other actions today included decisions to leave in place the conviction of a Massachusetts man who argued his online activities were free speech, not support for al-Qaida; reject an appeal to South Carolina’s redrawn state house and congressional maps; and not hear an appeal from a lawyer/activist who claimed a federal judge ruled against him because of personal bias.

The court did grant review in a number of cases, including a challenge to Abercrombie & Fitch’s decision to not hire a Muslim teen because her hijab was deemed inconsistent with the company’s dress code; a question of federal litigation fee awards; a case involving ERISA plan fiduciaries; and whether discrimination claims brought under the Fair Housing Act can be based on proof of disparate impact rather than intentional discrimination. WATE News 6, WRCB News 3, Bloomberg News and the ABA Journal have more on each of these cases.

The U.S. Supreme Court today unexpectedly cleared the way for a dramatic expansion of gay marriage in the United States, the Associated Press reports. In declining to hear appeals from five states seeking to preserve bans on gay marriage, the court effectively made those marriages legal in Wisconsin, Indiana, Oklahoma, Utah and Virginia. Couples in six other states should be able to get married in short order as well since those states are covered by the same appellate rulings. Though today’s decision certainly was a boost to the gay marriage movement, the issue is far from settled. Challenges are still pending in 20 states and one appeals court may be poised to rule in favor of state bans, which would set up the first split among the circuits. Nashville lawyer Bill Harbison, who represents plaintiffs in a case from Tennessee pending in the Sixth Circuit, said he expects the Supreme Court to take up the case if the appeals court becomes the first to uphold a state ban. “Obviously we don’t know how the [Sixth] Circuit will rule, but indicators are that the Supreme Court would take a case if it went the other way,” Harbison said in an interview with Knoxnews.

The Supreme Court on Thursday added 11 cases to its docket, including ones on redistricting, judicial elections and discrimination in housing and employment, the New York Times reports. The court, which will return to the bench on Monday, took no action on seven petitions urging it to hear cases on same-sex marriage. The cases it did agree to hear will be argued this winter and are likely to be decided by the end of June. The case on judicial elections is a challenge to bans on personal solicitations of campaign contributions by candidates for judicial office.

The U.S. Supreme Court is staying silent -- for now -- on whether it will review the constitutionality of same-sex marriage, CNN Politics reports. The justices had been scheduled earlier this week to privately consider pending appeals from five states over their bans on such unions. But an orders list issued today indicated the court was not prepared to immediately review the core constitutional question: whether gays and lesbians have the same equal protection or due process right to wed, in all 50 states, as opposite-sex couples. Supporters on both sides of the issue had urged the court to jump into the political and legal debate now to define the limits of civil marriage, and the ability of 31 current states to keep their bans in place.

If admission to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court is one of your career goals, don’t miss the opportunity to make it a reality during the 31st Annual TBA Academy, Dec. 2-3, in Washington, D.C. A select group of Tennessee attorneys will be able to take part in a private ceremony before the court and enjoy other events in the nation's capital. A reception and celebration dinner kick off the Academy, which also includes the opportunity to earn three hours of CLE credit. The group will stay at the Hay Adams Hotel, located across from the White House. Interested candidates should complete the required forms by Oct. 27. For information and a step-by-step guide on how to sign up, visit the TBA website.

U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts expressed concern Friday about growing partisanship in the judicial confirmation process and a public perception that politics factor into the court’s rulings, the Associated Press reports. Roberts told an audience at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Law that the partisan atmosphere in Washington would make it unlikely for justices such as Antonin Scalia or Ruth Bader Ginsburg to win confirmation today. He also suggested that politics displayed through the confirmation process feeds the public’s belief that the court is a political body akin to Congress and the White House. “That's not the way we do business," he said. "We’re not Republicans or Democrats.”

The Supreme Court has formally added gay marriage cases to the justices' agenda for their closed-door conference on Sept. 29. The action does not mean that the court will decide that day to hear state appeals of lower court rulings that struck down bans on same-sex marriage, but the late September conference will be the first time the justices have the issue before them. Appeals have been filed from Indiana, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin. WRCB has more from the Associated Press.