The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday revived Liberty University's challenge to the new health care law by directing the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., to consider the school's claim that the law violates its religious freedoms. The appeals court previously had ruled that the lawsuit was premature, rejecting it without considering the merits of the case. Liberty is challenging the requirement that individuals obtain health insurance or pay a penalty, as well as a separate provision requiring employers to offer health insurance to their workers. Read more from WRCB-TV

The Supreme Court appears divided on two cases limiting class-action lawsuits against biotech company Amgen Inc. and cable provider Comcast Corp. Class actions increase pressure on businesses to settle suits because of the cost of defending them and the potential for very large judgments. Amgen and Comcast are seeking requirements for plaintiffs to prove more of their case earlier in the process in order to reduce the number of class-action suits. The court should decide both cases by June. The Memphis Daily News has the story. 

The Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday about the use of drug-sniffing dogs in investigations following complaints of illegal searches and insufficient proof of the dogs’ reliability, the Times News reports. The arguments revolved around cases involving two Florida police dogs. Confiscation of 179 marijuana plants came after one dog sniffed the odor from outside the front door, but a trial judge threw out the evidence claiming the dog’s sniff was an unconstitutional intrusion into the defendant’s home. Another dog alerted his officer to the scent of drugs during a traffic stop which resulted in an arrest, but the dog’s training and certification to detect narcotics did not hold up in court. The state of Florida appealed both cases to the Supreme Court which will rule in the cases sometime next year.

The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday declined to take up an Oklahoma Supreme Court case that found a proposal granting "personhood" to human embryos to be an improper ban on abortion. The proposed constitutional amendment would have given human embryos the rights and privileges of citizens in Oklahoma, but it was challenged before it could be placed on the ballot. The Associated Press has more

After a racially tinged battle over the rightful successor to Chief Justice Catherine Kimball, the Louisiana Supreme Court ruled in favor of Bernadette Johnson, making her the first African American Chief Justice in the state News Channel 5 reports. Justice Jeffrey Victory contested that Johnson’s years of appointed service shouldn’t count and he should succeed Kimball. Johnson filed suit in federal court in July after her colleagues said they would debate the matter. The court ultimately ruled that Johnson’s appointed service was legitimate according to the constitution and that she was the rightful successor.

The Supreme Court today agreed to take up an appeal from Arizona over its requirement that people prove they are American citizens before registering to vote. The justices will review a federal appeals court ruling that blocked the law, arguing that federal law – which allows voters to fill out a mail-in voter registration card and swear they are citizens under penalty of perjury – trumps state law. Tennessee is among four states that have a similar law. Arguments will take place in February, with a decision likely by late June. News Channel 5 has this AP story

Law schools, law professors and legal organizations across the country are actively supporting the University of Texas in its highly publicized affirmative action case, which went before the high court today. Of the 73 amicus briefs filed in the case, virtually all of the briefs from law schools and legal organizations defend affirmative action in higher education, reports Law.com. Though the case involves an undergraduate student, the law schools argue that banning consideration of race in admissions would hamstring efforts to boost diversity in their schools, and in the profession at large. One notable exception was a brief filed by UCLA law professor Richard Sander, who argues that affirmative action hurts minority students who are not prepared to meet the academic standards required at some universities.

The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday considered whether appeals should wait until inmates are mentally competent enough to assist their lawyers, and according to an Associated Press story in TriCities.com, seemed inclined to eliminate the authority of federal judges to indefinitely delay appeals. However, the justices spent considerable time talking about the differences in a proposed delay of six or nine months, or as much as a year. Lawyers for two death row inmates, however, urged the court to leave that discretion to the sitting judge. “No individual should lose potentially meritorious claims because of mental illness,” one of them argued.

Today is the first day of the U.S. Supreme Court's fall term and court watchers say this term may be just as exciting as the last one, Law.com reports. Subjects the justices will cover include affirmative action, same-sex marriage and possibly erecting new obstacles to class actions. Also waiting in the wings are cases questioning the constitutionality of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and voter ID laws.  Refresh your memory on the justices --  the AP shows you the justices' order of seniority, age, the presidents who appointed them, and when they took their seats on the high court.

The U.S. Supreme Court today added six new cases to its docket, including a case asking whether the litigation exception to the federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act protects lawyers who use car buyers' personal information for a potential class action. The new term officially begins on Oct. 1, but as has been the practice in recent years, the justices released an orders list of newly granted petitions the day after meeting in their summer conference. The National Law Journal looks at the upcoming cases