WASHINGTON -- A majority of Supreme Court justices on Wednesday morning appeared skeptical of the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defines marriage for federal purposes as between a man and a woman. Whether the justices believe they have the power to make any decision in this...

WASHINGTON -- Justice Anthony Kennedy on Tuesday called the prospect of same-sex marriage “uncharted waters” during oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court on Proposition 8, California’s gay marriage ban.

"And you can play with that metaphor," Kennedy said, continuing that in that consideration, "There's...

On Monday morning, Justice Clarence Thomas broke nearly seven years of silence at Supreme Court oral arguments.

Problem is, what he said was apparently so funny that you had to be there. Really -- the court's official transcript didn't catch his words.

What we do know is...

WASHINGTON -- Chief Justice John Roberts may have switched his vote to join the Supreme Court's liberals in last term's blockbuster health care case, but on Wednesday morning he proved that he remains a rock-ribbed conservative when it comes to affirmative action.

With retired Justice Sandra Day O'Connor...

The drug war is a failure, but we'll be hard pressed to hear any national leader pushing meaningful reform. As part of HuffPost Live's Shadow Convention coverage, former RNC chairman Michael Steele and former DNC chairman Howard Dean joined me to discuss the politics of the drug war. Steele characterized...

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court on Friday morning officially relieved CBS of a $550,000 fine over Janet Jackson's infamous "wardrobe malfunction" during the 2004 Super Bowl Halftime Show.

The justices denied the government's petition in Federal Communications Commission v. CBS to review a lower court's decision that the...

WASHINGTON -- The individual health insurance mandate is constitutional, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday, upholding the central provision of President Barack Obama's signature Affordable Care Act.

The controlling opinion, written by Chief Justice John Roberts, upheld the mandate as a tax, although concluded it was not valid as an exercise...

WASHINGTON -- The individual health insurance mandate is constitutional, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday, upholding the central provision of President Barack Obama's signature Affordable Care Act.

The controlling opinion, written by Chief Justice John Roberts, upheld the mandate as a tax, although concluded it was not valid as an exercise...

WASHINGTON -- Congress improperly criminalized lies about receiving military honors, the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday.

In striking down the Stolen Valor Act, the majority rejected the government's argument that the law, passed in 2006, was written narrowly enough to avoid chilling protected speech. However, the court left...

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court on Monday delivered a split decision in the Obama administration's challenge to Arizona's aggressive immigration law, striking multiple provisions but upholding the "papers please" provision. Civil rights groups argue the latter measure, a centerpiece of S.B. 1070, invites racial profiling.

Monday's decision on...

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court on Monday abolished the imposition of mandatory sentences of life without parole for all juveniles convicted of murder.

Justice Elena Kagan, writing for the 5-4 majority, said, "By requiring that all children convicted of homicide receive lifetime incarceration without possibility of parole, regardless of...

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday struck down Montana's century-old limits on corporate political spending, putting an end to the state's resistance to Citizens United and effectively expanding that controversial ruling to the state and local elections.

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, decided in January...

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is undefeated at the Supreme Court this term, continuing to improve its success in securing business-friendly judgments since Chief Justice John Roberts took the bench in 2005.

The Constitutional Accountability Center, a left-leaning think tank and law firm, reported its...

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court ruled Thursday against the Federal Communications Commission's policy on fleeting expletives over the airwaves, vacating the lower court's decision on due process and fair notice grounds. It ducked the larger First Amendment issues about regulating broadcast indecency in Fox v. FCC.

The...

Is Obamacare living on borrowed time or about to get a new lease on life? The only thing we know for sure is that the Supreme Court will tell us one way or the other before June is over.

During oral arguments in late March, the court's five...

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court on Monday denied review in the cases of several Guantanamo Bay detainees, likely closing off for good the prospect of continued oversight of the executive branch's handling of the prison camp that had been held out in a landmark decision four years ago.

The cases...

WASHINGTON -- Secret Service agents who arrested a man after he disparaged and then touched Dick Cheney cannot be sued for violating the man's free speech rights, the Supreme Court ruled on Monday morning.

When then-Vice President Cheney visited a Colorado mall in 2006, Secret Service agent Dan...

WASHINGTON -- A day after receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom, retired Justice John Paul Stevens on Wednesday night backed President Barack Obama's suggestion during his 2010 State of the Union address that the Citizens United decision could lead to "foreign entities" bankrolling American elections.

He urged...

WASHINGTON -- Arkansas is not barred by the Constitution's double jeopardy clause from retrying a man for murder even though the first jury had announced it was unanimously against the charge, the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday morning.

Alex Blueford was charged with capital murder and its three "lesser included"...

WASHINGTON -- Montana Attorney General Steve Bullock says that he has been so personally involved in the Citizens United sequel soon to be considered by the U.S. Supreme Court that his coworkers say he is the case's "attorney specific."

It is a role Bullock welcomed following the 2010