It's AmeriKa, after all:
"Free speech, business win term’s battles on high court; Class actions, protest curbs hit roadblocks" by Adam Liptak, New York Times / June 29, 2011
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court term that ended Monday was marked by accomplishment and anticipation. The court continued its work on two signature projects of Chief Justice John Roberts: defending free speech and curbing big lawsuits. And it dropped occasional hints about the blockbusters on the horizon.
The First Amendment dominated the term, with the court ruling for funeral protesters, the makers of violent video games, drug marketers, and politicians who decline public financing.
Related: Globe Court Report: Supreme Vote
A Class Action Court
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Supreme Court Says You Do NOT Have the Right to an Attorney
But you have free speech:
The US commitment to free expression, the court said, cuts across politics and commerce, requires tolerance of offensive speech, and forbids the government from stepping in when powerful voices threaten to dominate public debate.
I take that as meaning this blog will always be here for you, dear readers -- even if I have cleaned up the swearing. After five years of fuming I'm still angry but exhausted.
In cases involving the nation’s largest private employer, Wal-Mart, and the nation’s second-largest cellphone company, AT&T Mobility, the court tightened the rules for class actions and made it easier for firms to do away with class actions entirely by using form contracts.
All of the decisions this term were scrutinized for clues about the arc of the Roberts court as it settles into a period of consolidation and awaits a series of colossal cases, notably the challenges to the health care law championed by President Obama. This term was significant, but the next one may include the most important clash between the Supreme Court and a president since the New Deal....
Business groups said their success in the court during the term was mixed, and the numbers support them, as the court often ruled for plaintiffs in employment and securities cases. But business groups won the most consequential cases....
When you look back at the history of big business in this country you find they were against every labor improvement, violently opposed them, and would not have been happy had they not won every single case.
There are major cases in store. “Next term is going to be the term of the century,’’ said Thomas C. Goldstein, a leading Supreme Court advocate and the publisher of Scotusblog....
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