Nina Totenberg

Although the court has viewed gerrymandering of legislative districts as a practice that deprives citizens of fair representation, it's also thrown up its hands when it comes to policing the practice.

What's a tangible object? That question was at the crux of a case about whether a law aimed at preventing document shredding could be applied to other objects — including fish.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the North Carolina dental board does not have the authority to regulate teeth-whitening services. By a 6-to-3 vote, the court said that the state board, composed mainly of dentists, violated the nation's antitrust laws by regulating the activity of competitors.

Teeth whitening at ...

Did Abercrombie & Fitch violate a prohibition against religious discrimination by not hiring a woman who wears a hijab? The company contends it just has a neutral policy against wearing caps.

On one side of the case is the retailer Abercrombie & Fitch, and on the other, a 17-year-old job applicant who was highly rated for hiring but then rejected because she wore a Muslim headscarf.

Do Americans' constitutional rights include the right to a visa for a non-citizen spouse? The Supreme Court heard arguments on that issue Monday and appears to be headed for another close vote.

Why was Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg dozing at the State of the Union this year? "I wasn't 100 percent sober," Ginsberg admitted during at a forum at George Washington University.

The U.S. Supreme Court refused Monday to step in and stop gay marriages from taking place in Alabama. The move sent the strongest signal to date that the justices are on the verge of legalizing gay marriage nationwide. Within hours of the high court ruling, same-sex marriages began ...

On Monday the Supreme Court refused to allow Alabama to bar same-sex unions while awaiting a national ruling on the issue by the high court this summer.

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed today to review Oklahoma's method of execution by lethal injection. The justices agreed to hear the Oklahoma case a week after refusing to halt another execution that used the same drug formula.

It takes the votes of five justices to halt an execution but only ...

Overturned chairs and shouts of protest briefly shattered the formality and calm of the U.S. Supreme Court this morning.

The session had just begun when protesters in the back of the chamber began yelling things like, "One person, one vote," "We are the 99 percent," "Money is not speech," and ...

Robert MacLean gave a reporter information about U.S. air marshals being taken off flights to save money.

The court ruled: It was wrong to force a Muslim inmate to shave a beard he regarded as a religious obligation, and a death row inmate shouldn't be denied an appeal because lawyers missed a deadline.

The U.S. Supreme Court has taken the rare step of reversing the lower courts in a death penalty case and, for all practical purposes, giving the defendant a chance to have his conviction and death sentence reviewed by the federal courts.

In 1999, Mark Christeson was convicted of and ...

The court today heard arguments testing whether states may prohibit candidates for judgeships from soliciting campaign donations personally.

In a closely watched religious rights case, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously Tuesday that an Arkansas prisoner must be allowed to grow a half-inch beard in accordance with his religion.

Federal law bars public institutions such as prisons from imposing a substantial and unjustified burden on the free exercise ...

Once, judicial elections were a pretty tame affair, with relatively little money spent. Not anymore. The Supreme Court hears arguments Tuesday on how candidates should be allowed to gather funding.

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether states can ban same-sex marriage.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court heard arguments about a graduate student who was deported after four Adderall pills were found in his sock.

A Washington, D.C., suburbanite had trouble getting to work Tuesday, leaving a key task to the boss.

At the U.S. Supreme Court, two unanimous opinions, both written by Justice Antonin Scalia, were handed down, but Scalia was missing in action. Chief Justice John Roberts summarized the opinions from the bench ...