Court Review: Volume 43, Issue 3 – Recent Civil Decisions of the United States Supreme Court: The 2006-2007 Term

Authors

Charles Whitebread, University of Southern California Law School

Date of this Version

Fall 2006

Comments

Published in Court Review: The Journal of the American Judges Association, 43:3. Copyright © 2006 National Center for State Courts. Used by permission.

Abstract

The past Term of the Court was one in which it swung to the right. A single justice, Justice Anthony Kennedy, made all the difference—being in the majority in every five-to-four decision that split along ideological lines. Significant 5-4 civil decisions included ones upholding the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003, limiting Title VII pay discrimination suits by strictly interpreting the date the statute of limitations begins to run, limiting the ability of school districts to consider race in assigning students to schools, and further limiting punitive-damage claims.