JUSTICES MIGHT MAKE IT EASIER TO PROSECUTE INSIDER TRADING CASES

October 5, 2016

The Supreme Court today hears the case of Duane Buck, a convicted Texas murderer who was sentenced to die after an expert witness testified that Buck was more likely to commit violent crimes in the future because he is black. Buck has been challenging his death sentence for 14 years now, and today, he gets his day in the big house.

Today, the Supreme Court heard arguments in the case of Salman v. United States, and Reuters reports several of the justices appeared unlikely to side with BASSAM SALMAN, who was arguing for pardon from trading on tips about clients of the bank where his brother-in-law worked. The justices indicated they might issue a ruling that would make it easier to prosecute insider trading cases against hedge fund managers and other traders.

For The Washington Post, Robert Barnes reports on yesterday’s SCOTUS case dealing with the issue of double jeopardy; a constitutional concept that so rarely makes its way before Supreme Court justices.

NPR’s Nina Totenberg reviewed the high court’s first day of oral arguments for the new term, while also considering how far (or not so far) we’ve come since the passing of JUSTICE ANTONIN SCALIA. Audie Cornish asked, “Initially you’ve had several justices say that this is not a big deal. But that was then. I mean have things changed? Is it becoming a problem?” Totenberg replied, “Well, the cracks are beginning to show.”

On All Things Considered, Totenberg noted JUSTICE GINSBURG was sporting a “new and festive multicolored collar over her robe” during yesterday’s arguments. The latest addition to her collection was given to her by the New Mexico Bar Association earlier this summer.

In the Supreme Court of the United States on Tuesday, October 4, 2016, JUSTICE STEPHEN BREYER used KIM KARDASHIAN as an example when trying to make a point during arguments in the case of Shaw v. United States. Justice Breyer: “Even Kardashian’s thief, if there is one, believes that all that jewelry is insured. Indeed over insured. So it’s not theft?”

SCOTUSDaily noted this term would promise nothing but unpredictability. No one, and I mean no one, would have predicted that a Kardashian would find her way onto headlines about the nation’s highest court. No one.