Friday, June 26, 1998

The Supreme Court concluded its 1997-98 term with several major decisions:

Court Makes Harassment Suits Easier
In a pair of 7-2 rulings of enormous importance for American workplaces, the court made employers easier targets for lawsuits by employees whose supervisors sexually harass them.
Post story | Analysis | Impact on Workplace | Impact on Paula Jones

Other Cases

Penalties for Repeat Offenders: In an unusual ruling on double-jeopardy, the court voted 5-4 to make it easier for states to slap habitual criminals with stiffer sentences based on their past crimes. Upholding California's "three strikes" law, the justices said constitutional protections against being tried twice for the same crime do not apply to sentencing proceedings in non-death penalty cases. AP story

Harassment Damages: The Supreme Court gave 16 women who won a sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuit against a Minnesota iron mine a chance to boost the amount of monetary damages they collect. AP story

Military Base Porn Ban: The justices rejected a free-speech appeal, letting the government continue banning the sale of Penthouse and other sexually explicit magazines on military bases. AP story

U.S. Property in Iran: Without comment, the court refused to force the government to help reimburse a group of U.S. citizens who lost property in Iran during that country's 1979 revolution. AP story

Federally Approved Medical Treatment: A Texas woman who says she had to have plastic surgery after receiving collagen injections to reduce facial wrinkles lost a Supreme Court appeal that sought to revive her lawsuit against the collagen maker. The court, without comment, turned away the woman's argument she should be allowed to sue the Collagen Corp. under state law even though its product was approved as safe by the Food and Drug Administration.