Constitutional Law

The Supreme Court's Business Friendly Term

Examining the U.S. Supreme Court’s latest term, Adam H. Charnes and James J. Hefferan Jr., concluded for The National Law Journal that the high court took up a business heavy docket, which produced decisions reflecting “an approach generally sympathetic to business concerns.” For example, with regards to punitive damages, Carnes and Hefferan, attorneys with the Atlanta-based law practice Kilpatrick Stockton, noted the high court’s decision reducing a $5 billion punitive damages award against ExxonMobile to about $500 million. “The majority decision, authored by Justice David H. Souter, noted that the case represented a significant departure from the Court’s previous decisions addressing punitive damages awards, which has concerned review of state-court jury verdicts under constitutional due process standards,” the two wrote. The entire article is here. For additional analysis of the high court’s recent term, watch video of the ACS 2008 Supreme Court Term Review here.

Full post as published by ACS Blog on August 15, 2008 (boomark / email).