Supreme Court opens new term
The issues include the ability to sue over faulty but federally regulated drugs; dirty words on TV; and Navy sonar.
WASHINGTON — Against the backdrop of a tight presidential election that probably will shape its future, the Supreme Court goes back to work this week, facing cases on whether the government can forbid foul language on television, whether drug makers can be sued by injured patients, and whether environmentalists can protect whales off the California coast from the Navy's sonar.
The court will also decide whether high officials can be held liable for violations of rights that took place on their watch. In a Los Angeles case, the justices will decide whether the former district attorney for L.A. County can be sued by a man who was wrongfully convicted of murder based on the testimony of a jailhouse informer with a record of lying. And in a New York case, the justices will decide whether John Ashcroft can be held liable for the arrest and alleged mistreatment of Muslim immigrants after the Sept. 11 attacks, when he was attorney general.
On Monday, the justices will meet behind closed doors to sift through more than 2,000 appeal petitions that have piled up over the summer. They are expected to announce Tuesday that they will hear a handful of those cases.
On Oct. 6, the court will begin hearing oral arguments. First up is a case that tests whether the makers of "light" and "low tar" cigarettes can be sued for allegedly seeking to fool smokers into thinking these cigarettes are safer.
On major issues -- among them abortion, race, religion, the death penalty, gun rights, gay rights and presidential power -- the court regularly splits 5-4, with Justice Anthony M. Kennedy casting the deciding vote. The outcome of the election could have broad implications for the court, because the president nominates new justices: The retirement of a single justice could tip the balance.
John Paul Stevens, a liberal, is 88 and considered likely to step down during the next president's term. Ruth Bader Ginsburg, also a liberal, is 75.
So far, the court does not have before it a hot-button case on abortion, race or religion. That could change as cases are added in coming weeks.
Drug regulations
This fall the most far-reaching case for consumers as well as corporations, Wyeth vs. Levine, tests patients' right to sue if a federally approved drug harms them.
Bush administration lawyers have quietly pressed the theory that if a product is regulated by a federal agency, its regulations "preempt" or block lawsuits that set stricter standards.
