Past Articles by Nina Totenberg
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For Supreme Court, Monsanto's Win Was More About Patents Than Seeds The high court ruled unanimously that when farmers use patented seed for more than one planting in violation of their licensing agreements, they are liable for damages. |
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'Show Boat' Steams On, Eternally American A revival of the Hammerstein-Kern classic showcases once again the rich tapestry and timeless themes of an American saga that changed the course of musical theater — and confronted audiences with painful truths about our history. |
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'Show Boat' Steams On, Eternally American A revival of the Hammerstein-Kern classic showcases once again the rich tapestry and timeless themes of an American saga that changed the course of musical theater — and confronted audiences with painful truths about our history. |
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Justices Say U.S. Improperly Deported Man Over Marijuana Adrian Moncrieffe was deported to Jamaica after police found a small amount of marijuana in his car. The Supreme Court decision means that he can now ask immigration authorities to allow him to return to the U.S., and to his wife and five American children. |
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Justices Weigh Speech Rights For Groups Getting U.S. Funds The U.S. Supreme Court grappled with a tough First Amendment issue on Monday that pits congressional priorities against free speech rights. At issue: what speech limitations may be placed on private groups that receive federal grant money to fight HIV/AIDS abroad. |
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Supreme Court Backs Warrants For Blood Tests In DUI Cases The state of Missouri contended that because alcohol naturally dissipates in the bloodstream, each passing moment means valuable evidence is being lost, and so a warrant is never required for a blood draw. In an 8-to-1 vote, the Supreme Court disagreed. |
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Supreme Court Backs Warrants For Blood Tests In DUI Cases The state of Missouri contended that because alcohol naturally dissipates in the bloodstream, each passing moment means valuable evidence is being lost, and so a warrant is never required for a blood draw. In an 8-to-1 vote, the Supreme Court disagreed. |
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Supreme Court Curbs Lawsuits Over Foreign Abuses In a ruling Wednesday, the court limited the reach of a 224-year-old federal law that in recent decades has been used to hold foreign corporations and individuals accountable in U.S. courts for human-rights abuses abroad. The decision is seen as a loss for human-rights advocates. |
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Emotions Run High As Supreme Court Hears Adoption Case The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday in a case testing the meaning and reach of the Indian Child Welfare Act. The question before the court was whether a Native American biological father who gave up his parental rights could later object after the non-Indian mother gave up the child for adoption. |
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Adoption Case Brings Rare Family Law Dispute To High Court After a South Carolina couple adopted a baby girl, her biological father sought full custody. Normally, the Supreme Court does not hear such disputes, but this case tests a federal law meant to stop Native American children's being improperly taken from their families. |
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Justices Appear Skeptical Of Patenting Human Genes A case considered pivotal to the future of science and medicine came before the Supreme Court on Monday, involving a company that has patented two genes linked to cancer. While the patent challengers lost in the lower court, they seemed to have a more receptive audience at the Supreme Court. |
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Justices Appear Skeptical Of Patenting Human Genes A case considered pivotal to the future of science and medicine came before the Supreme Court on Monday, involving a company that has patented two genes linked to cancer. While the patent challengers lost in the lower court, they seemed to have a more receptive audience at the Supreme Court. |
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Supreme Court Asks: Can Human Genes Be Patented? Same-sex marriage got huge headlines at the Supreme Court last month, but in the world of science and medicine, the case being argued on Monday is far more important. The lawsuit deals with a truly 21st century issue that in some cases can pit drugmakers against patients. |
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Supreme Court Asks: Can Human Genes Be Patented? Same-sex marriage got huge headlines at the Supreme Court last month, but in the world of science and medicine, the case being argued on Monday is far more important. The lawsuit deals with a truly 21st century issue that in some cases can pit drugmakers against patients. |
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Supreme Court Asks: Can Human Genes Be Patented? Same-sex marriage got huge headlines at the Supreme Court last month, but in the world of science and medicine, the case being argued on Monday is far more important. The lawsuit deals with a truly 21st century issue that in some cases can pit drugmakers against patients. |
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Supreme Court Asks: Can Human Genes Be Patented? Same-sex marriage got huge headlines at the Supreme Court last month, but in the world of science and medicine, the case being argued on Monday is far more important. The lawsuit deals with a truly 21st century issue that in some cases can pit drugmakers against patients. |
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Supreme Court Asks: Can Human Genes Be Patented? Same-sex marriage got huge headlines at the Supreme Court last month, but in the world of science and medicine, the case being argued on Monday is far more important. The lawsuit deals with a truly 21st century issue that in some cases can pit drugmakers against patients. |
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Supreme Court Asks: Can Human Genes Be Patented? Same-sex marriage got huge headlines at the Supreme Court last month, but in the world of science and medicine, the case being argued on Monday is far more important. The lawsuit deals with a truly 21st century issue that in some cases can pit drugmakers against patients. |
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Supreme Court Notes: Bugs, Pumps And Stolen Credit Card Numbers NPR's Legal Affairs Correspondent Nina Totenberg ties up a few loose ends from a momentous week in the Supreme Court. |
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Supreme Court Notes: Bugs, Pumps And Stolen Credit Card Numbers NPR's Legal Affairs Correspondent Nina Totenberg ties up a few loose ends from a momentous week in the Supreme Court. |
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Justices Cast Doubt On Federal Defense Of Marriage Act In oral arguments, several Supreme Court justices expressed strong skepticism about DOMA, the law that bars same-sex couples legally married under state law from receiving the same federal benefits as married heterosexual couples. |
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Justices Cast Doubt On Federal Defense Of Marriage Act In oral arguments, several Supreme Court justices expressed strong skepticism about DOMA, the law that bars same-sex couples legally married under state law from receiving the same federal benefits as married heterosexual couples. |
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DOMA Challenge Tests Federal Definition Of Marriage The Supreme Court hears arguments Wednesday on the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act, which denies federal recognition and benefits for same-sex couples. The case involves a woman charged a hefty estate tax when her spouse died, which she would not have owed if her spouse had been a man. |
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At Arguments, Supreme Court Takes Halting Steps Into Gay Marriage Issue At oral arguments on the constitutionality of California's law banning same-sex marriage, the justices parried over the history of the institution of marriage. They also debated an essential question: Should the case be in the Supreme Court at all? |
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At Arguments, Supreme Court Takes Halting Steps Into Gay Marriage Issue At oral arguments on the constitutionality of California's law banning same-sex marriage, the justices parried over the history of the institution of marriage. They also debated an essential question: Should the case be in the Supreme Court at all? |
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In First Of 2 Gay-Marriage Cases, Court Turns To Proposition 8 The justices on Tuesday hear a case that stems from a constitutional challenge to the California ban on same-sex marriage that was enacted by voter initiative in 2008. And on Wednesday, the court hears a challenge to the federal law that bars the U.S. government from recognizing gay marriages. |
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In First Of 2 Gay-Marriage Cases, Court Turns To Proposition 8 The justices on Tuesday hear a case that stems from a constitutional challenge to the California ban on same-sex marriage that was enacted by voter initiative in 2008. And on Wednesday, the court hears a challenge to the federal law that bars the U.S. government from recognizing gay marriages. |
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Supreme Court To Examine State Ban On Affirmative Action With a case examining the use of race in the University of Texas admissions process still undecided, the court surprised observers by accepting yet another affirmative action case for next term. This one, from Michigan, tests whether voters, by referendum, can bar race-conscious admissions programs in higher education. |
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Supreme Court To Examine State Ban On Affirmative Action With a case examining the use of race in the University of Texas admissions process still undecided, the court surprised observers by accepting yet another affirmative action case for next term. This one, from Michigan, tests whether voters, by referendum, can bar race-conscious admissions programs in higher education. |
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Supreme Court Hears 'Pay To Delay' Pharmaceutical Case The U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments Monday in a case worth billions of dollars to pharmaceutical companies and American consumers. The issue is whether brand-name drug manufacturers may pay generic drug manufacturers to keep their cheaper products off the market. |
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Supreme Court Hears 'Pay To Delay' Pharmaceutical Case The U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments Monday in a case worth billions of dollars to pharmaceutical companies and American consumers. The issue is whether brand-name drug manufacturers may pay generic drug manufacturers to keep their cheaper products off the market. |
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Supreme Court Hears 'Pay To Delay' Pharmaceutical Case The U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments Monday in a case worth billions of dollars to pharmaceutical companies and American consumers. The issue is whether brand-name drug manufacturers may pay generic drug manufacturers to keep their cheaper products off the market. |
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Former Bush Aide Pushes 'Conservative Case' For Gay Marriage Ken Mehlman, the political director for the George W. Bush White House, compares the right to marry to other fundamental rights conservatives embrace. He rounded up a group of 131 prominent Republicans to sign a legal brief that's at odds with the House GOP leadership and the party's platform. |
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Former Bush Aide Pushes 'Conservative Case' For Gay Marriage Ken Mehlman, the political director for the George W. Bush White House, compares the right to marry to other fundamental rights conservatives embrace. He rounded up a group of 131 prominent Republicans to sign a legal brief that's at odds with the House GOP leadership and the party's platform. |
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Meet The 83-Year-Old Taking On The U.S. Over Same-Sex Marriage Edith Windsor's challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act will be heard by the Supreme Court next week. When her wife died, Windsor had to pay $363,000 in estate taxes because the federal government did not recognize their marriage. "If Thea was Theo," she says, "I would not have had to pay." |
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Meet The 83-Year-Old Taking On The U.S. Over Same-Sex Marriage Edith Windsor's challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act will be heard by the Supreme Court next week. When her wife died, Windsor had to pay $363,000 in estate taxes because the federal government did not recognize their marriage. "If Thea was Theo," she says, "I would not have had to pay." |
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Supreme Court OKs Discounted Resale Of 'Gray Market' Goods The Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that U.S. companies that make and sell products abroad cannot prevent those items from being resold in the U.S., even at steep discounts. The decision could have repercussions that extend from U.S. trade policy to local yard sales. |
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Supreme Court OKs Discounted Resale Of 'Gray Market' Goods The Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that U.S. companies that make and sell products abroad cannot prevent those items from being resold in the U.S., even at steep discounts. The decision could have repercussions that extend from U.S. trade policy to local yard sales. |
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Supreme Court OKs Discounted Resale Of 'Gray Market' Goods The Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that U.S. companies that make and sell products abroad cannot prevent those items from being resold in the U.S., even at steep discounts. The decision could have repercussions that extend from U.S. trade policy to local yard sales. |
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Supreme Court Tests Limits Of Voter Registration Law The court heard arguments Monday in a case that seeks to redefine a federal law aimed at streamlining the nation's voter registration process. At issue is an Arizona requirement that prospective voters prove their citizenship. |
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Can States Go Beyond Federal Law On Voter Registration? At issue at the Supreme Court on Monday is an Arizona law that requires prospective voters to provide proof of citizenship when they register to vote. A federal appeals court ruled last year that the state law must fall because it conflicts with federal law allowing registration by mail. |
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Can States Go Beyond Federal Law On Voter Registration? At issue at the Supreme Court on Monday is an Arizona law that requires prospective voters to provide proof of citizenship when they register to vote. A federal appeals court ruled last year that the state law must fall because it conflicts with federal law allowing registration by mail. |
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In Voting Rights Arguments, Chief Justice Misconstrued Census Data Chief Justice John Roberts noted that Massachusetts, which is not covered by the preclearance section of the Voting Rights Act, has a far worse record in black voter registration and turnout than Mississippi, which is covered by the act. But census statistics don't necessarily confirm that argument. |
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Administration Asks Supreme Court To End Calif. Gay-Marriage Ban The case before the court tests the constitutionality of a California referendum, narrowly passed by voters in 2008, that reinstituted a ban on gay marriage. The U.S. is calling on the court to declare the California law unconstitutional, a violation of the principle of equal protection. |
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Supreme Court Weighs Future Of Voting Rights Act The provision at issue in Wednesday's case before the court applies to parts of the U.S. where discriminatory voting practices were once rampant. The formula that covers those areas hasn't changed since 1975. The crux of the case: whether times have changed so much that Congress violated the Constitution when it reauthorized the law in 2006. |
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Supreme Court Weighs Future Of Voting Rights Act The provision at issue in Wednesday's case before the court applies to parts of the U.S. where discriminatory voting practices were once rampant. The formula that covers those areas hasn't changed since 1975. The crux of the case: whether times have changed so much that Congress violated the Constitution when it reauthorized the law in 2006. |
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Supreme Court Makes It Harder To Challenge Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act The court blocked a suit contending the law is unconstitutional from going forward, saying the challengers had no legal standing because they had not shown with sufficient certainty that they had been monitored. That decision all but ensures there will be no further challenge to the law. |
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Supreme Court Considers If Warrantless DNA Swab Violates Constitution Twenty-eight states and the federal government have enacted laws that provide for automatic DNA collection from people at the time of their arrest. The question is whether it is unconstitutional to do that without a warrant, for the sole purpose of checking the DNA against a national crime scene database. |
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Supreme Court Considers If Warrantless DNA Swab Violates Constitution Twenty-eight states and the federal government have enacted laws that provide for automatic DNA collection from people at the time of their arrest. The question is whether it is unconstitutional to do that without a warrant, for the sole purpose of checking the DNA against a national crime scene database. |
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High Court Rules On Detaining Suspects, Sniffer Dogs The Supreme Court limited the power of police to detain people who are away from their homes when police conduct a search. Separately, the justices ruled that drug-sniffing dogs don't have to get every sniff right in order for a search to be valid. |
