SCOTUS Spotlight

Denezpi v. United States Unbiased Case Analysis:             Merle Denezpi is a member of the Navajo tribe. He was charged with raping a woman and later accepted a plea deal in the Court of Indian Offenses. He was given 140 days to serve in jail and was eventually released in December of 2017. He was later charged again and indicted in a federal court. Merle Denezpi challenged the federal court’s ruling arguing that his prosecution violated the Constitution’s Double Jeopardy Clause. He argued on the grounds that the Court of Indian Offenses was essentially a federal court. Therefore, he was charged by two federal courts for the same crime. The district court ruled against Denezpi with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit later affirming.             The case was brought before the Supreme Court. The Court ruled 6-3 against Denezpi. The Court’s majority did not b...

Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency Unbiased Case Analysis:             Michael and Chantall Sackett bought a piece of property near Priest Lake, Idaho. They wanted to build a home on the property, so they began placing sand and gravel. The Federal Environmental Protection Agency ordered them to stop placing sand and gravel since their lot contained wetlands. Placing sand and gravel without EPA approval would be a violation of the Clean Water Act. The Sacketts challenged the EPA’s order, and the case was eventually brought before the Supreme Court. The entire Court ruled in favor of Sackett. They believed the Sacketts should not be required to comply with the EPA’s order. However, the Court disagreed on restricting the EPA’s authority. The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in favor of Sackett and new interpretations of the Clean Water Act. The decision brought restrictions upon the EPA. Specifically, the Court narrowed the defini...

Allen v. Milligan Unbiased Case Analysis: In 2021 Alabama attempted to redraw the districts in the state considering the data from the 2020 census. It created 7 districts which would give Alabama 7 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. However, only one of the districts was black majority despite African Americans making up nearly a quarter of the state’s population. Alabama’s district plan was challenged and brought before a district court. The district court found that the map violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Section 2 of the VRA prohibits state and local officials from discriminating based on race in voting laws and procedures. The state asked the Supreme Court to intervene in the district court’s ruling. The Court paused the district court’s decision until they heard the case.             In a 5-4 decision the Court found that Alabama’s redistricting plan violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. The C...

Unbiased Case Analysis:             The Navajo Nation live on a reservation which includes parts of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. Their treaty in 1868 with the U.S. gave them a legal right to this land. However, the Navajo Nation has struggled with having access to the Colorado River for a source of fresh water. They sued the government for failing to protect their water rights. The district court dismissed their case, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed the lower court’s decision. The case was brought to the Supreme Court to be heard.             The Court found that the 1868 Treaty which established the Navajo Reservation did not require the U.S. government “…to take affirmative steps to secure water for the Tribe.” Justice Kavanaugh authored the majority opinion while Justice Neil Gorsuch authored the dissenting opinion. The Court focused on how ...