Ben Buchwalter

June 30, 2009

The Supreme Court’s 2008 term ended in June with a flurry of decisions that emphasized the Court’s ideological rift. Five of the rulings were particularly troubling for their denial of prisoners’ rights, approval of environmental hazards, and corporate favoritism. I summarized the issues and rulings behind the five most troubling SCOTUS rulings of the 2008 term. One tricky decision was Ashcroft v. Iqbal:

The Upshot: In a 5-4 decision, the Court ruled that Javaid Iqbal, one of the hundreds of Muslims rounded up after 9/11 and allegedly subjected to harsh treatment, could not challenge his detention in Court because he could not prove he was mistreated. In effect, the ruling increased the pleading requirements for prisoners, which could make it more difficult for prisoners to bring civil rights complaints to court.

See no evil: In the majority opinion, Justice Kennedy wrote that a prison supervisor is not required to challenge discriminatory practices based on the “mere knowledge of his subordinate’s discriminatory” actions.