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The Supreme Court held today that a U.S district court should have deferred to an ERISA plan administrator's "reasonable" interpretation of the terms of the plan if such an interpretation is reached outside the context of an administrative claim for benefits.

A unanimous Supreme Court rejected an appeal by Merck & Co. Inc., which sought to block a shareholders' lawsuit over its withdrawn pain reliever Vioxx.

In November 2003, investors filed a class-action lawsuit against Merck in a New Jersey federal district court, alleging the pharmaceutical company had provided misleading information about the risks of Vioxx.

Vioxx was pulled from the market Sept. 30, 2004, because it doubled risks of heart attack, stroke and death.

The Supreme Court held today that the Michigan Supreme Court correctly denied a defendant's appeal on double jeopardy grounds where he was convicted of second-degree murder after his first trial resulted in a mistrial when the jury foreperson indicated that the jury could not reach a verdict.

The case concerns Reginald Lett, who was charged with first-degree murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony in connection with a shooting death at a Detroit liquor store.

The Supreme Court ruled today on how American authorities should handle the Hague Convention on child abduction, which prevents one parent from taking a child to other countries without the other parent's consent.

Timothy Abbott, a British citizen, and Jacquelyn Abbott, a U.S. citizen, married in England and later had a son in Hawaii.

In 2002, all three lived together in Chile. In March 2003, the Abbotts separated and they litigated in the Chilean family courts where Jacquelyn Abbott was ultimately awarded custody and Timothy Abbott was granted visitation rights.

The Supreme Court today backed an appeal by federal prosecutors in a case involving the sex trafficking and forced labor conviction of a man who has been called the "S&M Svengali."

In September 2007, Glenn Marcus was sentenced to nine years in prison for abusing a woman he photographed for his Web site. Marcus was convicted in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York for sex trafficking involving children or force, fraud or coercion and forced labor.

The Supreme Court ruled today that mandatory minimum sentencing enhancement for the use of a machine gun in a federal crime is an element of the underlying offense that must be proved to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt.

Martin O'Brien and Arthur Burgess pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, and were convicted of conspiring to affect commerce by robbery, attempting to affect commerce by robbery and using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of, a crime of violence.

A unanimous Supreme Court ruled today that the National Football League could be subject to antitrust action with regards to its exclusive licensing deal for sports merchandise.

American Needle Inc. designs, manufactures and sells apparel and hats with the names and logos of professional sports teams. For many years, the company held a non-exclusive license from the NFL to produce and sell merchandise bearing the logos of the league's 32 teams.

The Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether a defense counsel's reliance on cross-examination in lieu of forensic evidence violates a client's Sixth Amendment right to effective assistance of counsel.

A California trial court convicted Joshua Richter of burglary and murder. He exhausted his state court remedies and filed for habeas corpus relief in a California federal district court, arguing that he was denied effective assistance of counsel in violation of the Sixth Amendment.

The Supreme Court has agreed to rule on the legal right to sue by parents whose children have been injured by vaccines.

The case concerns whether the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act bars parents in Pittsburgh from suing the pharmaceutical company Wyeth over the side effects allegedly caused by its diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccines.

Robalee and Russell Bruesewitz claimed their daughter developed a seizure disorder after getting the vaccine when she was six months old. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed their claims as pre-empted by the act.