Supreme Court Notebook

Ind. taxpayers lose high court fight over refunds WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court has turned down homeowners in Indianapolis who sought tax refunds when the city changed its plan for paying for a new sewer line. In a 6-3 ruling Monday, the court upheld the city's decision to refuse to refund taxes that some homeowners paid up front while it forgave the remaining taxes for people who paid on an installment plan. Those who paid in full complained that the disparate treatment violated the Constitution's Equal Protection Clause. But Justice Stephen Breyer said in his majority opinion that Indianapolis acted properly in changing the payment system because it wanted to reduce the administrative headaches of debt collection. In dissent, Chief Justice John Roberts said the court was wrong to endorse such a gross disparity in tax treatment. Court won't hear Siegelman, Scrushy appeals WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court will not take another look at the bribery conviction of former Ala. Gov. Don Siegelman and former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy. The high court on Monday turned away the two men's appeals. Siegelman was convicted of selling a seat on a hospital regulatory board to Scrushy in exchange for $500,000 in donations to Siegelman's 1999 campaign to establish a state lottery. Siegelman's lawyers wanted to argue that campaign donations can't be bribes unless there's a clear agreement between the donor and the politician, and that there was no such agreement in Siegelman's case. Siegelman has been free on bond while appealing his conviction, while the courts refused to free Scrushy. The appeals were turned away without comment. U.S. high court will not get into Blackwater case WASHINGTON (AP) -- The U.S. Supreme Court will not stop prosecutors from going after four Blackwater Worldwide guards involved in a 2007 shooting that killed 17 Iraqis. The high court on Monday refused to hear an appeal from Evan Liberty, Donald Ball, Dustin Heard and Paul Slough. A federal judge threw out the case, saying the Justice Department mishandled evidence and violated the guards' rights. But the U.S. Court of Appeals reinstated the charges. The high court refused to reconsider that decision without comment. Blackwater security contractors are accused of opening fire in a crowded Baghdad intersection in 2007. Seventeen people were killed and 20 others wounded. Prosecutors said the shooting was unprovoked. Blackwater renamed itself Xe Services after the shooting. High court protects Secret Service agents WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court has ruled that two Secret Service agents are shielded from a lawsuit filed by a man they arrested after a confrontation with then-Vice President Dick Cheney. The 8-0 decision Monday comes in a case that began with the arrest of Steven Howards following a chance encounter with Cheney at a shopping center in Colorado in 2006. Howards claimed he was arrested because he expressed his anti-war views. The agents and the Obama administration asked the court for broad protection against claims of retaliatory arrests. The justices did not grant that wish. But Justice Clarence Thomas said in his opinion for the court that the agents could not be sued in this instance because of uncertainty about the state of the law concerning such arrests. Published: Tue, Jun 5, 2012