SUPREME COURT NOTEBOOK

Heroin dealer wins case, still gets 20 years WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court has ruled that a dealer convicted of selling drugs to someone who dies from an overdose may not be sentenced to a mandatory 20 years in prison without proof that the death resulted from the use of the drugs. The justices ruled unanimously Monday for Marcus Burrage, who sold heroin to a man who died after using the heroin and other drugs. A jury convicted Burrage after being told it was enough to find the heroin was a contributing cause of death. But Justice Antonin Scalia said for the court that prosecutors must tie the death much more closely to use of the drug. The justices threw out the 20-year term, but Burrage's separate conviction and 20-year sentence for another heroin sale remain. Court rules for airline in pilot defamation claim By Mark Sherman Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) -- Ruling that airlines have broad immunity from lawsuits under a post-9/11 security law, the Supreme Court on Monday threw out a $1.4 million defamation judgment awarded to a pilot who was reported by his employer as mentally unstable and potentially armed. The court was unanimous in holding that a law aimed at encouraging reports of possible security threats to the Transportation Security Administration shields airlines from defamation claims when the reports are substantially true. "Congress wanted to ensure that air carriers and their employees would not hesitate to provide the TSA with information it needed," Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote for the court. Airlines may be held liable only for recklessly false reports, she said. Applying that reasoning to the case of veteran pilot William Hoeper, the justices voted 6-3 to overturn a Colorado jury's verdict against Air Wisconsin, Hoeper's former employer. The case stems from Hoeper's final, failed attempt to win airline approval to fly a new aircraft. The session ended with an angry exchange between Hoeper and another employee at a Virginia training facility. Later that day, Hoeper was a passenger on a United Airlines flight home to Denver that was ordered to return to its gate after Air Wisconsin called TSA with its report of Hoeper as a potential threat. He was removed from the plane by armed police officers and asked about his gun -- properly locked up at home -- while his luggage was emptied on the jet bridge. TSA eventually determined Hoeper was not a threat, but he said he was so embarrassed by the incident that he took a later flight rather than re-board the delayed plane that was still sitting at the gate. Sotomayor said the airline was basically correct when it reported that Hoeper "may be armed" because he had earlier been certified as a federal flight deck officer who was authorized to carry a gun while on the job to protect passengers and crew. Hoeper was not supposed to carry the weapon when he was not working or in training, and he had appropriately left it home. She also said that concerns about his mental stability were more or less justified by the anger he showed at the training facility. Justice Antonin Scalia, joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Clarence Thomas, said the high court should have sent the case back to Colorado courts, possibly for a new trial. "In short, a jury could find that Hoeper did nothing more than engage in a brief, run-of-the-mill, and arguably justified display of anger that included raising his voice and swearing, but that did not cause anyone, including the person on the receiving end of the outburst, to view him as either irrational or a potential source of violence," Scalia said. The case is Air Wisconsin v. Hoeper, 12-315. Ex-HealthSouth CEO Scrushy's appeal rejected WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court has declined to disturb the conviction of former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy on bribery and fraud charges. The justices had no comment Monday on their order rejecting Scrushy's appeal of his 2006 conviction for arranging $500,000 in donations to former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman's lottery campaign. In return, Siegelman appointed Scrushy to a state hospital regulatory board. Scrushy argued that he should get a new trial because of judicial and juror bias. Scrushy served more than five years in prison before his release in 2012. Siegelman, convicted with Scrushy, remains in federal prison. Unanimous court rules against steelworkers' claim WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court says steelworkers do not have to be paid for time they spend putting on and taking off protective gear they wear on the job. The court was unanimous Monday in ruling in favor of United States Steel Corp. over workers' claims that they should be paid under the terms of federal labor law for the time it takes them to put on flame-retardant jackets and pants, safety glasses, earplugs, hardhats and other equipment. Justice Antonin Scalia said for the court that the labor agreement between the company and the workers' union says the employees don't get paid for time spent changing clothes. Scalia said most of the items count as clothing. He said earplugs, glasses and respirators are not clothing, but take little time to put on. Published: Wed, Jan 29, 2014