After years of fiscal mismanagement, Puerto Rico has appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court to help it smooth the road out of debt. During oral arguments in late March, Puerto Rico complained that a decades-old law prohibiting it from declaring bankruptcy was unfair.

Aaron and Melissa Klein once operated Sweet Cakes by Melissa, a bakery in Oregon. 

Three years ago, they declined to make a wedding cake for a lesbian couple based on the tenets of their Christian faith. The couple complained, and the ensuing discrimination claims forced the Kleins out of business. The state of Oregon ultimately fined the couple $135,000.

The U.S. Supreme Court last month heard a dispute over federal land, similar to the one in Oregon that culminated in a 40-day standoff earlier this year. The case touches on the anger over federal ownership of land in the American West, and a ruling against the government could strike a symbolic blow against federal agencies many say are increasingly overstepping the bounds of their constitutional authority. 

The U.S. Supreme Court last month heard the case of a police detective demoted for what could be called political in-activism. His offense? Picking up a political sign for his mother. 

Jeffrey Heffernan is a 30-plus year police veteran in Paterson, N.J. The town’s campaign for mayor was in full swing in 2006. The police chief, Heffernan’s boss, backed one candidate, but Heffernan’s mother backed another. Her yard sign had gone missing, so she asked her son to pick up one for her on his day off.

A U.S. Supreme Court case about Native American tribal jurisdiction could redefine the way tribe members bring civil suits against non-tribe members.

The case came before the Supreme Court in December after 10 years of legal wrangling. It started at a Dollar General retail store on a Choctaw reservation in Mississippi that leases space from the tribe.

A 13-year-old boy claimed the non-Choctaw store manager molested him in 2003 while he was an intern in a youth opportunity program the tribe started to teach work skills. 

Last week marked the second time the U.S. Supreme Court heard the case of Abigail Fisher, a white student denied admission to the University of Texas at Austin (UT) in 2008. That same year, the school admitted African-American students who had lower grades than Fisher.

Fisher sued UT, alleging the school violated her right to equal protection under the 14th Amendment because its admissions process considered race.