The future of same-sex marriage and the Affordable Care Act hang in the balance as the Supreme Court's 2014 term draws rapidly to a close. But those aren't the only big issues on the justices' plate. The court is slated to complete action on 20 cases involving issues that include free speech, fair elections, religious liberty, racial discrimination, clean air and capital punishment. WBIR has more.

A brief burst of humor today broke the starchy formality of the Supreme Court as Justice Antonin Scalia mangled the name of his friend and colleague Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Scalia called Ginsburg "Goldberg" while announcing from the bench that she was dissenting from a court ruling on immigration, sparking a ripple of laughter from lawyers and members of the public in the courtroom. WCYB has more from CNN.

The Supreme Court ruled today that one of the nation's biggest law firms is not entitled to recover $5.2 million in legal fees it incurred in the course of a bankruptcy proceeding. The 6-3 ruling said the firm Baker Botts could not collect additional fees it billed during a side dispute over whether the firm should be paid $117 million in fees earned representing Tucson-based copper-mining giant Asarco in the underlying bankruptcy. The court found that federal law does not allow a bankruptcy court to award attorney fees solely for the extra work performed to justify fees in the underlying case. The Daily Times has more from the Associated Press.

The U.S. Supreme Court issued three opinions today, including one favoring the White House in a foreign-policy power struggle with Congress over whether Jerusalem-born Americans may list Israel as the place of birth on their U.S. passports. The court also agreed to hear three cases in the fall: when a three-judge panel must be convened to consider challenges to redistricting plans, how workers prove class action damages, and whether a defendant facing asset forfeiture can use funds not obtained from the crime to pay for legal representation. Finally, the court declined to hear four cases, including another challenge to the Affordable Care Act and a question of whether local governments may require handguns be disabled or locked up when they are not being carried. Read a wrap-up from SCOTUSblog.

Diversity of professional experience is an element the U.S. Supreme Court is “sorely missing,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor recently told attendees at the ABA Section of International Law's spring meeting. Sotomayor suggested that when justices do not have experience with small or medium-sized firms or with a variety of practice areas it can “hurt the perception of the court.” Read more at Gavel Grab.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Williams-Yulee v. Florida State Bar -- which upheld a Florida law prohibiting judicial candidates from personally soliciting or receiving funds -- may create uncertainty as to the constitutionality of other restrictions on candidates' speech, Erwin Chemerinsky writes in the ABA Journal. According to Chemerinsky, the court’s emphatic declaration that judges are not politicians is in tension with a 2002 decision in Republican Party of Minnesota v. White.

The U.S. Supreme Court today issued orders from its May 28 conference and four decisions in argued cases. In Mellouli v. Lynch, the court ruled that a lawful permanent resident may not be deported after a misdemeanor state drug paraphernalia conviction. In Bank of America v. Caulkett, the court found that when a mortgage lien is worth more than the market value of the property, courts may not reduce the lien’s value to the property’s market value. In EEOC v. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores, the court found for a job applicant whose faith dictates a personal practice that contradicts the company’s workplace rules, even though the rules are entirely neutral about religion. And in Elonis v. United States, the court overturned a Pennsylvania man’s conviction for making threats over the Internet. SCOTUSblog has more on each of the decisions.

A new effort to limit the tenure of future U.S. Supreme Court justices launched Wednesday, with the aim of urging any would-be nominee to pledge to serve a single 18-year term. The initiative, called Come to Terms, asserts that term limits are needed to increase accountability and reduce the politicization of the court. It is being pushed by Fix the Court, a group formed last year to “promote transparency and accountability on the high court.” The Blog of Legal Times has more on the effort.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on Tuesday that bankruptcy courts have authority to rule on disputes that fall outside the bankruptcy proceedings if the parties to the case consent. The question of the judges’ authority had been an issue since 2011 when the court limited their authority to decide non-bankruptcy issues. The Daily News has more from the Associated Press.

Water wars return to the U.S. Supreme Court in a lawsuit Mississippi hopes to bring against Tennessee, SCOTUSblog reports. The dispute centers on water pumped by the city of Memphis from an aquifer that spans the states’ borders. Mississippi is seeking rights to the water and $615 million in damages. The U.S. solicitor general weighed in last week with a recommendation that the court deny Mississippi’s motion to file the suit, arguing that until the water is apportioned, there can be no claim of inequitable apportionment.