The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case challenging the use of the sedative midazolam in executions by lethal injection, the Associated Press reports. The case, brought by death row inmates in Oklahoma, argues that the sedative is unconstitutional because it has no pain-relieving properties and that the state “hastily” chose to use it after sodium thiopental became unavailable. The case will be the first death penalty question taken up by the high court since 2008 when it approved the use of three drugs that became the standard combination used in lethal injections. The ABA Journal has the story.

The U.S. Department of Justice will file an amicus brief in support of legalizing same-sex marriage in every state, according to Attorney General Eric Holder. In speaking to reporters recently, Holder said the department is “committed to ensuring that the benefits of marriage are available as broadly as possible.” Therefore, he said, the department will file a “friend of the court” brief urging the high court to make same-sex marriage available nationwide. The ABA Journal has more.

The Supreme Court appeared sharply divided today in a debate over a decades-old strategy for fighting discrimination in housing, WRCB reports. Chief Justice John Roberts expressed serious doubts during a one-hour argument that the 1968 Fair Housing Act can be used to ban housing or lending practices without any proof of intent to discriminate. The court's four liberal justices defended the use of so-called "disparate impact" lawsuits that allege even race-neutral policies can have a harmful effect on minority groups. Justice Antonin Scalia, who usually aligns with Roberts and other conservatives, asked tough questions of both sides, making it tough to determine how the court might rule in a case that has steep ideological divisions. 

The Supreme Court today ruled that a former air marshal who was fired after leaking plans to the media about security cutbacks can seek whistleblower protection. By a 7-2 vote, the justices said Robert MacLean did not violate federal law when he revealed that the Transportation Security Administration planned to save money by cutting back on overnight trips for undercover air marshals. MacLean leaked the information in 2003 to an MSNBC reporter after supervisors ignored his safety concerns. His disclosure triggered outrage in Congress, and the Department of Homeland Security quickly reversed the policy, calling it a mistake, but TSA fired McLean three years later after it discovered he was the leaker. WRCB has more from the Associated Press.

Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court appeared closely split today when they heard oral arguments over whether to uphold a Florida ethics rule that prohibits judicial candidates from personally soliciting campaign money, Gavel Grab reports. During oral arguments in the case brought by former judicial candidate Lanell Williams-Yulee against the Florida Bar, “The court’s conservative justices appeared to favor Williams-Yulee’s free speech argument. The court’s liberals voiced support for the state’s right to ensure the impartiality of the judiciary” through the ethics rule. Justice Anthony Kennedy was seen as the likely swing vote in a final decision.

The U.S. Supreme Court today agreed to decide whether all 50 states must allow gay and lesbian couples to marry, the New York Times reports. The court’s announcement that it will hear cases out of Tennessee, Kentucky, Michigan and Ohio made it likely that it would resolve one of the great civil rights questions of the age before its current term ends in June. The justices ducked the issue in October, refusing to hear appeals from rulings allowing same-sex marriage in five states. The number of states allowing same-sex marriage has since grown to 36.

A unanimous U.S. Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that home buyers do not need to file a lawsuit, but may simply write a letter if they want to back out of a mortgage because they believe their lender violated the federal Truth in Lending Act. The decision came in a case of a Minnesota couple that refinanced their home in 2007 but later claimed the company failed to provide disclosures required under federal law. Resolving a split among lower courts, the Supreme Court said written notice was enough. In another unanimous opinion, the court upheld a mandatory 10-year minimum prison term for a suspect who forces another person to accompany him during a bank robbery or in trying to elude police. WRCB-TV has the Associated Press story.

The U.S. Supreme Court -- in the midst of deciding whether to take up the issue of same-sex marriage -- declined today to take an early look at a challenge to Louisiana’s state ban, Reuters News Service reports. The court also took no action on pending cases concerning same-sex marriage bans in Tennessee, Ohio, Michigan and Kentucky. It could decide whether to hear those cases at its next conference, scheduled for Friday.

Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., and Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, are calling on the U.S. Supreme Court to implement video recording of oral arguments, the Capitol Hill newspaper The Hill reports. The congressmen’s remarks came after Chief Justice John Roberts’ year-end report made no direct mention of introducing cameras in the courtroom, but did say that the court is “understandably circumspect in introducing change to a court system that works well.” Connolly told the paper that the court “is a human institution...a branch of government… [that] needs to come into the 21st century.” In an editorial supporting cameras in the court, columnist Marsha Mercer looks at the issues involved. Tri-Cities.com carried the piece.

The U.S. Supreme Court justices will meet in private on Friday and could decide whether to take up cases involving state bans on marriage for same-sex couples, GavelGrab reports. The session comes in the wake of the first marriages occurring for same-sex couples in Florida. In addition, a federal appeals court will consider on Friday existing bans in Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana.