The Supreme Court is moving toward a full and free-access system for all documents filed in cases before the Justices — a system expected to be working “as soon as 2016,” Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., revealed in his annual year-end report on the federal judiciary. The Court already receives some of its filings electronically, but the present arrangements do not include all filings. The Chief Justice’s annual report was dominated by a theme of technological advances and their impact on the operation of the courts, SCOTUSBlog reports.

Law professor Erwin Chemerinsky presents his five most important stories about the U.S. Supreme Court in 2014 in terms of their impact on the law and society for the ABA Journal. The list includes the court’s unanimity, rulings on intellectual property, the increasing rights of corporations, influence of Justice Anthony Kennedy and the lack of vacancies on the court — specifically 81-year-old Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s refusal to retire so that Democratic President Barack Obama could appoint her successor. The court is predicted to consider marriage equality, the Affordable Care Act, abortion and affirmative action in 2015.

The ABA has filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold a Florida judicial conduct rule that bars judicial candidates from personally soliciting campaign funds. The issue in Williams-Yulee v. The Florida Bar is whether the state ban violates the First Amendment, the ABA Journal reports. The ABA argues that the ban on personal solicitations is narrowly tailored to promote the state’s compelling interest in a fair and impartial judiciary free from corruption and the appearance of corruption. The case is scheduled for argument on Jan. 20, according to a press release from the group.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to decide whether to overturn precedent that bars the inventor of Spider-Man toys from collecting contracted royalties after his patent expired. The suit, brought on behalf of inventor Stephen Kimble, argues that a 1964 Supreme Court case bars willing parties from agreeing to amortize patent royalties over a longer time period than allowed by the patent. The ABA Journal looks at the issue.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s electronic docket confirms that four same-sex marriage cases from the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals – including one from Tennessee – have been distributed to the justices for consideration at their Jan. 9 conference, SCOTUSblog reports. While the court will not necessarily decide whether to hear the cases at that time, it is widely expected it ultimately will grant review of one or more of them, the blog indicates. Another case from Louisiana, which seeks to bypass consideration by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, also is ready for the justices’ consideration.

The U.S. Supreme Court has blocked enforcement of an Arizona law aimed at limiting use of the increasingly popular abortion pill, National Public Radio reports. The pill was approved by the FDA in 2000 for the first seven weeks of pregnancy. Since then, scientists have developed safer and smaller doses that allow the drug to be used through the ninth week. Arizona's law would force doctors to use the pill only for the original, FDA-approved seven weeks. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily blocked enforcement of the state statute, pending further litigation. The lower court said the law imposed "an undue burden" on a woman's right to have an abortion. The Supreme Court on Monday refused to intervene, meaning that at least for now, the Arizona law will not be enforced, and the "undue burden" test stands.

Although they are often at odds in written opinions, U.S. Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Elena Kagan were full of warm praise for each other at an event yesterday at the University of Mississippi School of Law. “We have a really collegial court,” Kagan told the students. And both agreed that common ground often overrides ideological differences on the high court, the Associated Press reports. Kagan and Scalia, for example, have built a relationship in part around hunting. The pair talked about their favorite and least favorite parts of the job but declined to answer a question about what they would consider the court’s biggest mistake. The Commercial Appeal has the AP story.

Tennessee today filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court urging it not to take up a recent decision by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals that upheld the state’s ban on recognizing same-sex marriages performed in other states. State officials argue in the petition that the Sixth Circuit’s decision is not in conflict with other Supreme Court decisions and that a split of opinion among the nation’s circuit courts does not compel the court to act. So far, Tennessee is the only state to oppose review. Ohio, Kentucky, Louisiana and Michigan officials all support review of marriage laws from their states, which also were upheld by the Sixth Circuit. Metro Weekly News has more on the story and links to the filing.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8-1 today that police did not violate the constitutional rights of Nicholas Heien when they stopped his a car for a broken taillight and subsequently found a plastic bag containing cocaine. Heien was convicted of cocaine trafficking and on appeal argued that police had no legal right to stop him in the first place, because it is not an offense in North Carolina to have a single broken taillight. Because the traffic stop was illegal, he argued, the evidence from the search should not have been allowed at trial. The justices, however, found that the officer’s mistake was reasonable and therefore did not violate the constitution. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, in a lone dissent, warned that the decision could exacerbate public suspicion of police. NPR has more on the decision.

The U.S. Supreme Court today said it would decide whether its 2012 decision prohibiting mandatory sentences of life without parole for juvenile murderers under the age of 18 at the time of their crimes is retroactive. After turning away a number of cases raising the retroactivity question since its decision in Miller v. Alabama, the justices agreed to hear arguments by George Toca, who was 17 in 1984 when he accidently shot his best friend during a botched armed robbery. The National Law Journal has more (sub. req.).