Some high-profile cases that the Supreme Court will take up in its term that begins Monday:
Drugmaker liability: Vermont musician Diana Levine won a $6.8 million judgment against drugmaker Wyeth after having part of her right arm amputated in 2000 when an anti-nausea drug was injected improperly. Now Wyeth wants the court to rule that Food and Drug Administration regulation of prescription drugs — in this case, approval of warning labels — overrides state laws and makes it easier for companies to defend against consumers’ claims.
Curse words on the airwaves: In the court’s first major broadcast- indecency case in 30 years, can the Federal Communications Commission fine broadcast television stations for the one-time use of profanity on live programming? The FCC changed its long-standing policy that exempted such “fleeting expletives” from being labeled indecent.
Cigarette advertising: The court will decide whether cigarette- makers can be sued under state law for allegedly deceptive advertising of “light” cigarettes. The tobacco industry is trying to head off a wave of state-based challenges regarding the light cigarettes. Like the prescription drug case, this dispute centers on whether federal regulation bars state fraud claims.
Religious monuments: Pleasant Grove City, Utah, wants the court to back its decision to bar a religious group known as Summum from placing a display in a public park that already has a Ten Commandments monument. A federal appeals court found that the city violated the group’s free-speech rights.
