Supreme Court Decision Syllabus (SCOTUS Podcast)
Following what the Supreme Court is actually doing can be daunting. Reporting on the subject is often only done within the context of political narratives of the day -- and following the Court's decisions and reading every new case can be a non-starter. The purpose of this Podcast is to make it as easy as possible for members of the public to source information about what is happening at the Supreme Court. For that reason, we read every Opinion Syllabus without any commentary whatsoever. Further, there are no advertisements or sponsors. We call it "information sourcing," and we hope that the podcast is a useful resource for members of the public who want to understand the legal issues of the day, prospective law students who want to get to know legal language and understand good legal writing, and attorneys who can use the podcast to be better advocates for their clients.
*Note this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only.
Supreme Court Decision Syllabus (SCOTUS Podcast)
United States v. Miller (Bankruptcy)
In United States v. Miller, the Supreme Court reversed the Tenth Circuit and held that a bankruptcy trustee cannot use §544(b) of the Bankruptcy Code to claw back funds from the federal government under a state fraudulent-transfer law, due to sovereign immunity. The case arose after shareholders of a failed Utah business used $145,000 of company money to pay personal federal tax debts. The bankruptcy trustee sought to “avoid” that transfer under Utah law, invoking §544(b), which permits a trustee to assert the rights of an “actual creditor” to void certain transfers. The government argued the claim was barred because sovereign immunity prevents such a state-law suit against the United States.
The lower courts sided with the trustee, reasoning that §106(a) of the Bankruptcy Code waived sovereign immunity for actions brought under §544. But the Supreme Court disagreed. Writing for the Court, Justice Jackson held that §106(a)’s waiver applies only to the federal claim under §544—not to the state-law cause of action it incorporates. The Court emphasized that waivers of sovereign immunity must be unambiguous and strictly construed. Since Utah law could not otherwise be used to sue the federal government outside bankruptcy, the trustee’s claim failed.
Justice Jackson delivered the opinion of the Court, joined by Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Thomas, Alito, Sotomayor, Kagan, Kavanaugh, and Barrett. Justice Gorsuch filed a dissenting opinion.
