Law can turn on a single moment, but the Supreme Court says it’s not enough just to stop the clock at that instant. In Barnes v. Felix, the Court looked at a rule that made judges evaluate police force only by what happened in the split second an officer felt threatened. The Justices all agreed that’s too narrow.

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The Supreme Court held that a federal civilian employee called to active duty pursuant to "any other provision of law... during a national emergency" as described in 10 U.S.C. §101(a)(13)(B) is entitled to differential pay if the reservist's service temporally coincides with a declared national emergency, without requiring any showing that the service bears a substantive connection to a particular emergency.

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The Court held that in calculating the Medicare fraction for the disproportionate share hospital (DSH) adjustment, an individual is "entitled to supplementary security income benefits" only when they are eligible to receive an SSI cash payment during the month of their hospitalization. This interpretation affects how hospitals are reimbursed for treating low-income Medicare patients, as it determines which patients are counted in the numerator of the Medicare fraction used to calculate additional funding.

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The Court held that under 8 U.S.C. §1229c(b)(2), a voluntary-departure deadline that falls on a weekend or legal holiday extends to the next business day. The Court reversed the Tenth Circuit's ruling and remanded the case for further proceedings.

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The Court held that to state a claim under ERISA section 1106(a)(1)(C), a plaintiff need only plausibly allege the elements contained in that provision itself, without addressing potential section 1108 exemptions. The Court reversed the Second Circuit's decision that required plaintiffs to also plead that a transaction was unnecessary or involved unreasonable compensation.

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The Supreme Court granted the government's application to vacate temporary restraining orders issued by the District Court for the District of Columbia that had halted deportations under the Alien Enemies Act. The Court ruled that challenges to removal under the Act must be brought as habeas petitions in the district of confinement.

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The Supreme Court granted the Department of Education's application to stay a temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. The TRO had enjoined the Government from terminating various education-related grants and required continued payment of grant obligations. The Court determined that the Government was likely to succeed in showing the District Court lacked jurisdiction to order payment of money under the Administrative Procedure Act, as such relief is barred by sovereign immunity limitations.

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The Supreme Court vacated the Fifth Circuit's decision that found the FDA acted arbitrarily and capriciously in denying marketing authorization for flavored e-cigarette products. The Court held that the FDA's denial orders were sufficiently consistent with its predecisional guidance regarding scientific evidence, comparative efficacy, and device type, and thus did not violate the change-in-position doctrine. The Court remanded the case for the Fifth Circuit to reconsider whether the FDA's failure to review marketing plans constituted harmless error under the proper legal standard.

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The Court held that under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), a plaintiff may seek treble damages for business or property loss even if the loss resulted from a personal injury. The Court rejected the "antecedent-personal-injury bar" adopted by several circuits that would preclude recovery for business or property losses that derive from a personal injury.

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The Supreme Court held that Section 106(a) of the Bankruptcy Code, which waives the federal government's sovereign immunity "with respect to" certain provisions including §544, does not extend to waive sovereign immunity for state-law claims nested within a §544(b) claim. The Court reversed the Tenth Circuit's decision, finding that §106(a) is merely a jurisdictional provision that allows courts to hear §544(b) claims against the government but does not alter the substantive requirements of such claims or create new rights against the government.

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