WASHINGTON (CNN) -- All nine judges were on the bench as the Supreme Court opened its 1999-2000 term with decisions in cases ranging from drug-testing for teachers to tourist tours of the wreck of the Titanic.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, recovering from surgery for colon cancer, had not been expected to appear Monday. The 66-year-old justice looked slightly thinner and paler than usual, but she smiled broadly as she took her place on the end of the bench. Her husband, Martin, and two grown children, James and Jane, were in the courtroom.

Among its 1,750 decisions Monday, the court:

Turned away arguments that Mumia Abu-Jamal was denied a fair trial. The former Black Panther and radio journalist was convicted and sentenced to death for the 1981 killing of a Philadelphia policeman. He says he was framed. Thousands of supporters have staged demonstrations to demand a new trial.

While Monday's action frees Pennsylvania prosecutors to seek an execution date, Abu-Jamal is not likely to be executed any time soon. He still can challenge his state court conviction in federal courts, a process that someday could lead back to the Supreme Court.

Let Knox County, Tennessee, school officials require drug testing of everyone offered a teaching job. The court rejected a teacher group's argument that such tests are unconstitutional if officials do not suspect the individual of using drugs.

Turned away challenges to Arizona's program allowing up to $500 in tax credits for contributions for scholarships at religious and other private schools. Justices refused to review a state court decision that the credits do not violate the Constitution's requirement for separation of church and state.

Left intact rulings that said participation by Michael Montalvo, a Colonial Heights, Virginia, boy with AIDS, in a rough-and-tumble karate school would pose too much of a threat to the health and safety of other students.

Michael's father had sued the karate school, saying its refusal in 1997 to let his then 12-year-old son participate in group classes violated a federal anti-discrimination law, the Americans with Disabilities Act. Michael was born with the virus. His mother and sister have died from AIDS.

Rejected an appeal by a convicted spy for South Korea who said his rights were violated when he received a longer prison sentence because he was a naturalized U.S. citizen. The court let stand the nine-year prison sentence for Robert Kim, a former Navy intelligence analyst.

A U.S. appeals court had earlier upheld the sentence, saying it reflected the seriousness of Kim's violation of his oath of allegiance to the United States during the naturalization process and of his oath to protect secrets, not his national origin or immigration status.

Refused to let Newark, New Jersey, authorities bar two Muslim policemen from wearing beards. The court rejected the city's appeal and left intact rulings that said such a ban would violate the officers' freedom of religion.

Blocked ex-Chicago Bear football player Keith Van Horne's attempt to sue a radio station for millions of dollars for alleged negligence in hiring the shock jock that Van Horne says defamed him.

Allowed sightseeing and photographing of the Titanic wreckage by refusing a challenge to a lower court ruling that tourist visits were okay as long as they didn't interfere with salvage efforts by RMS Titanic, which holds exclusive rights to collect artifacts from the famous shipwreck.

Refused to block Utah from bragging about "greatest snow on earth," rejecting claims from Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus that the phrase illegally dilutes its "Greatest Show on Earth" trademark.

Stopped three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Unser's effort to beat a federal conviction for using a snowmobile in a Colorado wilderness area. Unser claimed there was no proof he "intended" to enter the federally protected area where he became lost in a blizzard.

Let stand the lying conviction and prison sentence of Ronald H. Blackley, one-time chief of staff for former Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy. Blackley was convicted last year of failing to disclose $22,000 he received from Mississippi associates dealing with the Agriculture Department.

Sidestepped a dispute between a Virginia high school band director and the sheriff who arrested him during a parade for failing to speed up his marching band. Justices refused to revive the lawsuit accusing the sheriff of unlawful arrest, false imprisonment, using excessive force and causing emotional distress.

Sought Justice Department briefs on lawsuits brought by Hispanic voters in Texas over school districts' at-large system of electing school board members. The issue is whether a group can bring a voting-rights case without proving a district can be drawn with a majority of Hispanic residents of voting age who are U.S. citizens.

Sought a Justice Department opinion on whether federal regulation of medical devices should block a lawsuit brought by more than 5,000 people who accuse a company of fraudulently winning federal approval for marketing bone screws used in spinal surgery.

Correspondent Charles Bierbauer, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

LATEST HEADLINES:

Back to the top