By a vote of six to three, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Oregon's assisted-suicide law. The majority found that the Bush Administration had improperly tried to use the federal Controlled Substances Act to punish Oregon doctors who prescribed lethal drug doses to terminally ill patients seeking assisted suicide. The opinion rebuked former Attorney General John Ashcroft for exceeding his authority. New Chief Justice John Roberts joined conservative justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas in a dissenting opinion.
