Photo: Courtesy of U.S. Supreme Court The outcome of the Supreme Court’s 2011-2012 term, which ended Thursday, was largely favorable when it came to the justices’ Wired -worthy opinions surrounding surveillance, the First Amendment, intellectual property and even profanity. But the term’s overall outcome was mixed at best. That’s because the court, without comment, let stand rulings upholding torture, a $675,000 verdict for file-sharing 30 music tracks, and, among other things, skirted educators’ demands that it clarify on what grounds public schools may punish students for their off-campus, online speech. Next term, however, the justices have a chance to redeem themselves. They agreed to review important cases in their new term beginning this fall. One case among them asks whether judges may issue search warrants for private residences when a drug-sniffing dog outside the home reacts as if it smells drugs inside.

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From Copyright to Surveillance to Torture, Supreme Court Term Ends Mixed