The Week Ahead
On Monday, the Court will release the remaining orders from the Justices’ private conference last Tuesday. (Click here to see the initial orders list, and here for our list of petitions to watch at the conference.)
November 2008 Archive
Showing 1–50 of 93 items published in November 2008, most recent first.
December hearing list
The Supreme Court on Friday released the list of oral arguments in the session beginning Monday, Dec. 1. It can be found here. Hearings will be in the mornings only. Brief summaries of the issues involved are in this post.
Today at the Supreme Court | 11.28.08
No oral arguments are scheduled and no non-capital orders are expected to be released from the Court today. Oral arguments will resume December 1.
Early ruling on detainee process?
A federal judge who is coordinating the cases of some 200 Guantanamo Bay detainees challenging their confinement signaled on Friday that he may act soon on the government’s plea to modify significantly how those cases are processed.
Petitions to Watch | Conferences of 12.5.08 & 12.12.08
This edition of “Petitions to Watch” features cases up for consideration at the Justices’ private conferences on December 5 and December 12. As always, the list contains the petitions on the Court’s paid docket that Tom has deemed to have a reasonable chance of being granted.
Today at the Supreme Court | 11.26.08
No oral arguments are scheduled and no non-capital orders are expected to be released from the Court today. Oral arguments will resume December 1.
Detainees want deadlines kept
Accusing government lawyers of a “consistent strategy of obstruction and delay,” attorneys for Guantanamo Bay detainees are urging a federal judge not to relax the timetables he has set to enable the prisoners’ legal challenges to move forward.
AMK Bobblehead Auction
No need to wait for Black Friday . . . SCOTUSblog readers can get a jump on their holiday shopping right now over at Ebay, where John Elwood is auctioning off his Justice Kennedy bobblehead.
FTC pursues computer tech appeal
UPDATE: The petition has now been assigned docket number 08-694. ——————— The Federal Trade Commission has asked the Supreme Court to allow it to police attempts by companies to manipulate for their own advantage the process of setting standards for new technologies built into consumer products, like computers.
U.S. supports voting rights law’s extension
The Justice Department on Wednesday urged the Supreme Court to uphold Congress’ 25-year extension of the key part of federal voting rights law that requires many states and local governments to get clearance in Washington before they change their election laws or methods.
“Child soldier” trial can go on
A federal judge ruled on Monday that a civilian court has no authority to block a military trial on war crimes charges in the case of a Canadian who contended that he was too young to be prosecuted. He must await the trial before making his challenge, the judge decided.
Today at the Supreme Court | 11.25.08
At 10 a.m., the Justices will hold a private conference, orders from which could be released this afternoon. We will provide coverage of any developments. To view our list of petitions to watch at the conference, click here.
Today’s Orders | 11.25.08
Today’s orders list is now available here. The Court granted certiorari in two cases, filings for which are available after the jump.
Court grants two cases
UPDATE 3:21 p.m.
Today at the Supreme Court | 11.24.08
No oral arguments are scheduled and no non-capital orders are expected to be released from the Court today. Oral arguments will resume December 1.
Analysis: Detainees’ entry into U.S. in doubt
Analysis With two colleagues energetically steering the case in opposite directions, U.S. Circuit Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson on Monday held the fate of 17 Chinese Muslim detainees at Guatanamo Bay in her hands.
Conference Call: Does Place of Arrest Matter in Terror Cases?
The following column, featuring a selected petition up for consideration at the Justices’ private conference on November 25, appears in today’s edition of Legal Times (available to subscribers here).
The Week Ahead
No oral arguments are scheduled at the Court this week. On Monday, the D.C. Circuit Court will hold a hearing to review a judge’s order to release 17 Chinese Muslim Uighurs from Guantanamo Bay into the United States, and a federal District judge will hold a hearing on the government’s duty to disclose information responding to a claim that a detainee was sent by the U.S. to Morocco to be tortured.
Today at the Supreme Court | 11.21.08
No oral arguments are scheduled and no non-capital orders are expected to be released from the Court today. Oral arguments will resume December 1. To follow developments on Attorney General Michael Mukasey, who collapsed Thursday night while giving a speech to the Federalist Society in Washington, click here.
Documents on Boumediene detainee ruling
The transcript of District Judge Richard J. Leon’s remarks on Thursday, in announcing his decision in the habeas case Boumediene, et al., v. Bush (04-1166). is now available here. This includes comments that were not included in the written order he issued Thursday afternoon.
Judge delays 114 habeas cases
The federal judge coordinating 114 habeas cases, involving some 200 Guantanamo Bay detainees, on Friday lifted temporarily the timelines he had laid down for key filings by one or both sides, effectively delaying most if not all of those cases.
Today at the Supreme Court | 11.20.08
No oral arguments are scheduled and no non-capital orders are expected to be released from the Court today. Oral arguments will resume December 1.
Government files petition in ‘Janet Jackson case’
The Solicitor General’s office on Tuesday filed this petition for certiorari in FCC v. CBS (08-653) — the case concerning the Super Bowl halftime incident in 2004 involving singers Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake.
Judge orders five detainees freed
UPDATED to 4:30 p.m. NOTE TO READERS: This post includes a link to the judge’s 14-page ruling.
Today’s detainee case developments
U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon ordered the release “forthwith” of five Bosnians now held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, but upheld the continuing detention of a sixth. His 14-page ruling is here. A Justice Department statement reacting to the decision is here.
Today at the Supreme Court | 11.19.08
No oral arguments are scheduled and no non-capital orders are expected to be released from the Court today. Oral arguments will resume December 1.
Sweeping challenge to detainee process
(NOTE TO READERS: Because the court filings described here are expansive and detailed, the following is an entirely new report, rather than a revision or updating of an earlier post, which can be found below.) ——————- Arguing that it would “take months to fulfill” new duties imposed on the
Primer on Boumediene‘s week of reckoning
Analysis Five months and seven days after the Supreme Court’s path-breaking decision in Boumediene v. Bush — the most important so far of its four rulings on “war on terrorism” issues — a week that will test the scope and meaning of that ruling is about to open.
Practice Pointer: Oral Argument in Pacific Bell v. linkLine Communications
One of the more interesting orders on Monday’s order list came in No. 07-512, Pacific Bell v. linkLine Communications, which is set for oral argument on December 8.
Today at the Supreme Court | 11.18.08
No oral arguments are scheduled and no non-capital orders are expected to be released from the Court today. Oral arguments will resume December 1.
U.S. to challenge detainee case duties
A legal gain for Guantanamo Bay detainees, clearing the way for judges to move forward with the captives’ court challenges, goes too far and must be rolled back, the Justice Department will argue in a new filing expected later Tuesday. (NOTE: This post will be expanded when the document is filed.)
New Filing: Cert. Petition in Abbott v. Abbott
On Friday we filed this cert. petition in No. 08-645, Abbott v. Abbott. At issue in the case is whether a ne exeat clause – which precludes a parent from taking his or her child out of the country without the other parent’s permission – is a “right of custody” for purposes of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, thereby requiring the child’s return.
“Sarbanes-Oxley” case on way to Court
A major test case on the power of the President to appoint and remove government officials apparently is on its way to the Supreme Court. On Monday, the D.C. Circuit Court split 5-4 in denying en banc review of a case challenging the constitutionality of a key provision of the Sabanes-Oxley Act, passed in the wake of the Enron and Worldcom accounting scandals.
Today at the Supreme Court | 11.17.08
At 10 a.m., the Court will release at least one opinion, as well as the remaining orders from the Justices’ private conference last Friday. We will provide coverage of all developments.
Today’s Orders and Opinions | 11.17.08
Today’s orders list is now available here. The list contains no grants of certiorari. The Court has dismissed as improvidently granted (see here) the writ of certiorari in Bell v. Kelly (07-1223), on whether the deferential standard in the federal habeas statute should be applied to claims a state court did not consider.
Court dismisses granted criminal case
The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a criminal case it had heard just last Wednesday, saying it should not have granted review — that is, the case had been “improvidently granted.” The case is Bell v. Kelly (07-1223), involving a split in lower courts on the degree of deference that federal habeas courts must give to a state court finding.
Upcoming Event: Symposium on Appellate Litigation and State Solicitors General
On January 22-23, The Review of Litigation, a student publication at the University of Texas School of Law, will hold a symposium in Austin entitled “The Rise of Appellate Litigators and State Solicitors General.” Admission is free, but CLE credits are available for $150.
Opinion Recap: Winter v. NRDC
Menaka Kalaskar discusses last week’s decision in Winter v. NRDC (No. 07-1239).
The Week Ahead
No oral arguments or private conferences are scheduled at the Court this week. Oral arguments will resume December 1. On Monday, the Court will release at least one opinion, as well as the remaining orders from the Justices’ private conference last Friday.
En banc denied in Uighurs’ case
With no noted dissents, the D.C. Circuit Court on Friday refused to grant review before the full Court of the government’s attempt to keep 17 Guantanamo Bay detainees out of the U.S., leaving the issue at least initially with a three-judge panel.
Today at the Supreme Court | 11.14.08
The Justices are scheduled to hold a private conference this morning, orders from which will be released this afternoon or on Monday. To view our list of petitions to watch at today’s conference, click here. Oral arguments will resume December 1.
Today’s Orders | 11.14.08
The Court this afternoon accepted five cases for review, filings for which are available after the jump. The orders list is available here.
Court to rule on campaign films, judge recusal
The Supreme Court on Friday added five new cases to its decision docket for the current Term, including a test of the constitutionality of a federal campaign finance ban as applied to a critical movie about Sen. Hillary Clinton when she was running for president (Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 08-205).
First new ruling set on Guantanamo habeas
The first ruling by a federal judge on a constitutional challenge by Guantanamo Bay detainees to continued confinement — challenges permitted by the Supreme Court last June — will come Thursday morning, U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon indicated in an order Friday.
Today at the Supreme Court | 11.13.08
No oral arguments are scheduled and no non-capital orders are expected to be issued today from the Court. Oral arguments are next scheduled for December 1.
Today at the Supreme Court | 11.12.08
At 10 a.m, the Court will hear argument in Pleasant Grove City, UT v. Summum (07-665), on whether donated monuments displayed in public parks qualify as private speech, thus requiring municipalities to display monuments from all other donors.
Court rules for Navy in sonar use
The Supreme Court, dividing 6-3, upheld the Navy’s power to use sonar in military training exercises, even though environmentalists claim that the technology threatens marine life in the training zone off the Pacific Coast.
Today’s Transcripts | 11.12.08
The transcript of today’s argument in Pleasant Grove City, UT v. Summum (07-665) is now available here. The transcript of today’s argument in Bell v. Kelly (07-1223) is now available here.
Analysis: Pondering the “tyranny of labels”
Analysis If a case does not fit within a constitutional pigeonhole, is there no other way to define it so that a legal dispute can be decided? That was the lingering question Wednesday as the Supreme Court tried to hack its way through a thicket of constitutional labels, with the legal fate of monuments donated by private groups and placed in government-owned parks hanging in the balance.
Today at the Supreme Court | 11.11.08
The Court is closed today in observance of Veterans Day. Oral arguments will resume tomorrow.
12