March 2023 Archive

The morning read for Friday, March 31

Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court.

Another federal agency challenges adverse ruling by 5th Circuit

The Petitions of the Week column highlights a selection of cert petitions recently filed in the Supreme Court. A list of all petitions we’re watching is available here.

Sarah VS Serial

The morning read for Thursday, March 30

Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court.

Can fishermen be required to pay for federal monitors? And by the way – should Chevron be overruled?

The Relist Watch column examines cert petitions that the Supreme Court has “relisted” for its upcoming conference. A short explanation of relists is available here. This week’s update will be brief because of the press of business in my day job.

Justices search for a clear rule for confessions in joint trials

In Wednesday’s oral argument in Samia v. United States, the justices explored the intricacies of the Sixth Amendment confrontation clause, evidence law, and jury instructions, as they sought to develop a workable rule governing the admission of confessions in trials with multiple defendants.

The IRS faces tough questioning from justices over privacy concerns in third-party summons dispute

Over several years, Remo Polselli racked up over $2 million in federal tax liabilities. After he made a partial payment from the account of one of his limited liability companies, the IRS suspected Remo might be hiding his assets by transferring them to other entities or individuals.

The morning read for Wednesday, March 29

Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court.

Court holds statute of limitations under Quiet Title Act is not a jurisdictional bar

Tuesday’s decision in Wilkins v. United States broke no new ground, as it followed a steady line of cases applying a rule under which time limits in federal statutes do not create jurisdictional bars unless the statute makes that intent clear.

Court concerned about scope of patent covering millions of antibodies

During oral argument in Amgen Inc. v. Sanofi on Monday, the justices explored how to write an opinion on patent enablement when the parties agree on almost everything about the legal standard. “Enablement” is the requirement that a patent must enable others to make and use the invention without undue experimentation.

Court seems reluctant to extend ban on concurrent sentences in Armed Career Criminal Act

Tuesday’s argument in Lora v. United States suggested that Efrain Lora, a Bronx man convicted of killing a rival drug dealer, is likely to get his re-sentencing under the Armed Career Criminal Act.

Venue is a platypus, a mixed-up animal

At the oral argument in Smith v. United States, there was no dispute that in the tradition of both English and U.S. law, venue was a fact issue presented to juries, and decided as part of their general verdict of guilty or not guilty.

Free Speech Re-Education Camp

The morning read for Tuesday, March 28

Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court.

Justices will consider whether IRS can issue summons to banks of taxpayers’ relatives (among others) without notice

Tax season is upon us, and for many, April 15 is a date looming on the horizon as the traditional deadline for dispatching yet another check payable to the United States Treasury.

Justices mull the “focus” of federal trademark statute in extraterritorial case

The issue presented in Abitron Austria GmbH v. Hetronic International, Inc., is whether and to what extent the federal trademark statute, known as the Lanham Act, applies to infringing conduct that takes place outside the United States.

Justices divided on the constitutionality of the federal law that bans “encouraging” immigrants to remain unlawfully in the United States

Both oral advocates faced fairly cold receptions on Monday morning in United States v. Hansen when the Supreme Court heard argument on whether 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a)(1)(iv), the federal law that criminalizes “encouraging or inducing” an immigrant to come or remain in the United States unlawfully, violates the First Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of speech.

Announcement of opinions for Tuesday, March 28 (complete)

On Tuesday, March 28, we live blogged as the court released one opinion in Wilkins v. United States. Click here for a list of FAQs about opinion announcements.

The morning read for Monday, March 27

Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court. Here’s the Monday morning read: ‘Racist taint.’ Will the Supreme Court review a Jim Crow-era voting ban targeted at Black Mississippians?

Court takes up civil rights “tester” case

The Supreme Court will decide whether a civil rights “tester” can bring a lawsuit challenging a hotel’s failure to provide information about its accessibility for people with disabilities when the “tester” has no intention to actually visit that hotel.

Murder in Bronx drug trafficking scheme raises issue of concurrent sentencing

The murder of a Bronx man by his rival in a 2002 drug trafficking scheme has reached the Supreme Court on a seemingly bloodless issue: Should two related portions of the Armed Career Criminal Act be treated for sentencing purposes as parts of a whole, or instead as distinct pieces?

The evidentiary challenges of confessions in co-defendant trials

The Sixth Amendment’s confrontation clause guarantees defendants in criminal cases the right to be “confronted with the witnesses against” them. In trials with multiple defendants, this complicates the introduction of a confession by a non-testifying defendant that incriminates a co-defendant.

In New Mexico prison killing, a lingering question over jurisdiction

The Petitions of the Week column highlights a selection of cert petitions recently filed in the Supreme Court. A list of all petitions we’re watching is available here.

The morning read for Friday, March 24

Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court. Here’s the Friday morning read: The Secret Joke at the Heart of the Harvard Affirmative-Action Case (Jeannie Suk Gersen, The New Yorker) Ethical no man’s land: can the US supreme court be trusted to police itself?

Does the federal law that prohibits encouraging or inducing unlawful immigration violate the First Amendment?

For four years, Helaman Hansen falsely promised undocumented immigrants that they could, for a substantial fee, become U.S. citizens through “adult adoption.” Although Hansen persuaded more than 450 people to pay him for his services, the program was a ruse that would not lead to citizenship.

A tale of three districts

It might be fairly said that in recent decades venue in criminal cases has not been the hottest topic on the court’s docket. Nevertheless, as the briefs in Smith v. United States emphasize, the criminal venue right was so significant to the Framers that the Constitution addressed it twice.

Trumped Up?

The morning read for Thursday, March 23

Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court.

Congressional oversight of the Trump International Hotel, civil rights “testers,” and the death penalty

The Relist Watch column examines cert petitions that the Supreme Court has “relisted” for its upcoming conference. A short explanation of relists is available here.

Court to decide how specific a patent disclosure must be

Two pharmaceutical giants head to the Supreme Court on Monday in a dispute over a patent covering cholesterol-lowering antibodies. In Amgen Inc. v. Sanofi, the justices will consider whether Amgen’s patent is too broad to be valid under federal patent rules.

Justices appear sympathetic to Jack Daniel’s in trademark parody dispute

As expected, Wednesday’s argument in Jack Daniel’s Properties v VIP Products showcased the justices grappling with line-drawing.

The morning read for Wednesday, March 22

Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court.

Justices debate propriety of litigation in trial courts while defendants are on appeal seeking arbitration

If anything is clear after Tuesday’s argument in Coinbase v. Bielski, it is that the justices are not going to agree on the answer. The case asks what a trial court should do if it denies a defendant’s motion for arbitration.

The morning read for Tuesday, March 21

Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court.

Parties disagree over court’s power to reach decision in election law case

Lawyers involved in a major election law case disagreed on Monday about whether the Supreme Court has the power to reach a decision in the case.

Court rules for deaf student in education-law case

The Supreme Court on Tuesday revived a deaf student’s lawsuit against a Michigan school district that failed to provide him with a qualified sign-language interpreter.

Justices appear divided over Navajo Nation’s water rights

What water the United States owes the Navajo Nation under the 1868 Treaty of Bosque Redondo formed the crux of the argument in Arizona v. Navajo Nation.

The morning read for Monday, March 20

Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court.

Dog toy poking fun at Jack Daniel’s leads to dispute over parody exception to trademark protections

It is fair to expect Wednesday’s arguments in Jack Daniel’s Properties v. VIP Products to be heated, as the justices consider the possibility that protection for parodies requires an exception to traditional trademark protections.

Justices to consider international reach of U.S. trademark law

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court will consider whether federal trademark law applies to trademark infringement that takes place outside the United States.

Justices throw out lower-court ruling allowing state court clerk to be sued in parental notification abortion case

In a short procedural order, the Supreme Court on Monday morning threw out a lower-court ruling allowing a state court clerk to be sued for telling a pregnant teenager that her parents must be notified of their child’s desire to seek an abortion without their consent.

The morning read for Friday, March 17

Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court. Here’s the Friday morning read: Biden administration tells Supreme Court Big Oil climate cases belong in state court (Clark Mindock, Reuters) Kavanaugh and Alito said judges would be out of the abortion equation.

Justices to consider whether litigation should move forward in trial court while appellate courts review obligation to arbitrate

Tuesday’s argument in Coinbase v. Bielski brings the justices yet another arbitration dispute. To make matters more repetitive – it is another case in which the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit has handed down a decision that seems to suggest a general hostility towards arbitration as a tool for resolving disputes between businesses and their customers.

As drought persists in the west, justices to consider Navajo Nation’s rights to Colorado River

Thirty percent of Navajo Nation citizens have no running water. Navajos use 8-10 gallons of water a day, about a tenth of what the average American uses.

Christian school renews effort to expand religious freedom over employment

The Petitions of the Week column highlights a selection of cert petitions recently filed in the Supreme Court. A list of all petitions we’re watching is available here.

Walk of Shame (Is Protected Speech)

The morning read for Thursday, March 16

Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court.

What to do with the abortion case on the Supreme Court’s docket?

The Relist Watch column examines cert petitions that the Supreme Court has “relisted” for its upcoming conference. A short explanation of relists is available here.

The morning read for Wednesday, March 15

Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court.

The Stanford Squeeze