This week at the Court
On Monday the Court issued orders from it May 28 Conference. No new cases were grants. The Court requested the views of the Solicitor General in one new case, Smith v. Aegon.
May 2015 Archive
Showing 1–50 of 73 items published in May 2015, most recent first.
Petitions of the day
The petitions of the day are: [PAGE]14-1123[/PAGE] [PAGE]14-1124[/PAGE]
Friday round-up
At The Wall Street Journal’s Law Blog, Jess Bravin reports that “Hawaii may figure prominently” in the Court’s decision in Evenwel v. Abbott, the Texas “one person, one vote” case, “because for nearly half a century, the Aloha State has had the high court’s permission to ignore transients when
Relist Watch
John Elwood reviews Tuesday’s relisted cases. Since everyone else is doing it, Relist Watch is proud to officially announce our candidacy for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination.
Petitions to watch | Conference of May 28
At its Conference on May 28, 2015, the Court will consider petitions seeking review of issues such as qualified immunity as applied to private entities, the admissibility of autopsy reports under the Confrontation Clause, and the constitutionality of the University of Texas at Austin’s consideration of race in its undergraduate admissions process.
Commentary: Wellness after Stern
Daniel J. Bussel is a Professor of Law at UCLA School of Law. Stern v. Marshall was more about Article III of the Constitution, or one particular formalistic approach to Article III frozen in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, than about bankruptcy law and procedure.
Thursday round-up
Tuesday’s decisions and orders continue to generate coverage and commentary.
Wednesday round-up
The Justices returned from their long weekend yesterday morning and gave us plenty to talk (and write) about for the rest of the week. At 9:30 a.m. yesterday they issued orders from last week’s Conference, adding three new cases to their docket for next Term.
Opinion analysis: Justices eat their own words in dispute about inducing patent infringement
Justice Kennedy’s opinion in Commil USA v. Cisco Systems managed to pull off a hard trick: getting a majority of the Justices to ignore the explicit language of an opinion so recent that all of those who signed it are still on the Court.
Opinion analysis: Justices reaffirm authority of bankruptcy judges based on parties’ consent
The Bankruptcy Code of 1978 granted bankruptcy judges broad authority to resolve disputes related to debtors and their estates, but it did not grant them Article III protections against the removal or reduction of their salaries.
Opinion analysis: Court resolves twin disputes about timing of suits under False Claims Act
Kellogg Brown & Root Services v. United States ex rel. Carter took the Court once again – for the seventh time in the last ten years – into the sordid world of the False Claims Act. It seems like such a simple idea.
No plea now to the Court on immigration
Taking at least some risk that time will grow too short in President Obama’s term in the White House to carry out his sweeping new policy on immigration, the Justice Department decided Wednesday that it would not now ask the Supreme Court for permission to put the program into effect.
Tuesday round-up
Briefly: Writing for his eponymous blog, Lyle Denniston reports on a recent ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit that “could set up a new attempt by [tobacco] companies to get Supreme Court protection for what they say against themselves in their own promotional messages.”
Major test on voter equality set for review
SCOTUS takes Evenwel v. Abbott (Art Lien) The Constitution has been understood for the past half-century to require that no individual’s vote count more at election time than anyone else’s.
Appeals court keeps immigration policy on hold
In a decision that seems likely to be challenged in the Supreme Court, a divided federal appeals court refused on Tuesday to permit the Obama administration to put into effect its new policy to temporarily spare more than four million undocumented immigrants from being deported.
Live blog of orders and opinions (Updated: Completed)
We are live-blogging this morning as orders and opinions are released. Join us.
This week at the Court
On Monday the Court was closed in observance of Memorial Day. On Tuesday the Court added three new cases to its docket for next Term; Lyle reported on both the new cases and the order list more generally.
Updating the Court on the birth-control mandate
The Obama administration notified the Supreme Court on Thursday of two more of its appeals-court victories in the running legal battles over religious groups’ protests against the new birth-control mandate in the federal Affordable Care Act.
Friday round-up
Briefly: At his eponymous blog, Lyle Denniston reports that a “federal judge in Mobile ruled on Thursday that same-sex marriage must be available throughout Alabama, for any gay or lesbian couple wishing to apply for a license — but not yet.” At the Special Education Law Blog, Jim Gerl discusses
Thursday round-up
Monday’s decision in City and County of San Francisco v. Sheehan, in which the Court held that two police officers who shot a mentally disabled woman whom they were trying to arrest are entitled to qualified immunity, continues to garner commentary.
Petitions to watch | Conference of May 21
At its Conference on May 21, 2015, the Court will consider petitions seeking review of issues such as the constitutionality of the University of Texas at Austin’s consideration of race in its undergraduate admissions process, pretrial restraint of a criminal defendant’s untainted assets under the
Relist Watch
John Elwood reviews Monday’s relisted cases. Well readers, it’s come and gone. This week’s Mad Men finale signified “the end of an era,” and was, depending on your point of view, ironic, clever, pat, ambiguous, happy and cynical, existentially brilliant, or disturbing, unsettling, and thrilling (presumably all at once).
Notre Dame birth-control protest denied again
Reacting to a Supreme Court order to reconsider, a federal appeals court refused on Tuesday for a second time to stop enforcement of the federal government’s birth-control mandate against the University of Notre Dame.
Wednesday round-up
At their private Conference tomorrow, the Justices will consider the petition in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, the challenge to the university’s use of affirmative action in its undergraduate admissions process.
Solicitor General recommends double denials in invitation briefs
The water wars return to the Court again, this time in an original action – that is, a lawsuit that begins in the Supreme Court – brought by Mississippi against Tennessee. The dispute centers around water from the Sparta-Memphis Aquifer, which spans the Tennessee-Mississippi border.
Tuesday round-up
Yesterday the Court returned from a two-week recess to issue six opinions in argued cases. Mark Walsh provided a “view from the Courtroom” for this blog.
Opinion analysis: Maryland’s personal income tax violates the Commerce Clause
Bradley W. Joondeph is the Inez Mabie Distinguished Professor and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the Santa Clara University School of Law. On Monday, a sharply divided Supreme Court held in Comptroller v. Wynne that Maryland’s personal income tax scheme – which failed to offer Maryland residents a full credit for income taxes paid to other states on income they earned in those states – was unconstitutional.
Opinion analysis: Justices confirm continuing duty for ERISA trustees to monitor investments
Justice Breyer’s opinion for the Court yesterday in Tibble v. Edison International underscored the Court’s commitment to unstinting enforcement of the fiduciary duties that govern ERISA plans.
Monday round-up
Retired Justice John Paul Stevens spoke last week at an annual sports law conference; coverage comes from the Sports Law Blog, which reports that the ninety-five-year-old “regaled the group with stories about baseball’s antitrust exemption, noting where the court erred in relying on stare decisis
Opinion analysis: No new limit on police use of force
Amid an emotional national debate over claims that police are too quick to use excessive force, the Supreme Court ruled on Monday that officers have some leeway to fire their guns to subdue a mentally disturbed person who is violently threatening them.
Opinion analysis: An equitable result in Henderson v. United States
After oral argument, the outcome in Henderson v. United States wasn’t really in doubt. The entire Court had expressed skepticism of the idea that a firearm owner convicted of a felony couldn’t lawfully sell his weapons on the open market, or transfer them to an independent third party.
Court bypasses Wisconsin political fray
The Supreme Court chose on Monday to stay out of a years-long political battle surrounding Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and his political allies, leaving the dispute to be sorted out in state court.
A view from the courtroom: The new attorney general appears before a “very busy” Court
Solicitor General introduces the new US Attorney General, Loretta Lynch. The Court is back in session today after its last extended (two-week) recess of the Term. So from now until the end (whenever that is), there will almost certainly be orders and opinions every Monday.
Opinion analysis: Dismissed prisoner suits count as “strikes” even while being appealed
In an opinion that is surprising in both its brevity and unanimity, the Supreme Court on Monday sided with the Sixth and Seventh Circuits (and against the Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, and D.C. Circuits) in holding that the dismissal of an in forma pauperis (“IFP”) prisoner’s
Opinion: Tie goes to the debtor in consumer bankruptcy dispute about funds paid to trustee
Harris v. Viegelahn is living proof that the Court takes its responsibility for resolving circuit conflicts seriously.
No protection — yet — for group’s donor privacy
Justice Anthony M. Kennedy refused on Monday — but maybe only temporarily — to protect a non-profit political rights group from having to disclose its list of donors to state officials in California.
Live blog of orders and opinions (Updated: Completed)
We are live-blogging this morning as orders and opinions are issued. Join us.
This week at the Court
On Monday the Court issued orders, which Lyle reported on, and six opinions: Henderson v. United States; City and County of San Francisco v. Sheehan; Comptroller of Treasury of Md. v. Wynne; Coleman v. Tollefson; Tibble v. Edison International; Harris v. Viegelahn.
Friday round-up
Next Term’s Spokeo v. Robins, in which the Court will consider whether Congress can confer standing on a plaintiff who has not suffered any concrete injury by authorizing a private right of action for a violation of a federal statute, has prompted two different commentators to weigh in.
Pamela Brandwein re-imagines Reconstruction jurisprudence
Justice Bradley On Wednesday evening, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg hosted the second lecture in the 2015 Leon Silverman Lecture Series, which focuses on the Supreme Court and Reconstruction.
Group seeks privacy for donor list
A Virginia-based non-profit group asked the Supreme Court on Friday to bar state officials in California from gaining access to the lists of people who donate money or services to it.
Thursday round-up
On Monday night the Shakespeare Theater hosted its annual mock trial, based on the musical Man of La Mancha. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg served as the Chief Justice for the event, joined by Justice Stephen Breyer, Chief Judge Merrick Garland and Judge Patricia Millett of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson.
Petitions to watch | Conference of May 14
At its Conference on May 14, 2015, the Court will consider petitions seeking review of issues such as pretrial restraint of a criminal defendant’s untainted assets under the Fifth and Sixth Amendments, retaliation for speech and association protected by the First Amendment, and the constitutionality of a San Francisco gun ordinance.
Wednesday round-up
Briefly: At the Appellate Practice Blog of the International Municipal Lawyers Association, Lisa Soronen discusses Green v. Donohoe, in which the Court recently granted cert. to determine when the filing period for a constructive discharge begins to run; she suggests that the Court probably granted
Due process for Don Quixote at the Shakespeare Theatre
On Monday, the Shakespeare Theatre Company hosted The Trial of Don Quixote, a mock trial inspired by the musical Man of La Mancha, at the Sidney Harman Hall in Washington, D.C. Abbe Lowell, the chair of the theater’s Bard Association, opened the evening with a nod to politics, telling the audience
Tuesday round-up
Briefly: In The National Law Journal (subscription or registration required), Marcia Coyle reports that the Court’s recent decision in North Carolina Board of Dental Examiners v. Federal Trade Commission “is forcing state bars to re-examine their operations to avoid potentially huge antitrust
Monday round-up
Perhaps the biggest Court-related news at the end of last week was that actress Natalie Portman will play Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in a movie about Ginsburg’s career as an advocate for women’s rights.
SCOTUS Map: April and May 2015
(J. Scalia May Travel Schedule) Many of the Justices have favorite cities, causes, or organizations to which they return repeatedly over the years when the Court is not in session.
This week at the Court
The next Conference is scheduled for May 14.
Friday round-up
Last week’s oral arguments in the challenges to state bans on same-sex marriage continue to generate commentary. At the Keen News Service, Lisa Keen focuses on a question by Chief Justice John Roberts on sex discrimination, while at Public Discourse James Phillips corrects “six mistakes” from the argument.
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