Showing 1–50 of 122 items published in November 2014, most recent first.
At 11 a.m. Monday, the Supreme Court will hold one hour of oral argument on the proof needed for conviction under a federal law against making a threat via the Internet or other forms of communications.
On Monday the Court issued additional orders from the November 25 Conference. (Lyle covered the grants that were issued after that Conference last Tuesday.) No new cases were granted, nor were there any new CVSG’s. Lyle reported on Monday’s orders here.
Stories from a career of Supreme Court advocacy; what one learns about necessary skills and the value of experienced counsel; and just how hard it is to explain how different Supreme Court advocacy is from anything else a lawyer does.
UPDATED Thursday 11:51 a.m. Justice Ginsburg was released from the hospital this morning, the Court has announced. She expects to be on the bench next Monday for oral arguments. ————— Eighty-one-year-old Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had a surgical procedure this morning to relieve a blockage in an artery in her heart, the Court announced.
UPDATED Wednesday 12:11 a.m. The wave of federal court rulings against state bans on same-sex marriage swept into the Deep South on Tuesday, as a federal judge in Mississippi struck down that state’s prohibition.
Happy (almost) Thanksgiving! We’re grateful for all of our readers (especially when you send us links for the round-up). Today is the last round-up for the week; we will be back again on Monday before orders at 9:30.
Brian Wolfman is the Edwin A. Heafey, Jr. Visiting Professor at the Stanford Law School Supreme Court Litigation Clinic. Bradley Girard graduated from Georgetown Law in 2014.
Wondering how it went; what to learn from looking back; the importance of moot courts; and why the regular presence of cameras at oral argument is a bad idea. “Just the way they say, ‘Battle plans never survive contact with the enemy,’ oral argument plans never survive contact with the Court.” In
At 9:30 a.m. on Monday we expect additional orders from the Court’s November 25 Conference. On Tuesday, December 2, we expect one or more opinions in argued cases; we will begin live blogging at this link shortly before 10:00 a.m.
Briefly: In his Sidebar column for The New York Times, Adam Liptak discusses whether there is a “tipping point” at which the Court may feel ready to invalidate state practices, such as bans on interracial marriage, and what that might mean for the challenges to state bans on same-sex marriage.
Moving rapidly to help persuade the Supreme Court to take up the same-sex marriage issue promptly, Michigan officials filed their brief Monday night in a key case from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit — the only federal appeals court in the recent round of rulings to uphold a state’s ban on such unions.
How to prepare for oral argument; answering the questions asked; and the (limited) relation of ideas of Justices, the Court, and jurisprudence to the reality of oral argument. “Just the way they say, ‘Battle plans never survive contact with the enemy,’ oral argument plans never survive contact with
The Supreme Court, in a pre-holiday Conference, agreed on Tuesday to rule during the current Term on the authority of police when they attempt to deal with a mentally disturbed person who is armed and violent, and on the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to regulate mercury pollution from electric power plants.
Today’s news coverage features a vigorous debate over last night’s announcement that a grand jury in Missouri declined to indict police officer Darren Wilson for his role in the death of Michael Brown, an unarmed African-American teenager.
At 9:30 a.m. on Monday we expect additional orders from the Court’s November 25 Conference. On Tuesday, December 2, we expect one or more opinions in argued cases; we will begin live blogging shortly before 10:00 a.m.
On Friday Oklahoma filed a petition for certiorari before judgment, asking to have its challenge to the availability of tax subsidies for its residents who purchase health insurance on an exchange established by the federal government reviewed when the Court hears oral argument next year in King v. Burwell, in which it has already granted cert.
Understanding the Supreme Court brief and oral argument; the need to state a workable rule; and how to leverage the weak links in the opposing argument. Just the waythey say,Battle plans never survive contact with the enemy, oral argument plans never survive contact with the Court.
Leondra R. Kruger, who argued a dozen cases before the Supreme Court while in the U.S. Solicitor General’s office, will be nominated to a seat on the California Supreme Court, Governor Edmund G. Brown said in a public statement.
Protesting at the funeral of a fallen soldier. Lying about your military record. Violent video games for children. Making videos about dogfighting. In the past few years, the Supreme Court has held that the First Amendment protects all of these forms of expression, even when very unpopular or offensive.
On Tuesday the Justices met for their November 25 Conference. Our list of “Petitions to watch” for that Conference is here. Lyle reported on Tuesday’s grants here.
The Supreme Court on Friday released the schedule of oral arguments for the session beginning January 12. Arguments begin at 10 a.m. each day; each argument will be for one hour. There will be no afternoon arguments.
UPDATED 11:21 a.m. The Oklahoma petition for review before the appeals court rules is here. The state noted that it is willing to have its case, if granted, put on the same briefing schedule as King v. Burwell, and asks for a quick response to its petition if the Court wishes a response.
Briefly: At his eponymous blog, Luke Rioux cites Monday’s summary decision in Glebe v. Frost as an example of how the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act “forces federal courts to deny habeas relief even when a conviction is fundamentally flawed.” At Forbes, JV DeLong weighs in on King v.
Specializing in Supreme Court advocacy; how Supreme Court arguments differ from any other; and what the Court does, whether interpreting the Constitution or a statute. “Just the way they say, ‘Battle plans never survive contact with the enemy,’ oral argument plans never survive contact with the
At its Conference on November 25, 2014, the Court will consider petitions seeking review of issues such as the reviewability of the Secretary of the Interior’s decision to recognize a tribe, the retroactive application of Miller v. Alabama, and a good faith belief in the invalidity of a patent as a defense in an infringement suit.
Briefly: At FiveThirtyEight, Harry Enten explains why “the 2014 Senate elections have made it more difficult for Obama to appoint a Supreme Court justice” and suggests that “[h]is best chance would be to go with a nominee who is a true moderate, or an impeccably qualified, mainstream Democrat.” At
With two Justices dissenting, the Supreme Court on Thursday refused to delay same-sex marriages in South Carolina, leaving intact a federal judge’s order that goes into effect at noon and strikes down the state’s ban. Neither the Court nor the dissenters gave any explanation.
UPDATED Monday 1:18 p.m. This petition before judgment has now been docketed as 14-596. ———— Lawyers for seven same-sex couples in Louisiana — some married, some seeking to marry — asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to review the case before it is decided in a federal appeals court.
Briefly: In The National Law Journal (subscription or registration required), Tony Mauro reports on remarks by Justice Sonia Sotomayor during her recent appearance with Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito at Yale Law School; Justice Sotomayor told the audience that “she’d like to preside over
From Yale to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund to legal academe; the value and relation of teaching in class and arguing in court; and a focus on employment law cases. “Just the way they say, ‘Battle plans never survive contact with the enemy,’ oral argument plans never survive contact with the Court.”
John Elwood reviews Monday’s relisted cases. With what’s left of Thanksgiving coming up, we are obligated as denizens of the Internet to do a post on things we’re thankful for. So here we go.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday named Ralph I. Lancaster, Jr., of Portland, Maine, as the special master to review and propose a ruling to the Court in an original case, Florida v. Georgia. The appointment order is here. He has served as a special master in prior cases at the Court.
Rulings on Wednesday by the South Carolina Supreme Court and by a federal judge in Montana moved the campaign to allow same-sex marriage closer to a total of thirty-five states — but the Supreme Court has not yet cleared the way.
Yesterday the Court issued orders from its November 14 Conference. It added one new argument to its docket for the Term by granting review in, and immediately consolidating, two cases involving bankruptcy and “underwater” mortgages: Bank of America v. Caulkett and Bank of America v. Toledo-Cardona.
On November 13, Justice Elena Kagan hosted the Supreme Court Historical Society’s fourth and final 2014 Leon Silverman lecture.
Analysis One of the Supreme Court’s free speech cases that still divides judges deeply on its meaning — the 1985 ruling in Zauderer v. Office of Disciplinary Counsel — may need some updating.
UPDATED Tuesday 7:52 p.m. The state filed its application for postponement, saying that when — as the state expects — the Court grants review of the same-sex marriage question, it should also take on the South Carolina case, to decide whether federal courts are barred from ruling on “domestic relations” disputes.
FURTHER UPDATE Tuesday 6:46 p.m. The UNC-Chapel Hill case has now been docketed as 14-954 and has been assigned to District Judge Thomas D. Schroeder of Winston-Salem, in the Middle District. ———- UPDATED 6:48 p.m. The Harvard case has been docketed by the U.S. District Court in Boston as 14-14176.
The Jerusalem passport case Zivotofsky v. Kerry, argued earlier this month, continues to generate commentary.
The Court granted two cases this morning, consolidating them for one hour of oral argument. The grants came in Bank of America v. Toled0-Cardona and Bank of America v. Caulkett, both involving mortgage liens and Section 506(d) of the Bankruptcy Code.
The Court granted two new cases today, consolidating them for one hour of oral argument. The grants came in Bank of America v. Toled0-Cardona and Bank of America v. Caulkett. The Court issued one per curiam opinion, reversing and remanding in Glebe v. Frost.
The Supreme Court, taking on a bankruptcy issue that grew out of the collapse of the U.S. housing market, agreed on Monday to sort out when a mortgage debt on a home that has lost its value can be completely wiped out.
FURTHER UPDATE Tuesday 1:24 p.m. The Michigan petition — DeBoer v. Snyder — has been docketed as 14-571. The Kentucky petition — Love v. Beshear — has been docketed as 14-574. All four of the challenges to the Sixth Circuit’s decision are now formally at the Court, awaiting state responses.
Oyez has posted audio recordings of last week’s oral arguments. The Court heard arguments last week in: T-Mobile South, LLC v. City of Roswell, Ga. M&G Polymers USA, LLC v. Tackett Comptroller v. Wynne Alabama Legislative Black Caucus v. Alabama
On Monday the Court issued orders from the November 14 Conference. It granted two new cases, which were consolidated for one hour of oral argument. Amy reported on those orders. We do not expect opinions in argued cases this week. The next Conference is scheduled for November 25.
Last week’s announcement that the Court will review King v. Burwell, presenting the question whether tax subsidies are available to individuals who purchase their health insurance on an exchange operated by the federal government, continues to dominate coverage and commentary.
John Elwood reviews Monday’s relisted cases. With the noisy midterms firmly behind us, we can at last breathe easy and turn our attention to more pressing matters. Like net neutrality, or climate change, or the proliferating parodies of that 10 Hours Walking in NYC video.
Ruling that the Obama administration has gone as far as it needed to avoid intruding on the religious beliefs of non-profit colleges, hospitals, and charities, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Friday upheld the latest version of the birth control mandate under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
At 9:30 a.m. on Monday we expect orders from the Court’s November 14 Conference. We will report on any action taken by the Court as soon as possible. We do not expect opinions in argued cases.