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January 2012 Archive
Showing 1–50 of 128 items published in January 2012, most recent first.
Tuesday round-up
With the Court’s winter recess underway, commentators continue their discussion of last week’s decision in United States v. Jones, the GPS tracking case.
Monday round-up
Last week’s decision in United States v. Jones, the GPS tracking case, remained a popular topic for commentators over the weekend.
Why Jones is still less of a pro-privacy decision than most thought (Conclusion slightly revised Jan. 31)
I want to return to Jones for what will probably be my final thoughts on the case for a while. In earlier posts here and here, I explained why the widespread initial reaction that the Court’s decision in Jones requires the police to get a warrant to install a GPS tracking device was incorrect.
Relist (and hold) watch
John Elwood reviews Monday’s relisted and held cases. Last Monday brought bad news for respondents in Ryburn v. Huff, 11-208, as we finally got the predicted opinion in that four-time-relisted case.
This week at the Court
The Court is on winter recess until the Justices reconvene for the Conference of February 17. Our “Petitions to watch” for that Conference will be available soon. The February sitting begins February 21.
Friday round-up
Today’s clippings include further commentary on the Court’s decision in the GPS tracking case, United States v. Jones, as well as continuing coverage of the challenge to the Affordable Care Act.
Thursday round-up
Commentary on the Court’s decision in the GPS tracking case, United States v. Jones, continues for a third day. The editorial boards of the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and the Baltimore Sun all weigh in, while in the blogosphere Orin Kerr (at the Volokh Conspiracy), Jacob Sullum (of Reason), and Paul Larkin (at the Heritage Foundation’s Foundry Blog) also have coverage.
Wednesday round-up
Monday’s decision in United States v. Jones continued to dominate most of yesterday’s Court coverage. NPR‘s Nina Totenberg, David Savage of the Los Angeles Times, and CNN (video) all report on the decision.
Jones confounds the press
In this post on Monday, I summarized my understanding of the issues that the Court decided in the Jones GPS tracking decision and the other issues it left open. The case involves a mildly complicated area of the law. The alignment of the Justices also left the issues unusually opaque.
Opinion analysis: An exercise in statutory construction
If Court-watchers are looking for some clue on the constitutional issues around the federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), they’ll have to wait. The Court’s ruling this week on SORNA marks the third time in as many years that the Act has reached the Court.
Academic round-up
The Court recently granted cert. in Christopher v. SmithKline Beecham Corp., a case which may lead the Court to revisit whether an agency’s interpretation of its own regulations merit deference. [Disclosure: Goldstein & Russell, whose attorneys contribute to this blog, represents the petitioners in this case, but the author of this post is not involved in the case.]
No court review of terrorism policy
The military policies of detention and interrogation worked out by the Bush Administration and continued at least in part by the Obama Administration cannot be challenged in damage lawsuits in federal courts, the Fourth Circuit Court in Richmond, Va., ruled on Monday.
Tuesday round-up
Yesterday the Court released three opinions in argued cases, as well as a summary reversal. United States v. Jones, in which the Court ruled that the warrantless attachment and monitoring of a GPS tracking device constitutes a search under the Fourth Amendment, captured most of the headlines.
Argument audio
The Oyez Project at Chicago-Kent has posted audio and transcripts of last week’s oral arguments. The Court heard arguments last week in the following cases: United States v. Home Concrete & Supply Filarsky v. Delia Holder v. Gutierrez Vartelas v. Holder
Monday round-up
Last week, the Court issued a per curiam opinion in the Texas redistricting case, Perry v. Perez.
Live blog of orders and opinions | 1/23/2012 (sponsored by Bloomberg Law)
With the help of our reporter, Lyle Denniston, we will be live blogging as orders and opinions in argued cases are issued today. The Live Blog window is below the jump. Once you see the window and our initial welcome, we ask that you do not refresh your browser.
A note on Kagan and health care
Justice Elena Kagan took herself out of a routine order the Supreme Court issued Monday in the health care case, but has not disqualified herself from participating in the argument and decision on those cases.
Opinion analysis: The Ninth Circuit, like hogs to the slaughter
Justice Kagan today wrote the Court’s unanimous opinion in National Meat Association v. Harris, holding that the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) preempts a California statute relating to non-ambulatory animals. Such is the life of the junior Justice.
Details on today’s orders and opinions
The Court did not grant any new cases this morning, nor did it call for the views of the Solicitor General in any new cases. The full order list is here.
Opinion recap: Tight limit on police GPS use (FINAL UPDATE)
Analysis (updated to 2:05 p.m.)
Afternoon round-up
This morning the Court issued its decision in the GPS tracking case United States v. Jones, holding that attaching a GPS device to a vehicle and then using the device to monitor the vehicle’s movements constitutes a search under the Fourth Amendment.
Vartelas v. Holder and the retroactive application of the 1996 immigration amendments
On January 18, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Vartelas v. Holder, a case raising the question whether the U.S. government can, based on a 1996 amendment to the immigration laws, bar a lawful permanent resident from returning to the United States after a short trip to Greece to visit his parents.
Reactions to Jones v. United States: The government fared much better than everyone realizes
Below, Lyle recaps and analyzes the Court’s opinion. Given the significance of the decision and the uncertainty about its precise holding, I thought I would add a few thoughts. I think that the correct way to understand the case is to read it as having two separate majority opinions.
Two primaries in Texas?
Moving to carry out a Supreme Court mandate to reconsider legislative redistricting maps for Texas this year, a federal District Court in San Antonio on Monday raised the possibility that the state may have to hold two primary elections — one for presidential nominating delegates in April, and one for state legislators and members of Congress later.
This week at the Court
The Court did not grant any new cases on Monday, nor did it invite the views of the Solicitor General in any new cases. The Court announced three opinions in argued cases, including United States v. Jones; it also issued a per curiam summary reversal in Ryburn v. Huff. More details are here.
Argument recap: Imputing eligibility for relief from removal
Jill E. Family is an Associate Professor and Associate Director, Law & Government Institute, Widener University School of Law. At oral argument on January 18, the Court questioned the attorneys in Holder v. Gutierrez and Holder v. Sawyers about calculating relief from removal.
Today in the Community: January 20, 2012
We close our discussion of Justice O’Connor’s legacy by soliciting your predictions for the future. Which of the Justice’s decisions will continue to endure and influence the law, and which are likely to be overruled or modified? Ultimately, how do you think history will remember Justice O’Connor?
Friday round-up
The Court issued three opinions on Wednesday, all of which continue to generate coverage and commentary. In Maples v. Thomas, the Court held that death row inmate Cory Maples had shown requisite “cause” to excuse his procedural default, which occurred after his lawyer missed a filing deadline in state court.
UPDATE: Court rejects Texas maps, delays W.Va. map
UPDATE 12:09 p.m. Two hours after issuing its ruling on Texas’s redistricting dispute, the Supreme Court put on hold a lower court’s decision striking down the West Virginia legislature’s new plan for electing that state’s three members of the House of Representatives.
New view on one-person, one-vote?
In its second ruling Friday on courts’ power to draw new election districts, the Supreme Court in a West Virginia case raised doubts about the authority of federal District Courts to require states to achieve absolute equality of population in drafting new voting boundaries.
Argument recap: Court explores different avenues for resolving tax case
Alan Horowitz is a member of Miller & Chevalier Chartered, where he heads the Supreme Court and Appellate Practice Group. He served for 11 years as an Assistant to the Solicitor General, including four years as the Tax Assistant, where he argued 28 cases in the Supreme Court and briefed many others.
Evening round-up
Earlier today the Court issued a per curiam opinion in the Texas redistricting case, Perry v. Perez.
Today in the Community: January 19, 2012
We continue our Community discussion of Justice O’Connor’s legacy by asking you for your thoughts on the ways in which Justices O’Connor and Kennedy have occupied the role of the Court’s “swing vote.” As the ideological centers of their respective Courts, these two Justices have been extraordinarily influential, but they have not always taken the same approach to their role.
Thursday round-up
The Court issued three opinions yesterday, all authored by Justice Ginsburg. Kali has details and links to the opinions here. In Maples v. Thomas, the Court reversed the decision of the Eleventh Circuit by a vote of seven to two, holding that a death row inmate had shown requisite “cause” to excuse his procedural default, which occurred after his lawyer missed a filing deadline in state court.
Relist (and hold) watch
John Elwood reviews Tuesday’s relisted and held cases. Greetings, sports fans! After the restraint of last week, the Court was back with a vengeance this week on the relist and hold front, relisting for the first time (or thereabouts) in four new cases.
Petitions to watch: Conference of 1/20/2012
At its January 20, 2012 Conference, the Court will consider such issues as whether a court’s erroneous replacement of a criminal defendant’s appointed counsel can be a structural error, whether a communication from a debt collector to a debtor’s attorney is actionable under the Fair Debt Collection
Opinion recap: Court requires federal hearing in telemarketing case
With its opinion yesterday in Mims v. Arrow Financial Services, LLC, the Court stuck with the well-settled rules for federal-question jurisdiction, rejecting the conclusion of most of the courts of appeals that the odd language of the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (the “TCPA”) relegated suits under that statute to state courts.
Argument recap: A likely expansion of qualified immunity
Tuesday’s oral argument in Filarsky v. Delia veered in several directions, even discussing matters well outside the question presented. By the time the dust had settled, though, a majority of the Justices seemed inclined to hold that Mr. Filarsky – a private attorney who had provided services to a city government – was entitled to the protection of qualified immunity.
Details on todays opinions
It was a busy morning for Justice Ginsburg, who announced all three of todays opinions for the Court. The first opinion of the day came in Maples v. Thomas.
Today at the Court: January 18, 2012
We expect one or more opinions in argued cases this morning. We will have Live Blog coverage starting shortly before 10. Following opinions, the Court will hear two hours of argument in immigration cases.
Today in the Community: January 18, 2012
Today in the Community we consider some of Justice O’Connor’s decisions that have been modified by the current Court.
Live blog of opinions | January 18, 2012 (sponsored by Bloomberg Law)
With the help of our reporter, Lyle Denniston, we will be live blogging as opinions in argued cases are issued today. In the interest of minimizing technical problems, we’ve moved the Live Blog window below the jump.
Opinion recap: The public domain shrinks
Analysis In a historic ruling on Congress’s power to give authors and composers monopoly power over their creations, the Supreme Court on Wednesday broadly upheld the national legislature’s authority to withdraw works from the public domain and put them back under a copyright shield.
Wednesday round-up
With the Court having granted three cases from its January 13 Conference on Friday, yesterday’s coverage of the Court largely focused on the cases in which the Court denied review in its order list.
Today’s transcripts are now available
The transcript of oral argument in Vartelas v. Holder is here. The transcript of oral argument in Holder v. Gutierrez and Holder v. Sawyers (consolidated) is here.
Today at the Court: January 17, 2012
We expect the Court to issue the remaining orders from the January 13 Conference at 10 a.m.; we will cover those orders in our Live Blog. Lyle postedon the three cases from that Conference that were granted on Friday.
A new test on redistricting
Even as the Supreme Court ponders what to do about a complex controversy over legislative redistricting in Texas, the Court has been drawn into another such dispute, considerably simpler but with its own major implications.
Today in the Community: January 17, 2012
This week in the Community we discuss the legacy of Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. We’d like to kick off the discussion by asking your thoughts on Justice O’Connor’s most significant contributions to the Court’s practice and jurisprudence.
Live blog of orders | January 17, 2011 (Sponsored by Bloomberg Law)
With the help of our reporter, Lyle Denniston, we will be live blogging as orders are issued today. Once you see the Live Blog window and our initial welcome, we ask that you do not refresh your browser. Updates will appear without the need for refreshing.