Publications

Greetings, Court Fans!

You’ll be happy to hear that today’s update is a lot shorter than our summary of the Booker/Fanfan decision – we’ve got just a few cert grants and summary dispositions to report.

On Friday, the Court announced that it will hear two trucking cases. In American Trucking Associations v. Michigan Public Service Commission, No. 03-1230, the Court will consider the following question: “Whether [Michigan’s] $100 fee upon vehicles conducting intrastate operations violates the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution?” And in Mid-Con Freight Systems v. Michigan Public Service Commission, No. 03-1234, the Court will consider this slightly different question: “Whether the $100 fee upon vehicles operating solely in interstate commerce is preempted by 49 U.S.C. § 14504 [which governs state registration of motor carriers]?” Also on Friday, the Court granted cert in Gonzalez v. Crosby, No. 04-6432, in which it will consider the Eleventh Circuit’s ruling that the 1996 Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act erected a bright line jurisdictional bar in habeas corpus proceedings to most Rule 60(b) motions for relief from judgments or orders.

The Court did not grant cert in any new cases today. It did, however, deny a petition for cert before judgment in Hamdan v. United States, No. 04-702, in which the D.C. District Court ruled that the system of military tribunals for Guantanamo detainees violated federal and international law. The Justice Department appealed to the D.C. Circuit, and Hamdan’s lawyers asked the Supreme Court to grant cert before the Court of Appeals ruled on the status of the tribunals. The Court said no, and the D.C. Circuit should hear the case in early March (for the record, Jonathan Freiman of our appellate group has filed an amicus brief in the D.C. Circuit). Regardless of that court’s ruling, look for another cert petition – this one after judgment – next term.

Finally, the Court issued summary dispositions in Perez-Aquillar v. Ashcroft, No. 03-8075, and Sierra v. Romine, No. 03-8662, remanding the cases for reconsideration in light of Clark v. Martinez, No. 03-878, which held that the government can detain inadmissible aliens beyond 90 days only for as long as is reasonably necessary to effect their removal. You understandably might have missed the Clark summary in our last update, after Booker/Fanfan.

That’s all for now – the Court closes on Thursday for the Inauguration and goes on recess starting the 24th, so we might see some action tomorrow or Friday. Otherwise, we’ll see you again in February!

Ken & Kim