Publications

Greetings Court fans!   Not much to report from yesterday’s order list except that the Court asked the Solicitor General to weigh in on three cases. (As you know, this means that at least someone on the Court is interested in hearing these cases. By asking the SG to brief the issue, they get the […]

Greetings, Court fans! The deluge has finally begun, with the Court issuing five decisions this week, including its decision in Gonzalez v. Carhart (05-380), which has been described as a “stunning victory” for pro life forces and an “astounding loss” for pro choice advocates. Since most of us prefer our information in bite-sized portions, we’ll […]

Greetings Court fans! Another installment summarizing the end of Term flurry of opinions. In Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain (03-339), the Court considered claims under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) and the Alien Tort Statute (ATS). To make a long story short, DEA agents hired Mexican nationals (including Sosa) to seize Alvarez in Mexico and bring […]

Greetings, Court Fans!   As the Term draws to a close, we can expect lots of decisions in “hard” cases, spawning multiple opinions and, occasionally, the need for a chart to discern the holdings! Yesterday’s opinions were no exception, so brace yourself. We’ll do our best to be brief.   In Gonzales v. Raich (03-1454), […]

Greetings, Court Fans!   With only about six weeks left in the Term, the Court picked up the pace yesterday, issuing decisions in five cases. We’ve split up the summaries to make each Update a little easier to digest — this Update covers three cases, with the other two to follow.   First, in Lingle […]

Greetings, Court Fans!   So much for the Court going on recess – it’s been a more eventful week than one would expect, thanks to a flurry of activity on capital cases.   First, on Wednesday the Court granted cert in Hill v. Crosby (05-8794), in which it will consider whether a death-row inmate’s challenge […]

Greetings, Court Fans!   First Monday has arrived, and the Court opened the October 2007 Term with arguments in two cases: Washington State Grange v. Washington State Republican Party, concerning whether Washington’s “top two” open primary system violates the First Amendment rights of political parties, and Board of Education of the City of New York […]

Greetings, Court fans!   The Court heard arguments this week in one of the biggest cases of the Term, Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, in which a Guantanamo detainee (specifically, Osama bin Laden’s driver and bodyguard) is challenging the constitutionality of the military commissions set up to try enemy combatants accused of war crimes. Perhaps because of […]

Greetings, Court fans!   This Update bring us up to date with the final decisions from last week – which, though they didn’t grab the headlines like the Boumediene decision, will wind up being more significant for the day-to-day practice of most lawyers (particularly employment/civil rights attorneys and white-collar practitioners). Let’s get to it!   […]

Greetings Court fans!   As expected, the Court celebrated the end of its winter recess by handing down opinions — 8 in the last two days. On the theory that you won’t want to read about 8 opinions at once (and that I won’t be able to stay awake for that long!), I’ll break up […]

Greetings, Court fans! Spring has finally arrived, but the deluge of opinions it typically brings is nowhere in sight. This week, we have a solitary bankruptcy decision to report. In Travelers Casualty & Surety Co. of America v. Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (05-1429), the Court (Alito, J.) unanimously overruled the Ninth Circuit’s decision (based […]

Greetings, Court Fans!   The Court is finally hitting its stride – after giving us four opinions Monday, they hit us with five more yesterday. We’re still working on Monday’s summaries, but one of yesterday’s announcements, as you’ll see, was a little too momentous to put off . . . .   In Boumediene v. […]

Greetings Court fans!   As promised, here is the second half of the update on Monday’s news. We have 2 opinions to cover and one item from the order list, so let’s get started.   I’ll begin with Dretke v. Haley (02-1824), a habeas case in which the Court punted on the question presented. As […]

Greetings, Court fans! We’ve got quite a bit to report, so we’ll get right to it. First, in Watters v. Wachovia Bank, N.A. (05-1342), the Court considered whether a national bank’s operating subsidiary, which is engaged in real estate lending, can be subjected to state regulation. The short answer: No. Such regulation is preempted by […]

Greetings, Court fans!   And welcome to the last Update of the Term. After the last few weeks of contentious and high-profile decisions, it is unlikely that the last two opinions will knock your socks off, but here goes . . . .   In Arlington Central School District Board of Education v. Murphy (05-18), […]

Greetings Court fans!   As expected, the Court handed down multiple opinions yesterday (six to be exact) in its mad rush to complete its work by the end of June. To break up your reading (and my writing!), I’ll summarize this week’s news — the opinions plus three grants — in two emails.   I’ll […]

Greetings Court fans! The Court issued four opinions and an order list yesterday. That leaves ten opinions remaining for the Term. Currently, the Court only has one more day (next Monday) scheduled to hand down opinions, but I’d be surprised if they didn’t schedule another hand-down session. Ten opinions is quite a handful for one […]

Greetings Court fans!   Not much to report today; just three grants from the order list:   1. Johnson v. California (03-636): This is an equal protection challenge to California’s policy of segregating prisoners by race in the initial days of their incarceration. The Ninth Circuit upheld the policy. 2. Crawford v. Martinez (03-878): This […]

Greetings, Court Fans!   You’ll be happy to know that today’s update is short and sweet — the Court issued no opinions today, just an order list. We do expect the Court to issue some opinions tomorrow and Wednesday, which promises to be an exciting day of argument: The Court will hear Van Orden v. […]

Greetings Court fans!   The Court granted cert in 2 cases today, but before I get to those summaries, a brief clarification/correction from Friday’s update. An alert reader of my summary of Scalia’s recusal opinion noted that my description of the facts might have been a bit misleading. In my description I noted that Scalia […]

Greetings, Court fans!   In our excitement over the new nominee, we neglected to mention that the Court issued two per curiam opinions yesterday (with no recorded dissents).   In Kane v. Espitia (04-1538), the Court reversed the Ninth Circuit’s grant of federal habeas relief based on the petitioner’s allegation that he was denied access […]

Greetings, Court Fans!   After Tuesday’s decision in Gonzalez v. Oregon, where the Court managed to turn a controversial case on physician-assisted suicide into a lengthy treatise on agency deference, it is perhaps not surprising that yesterday the Court managed to issue a unanimous opinion in the parental notification abortion case, Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood […]

Greetings Court fans!   As promised, here is the rest of the news from the Supreme Court this week.   I’ll begin this update with Norton v. Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (03-101), an Administrative Procedure Act (APA) case, and another win for my former colleagues in the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department […]

Greetings Court fans!   On the agenda today: 3 1/2 grants, and a summary reversal in a habeas case. I’ll begin with the summary reversal. In Mitchell v. Esparza (02-1369), the Court summarily reversed the Sixth Circuit’s decision affirming the grant of a habeas petition to a death row inmate. According to the Court, the […]

Greetings Court fans! In a slightly unusual move, the Court issued an order list and an opinion yesterday (nothing issued today). Usually, on Mondays, the Court only issues order lists, saving opinions for Tuesdays and/or Wednesdays. Because the Court, of course, doesn’t explain why it changed its usual practice, we’re all left to speculate. I’m […]

Greetings, Court Fans!   Things are still fairly quiet at the Court – it will be a while before we get the first decision of the Term – but the Court continues to try to fill up its docket. On Friday, the Court granted cert in two more Texas death penalty cases (on top of […]

Greetings, Court Fans! Before heading off for another two-week recess, the Court released an order list today that included cert grants in two new cases. The first is Rumsfeld v. Forum for Academic & Institutional Rights [“FAIR”] (04-1152), in which the Court will consider the constitutionality of the “Solomon Amendment,” which denies federal funds to […]

Greetings, Court Fans!   There’s not much to report—the Court is off today for Columbus Day—but on Friday the Court did issue an order list in which it granted cert in two new cases.   In Travelers Casualty & Surety Co. v. Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (05-1429), the Court will consider “whether a litigant […]

Greetings, Court fans! The Court released six opinions yesterday, making this a whopper of an Update. We’re still waiting for the really “hot” cases to be released, including the Ten Commandments cases, Grokster (the file-sharing case), and Kelo (the Connecticut Takings case), but yesterday’s decisions will have some real impact (especially for prisoners, truckers, and […]

Good afternoon everyone, With this email, I am inaugurating a new series of email updates on the Supreme Court. When the Court issues an order or opinion, I will send an email summarizing the highlights of the action. I will try to send them out the day of the action, but in any event will […]