Publications
Greetings, Court Fans! Here’s part two of our summary of the latest opinions. In Arkansas Dep’t of Health & Human Services v. Ahlborn (04-1508), a unanimous Court held that, where a Medicaid patient obtains a tort settlement, a state can impose a Medicaid lien only on that portion of the settlement that covers […]
Greetings, Court Fans! We owe you quite a few summaries, as the Court has been busy (and it will only get busier as the Justices get ready for their summer vacation at the end of the month). Special thanks this time out to Wiggin and Dana associate Tahlia Townsend, who’s helping us catch up with […]
Greetings Court fans! The Court issued two opinions today, but neither one will make big news. The first opinion, South Florida Water Management Dist. v. Miccosukee Tribe of Indians (02-626), was basically a punt. While this could have been an interesting Clean Water Act opinion, the Court vacated and remanded for resolution of a factual […]
Greetings, Court fans! The Court released only one opinion today, and a short one at that. In Dura Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Broudo, No. 03-932, Justice Breyer, for a unanimous court, reversed the Ninth Circuit’s holding that, in the context of a securities fraud class action, an allegation that purchasers paid an “inflated purchase price” […]
Greetings, Court Fans! Every Term ends with a blitzkrieg. But we are almost there . . . only one more Update after this one. In Kansas v. March (04-1170), the Court upheld Kansas’s death penalty statute, which requires the death penalty if a jury unanimously finds that the State has proven, by clear and convincing […]
Greetings, Court fans! Proving that the Court can be merciful, it released five very reasonably sized decisions last Thursday, leaving only ten more to bring you this week. We’re still, however, very grateful to Tahlia Townsend for helping us cover all the opinions. Perhaps the most newsworthy decision came in Indiana v. Edwards (07-208), where […]
Greetings Court fans! Two more opinions today, although neither one is a blockbuster. So, let’s just get to work. First, in Frew v. Hawkins (02-628), the Court held that the Eleventh Amendment does not bar enforcement of a federal consent decree entered into by state officials. (Every Term, there are a few cases that […]
Greetings Court fans! The Court issued an order list on Friday, and as you might have noticed, this is a slight change from the normal procedure of releasing order lists on Mondays. In January, as they struggle to fill the remaining slots in this Term, they issue order lists with any cert granteds on […]
Greetings, Court fans! The Court opened its term today in a big way with oral arguments in four cases, including two hours of consolidated argument in United States v. Booker, 04-104, and United States v. Fanfan, 04-105. These cases concern whether the federal criminal sentencing guidelines implicate the Fifth and Sixth Amendments, such that […]
Greetings, Court Fans! It was a rather slow Monday, with perhaps the most interesting (i.e., controversial) ruling coming in the denial of a motion for stay in Crawford v. Roe (05-A333), involving the right of a pregnant prisoner in Missouri to obtain an abortion. The prisoner, Roe, was initially housed in California and requested […]
Greetings, Court Fans! The Court returned from its recess today for the term’s last argument session, which will end next Wednesday with one of the most eagerly anticipated cases of the term, the Arthur Andersen criminal appeal. Look for that to be the last opinion issued in the term before July 1. The […]
Greetings, Court Fans! The Court came back Thursday with three more opinions in its effort to clear out the docket by the end of the month. We’re still waiting on the biggest remaining decisions – the race and school assignment cases in Seattle and Louisville – but hopefully these will tide you over until […]
Good morning everyone, In response to feedback on my first Supreme Court update, a few introductory comments: First, this will be the last Supreme Court update sent to all lawyers in the firm. Going forward, only litigators and those who request them, will receive the updates. If you would like to receive them, please let […]
Hi everyone! No grants today, but two bits of news. First, the Court denied cert in Borgner v. Florida Bd. of Dentistry (02-165), but Justice Thomas, joined by Justice Ginsburg, dissented from the denial of cert, bemoaning the Court’s failure to take the opportunity to clarify the application of the First Amendment to commercial speech. […]
Greetings, Court fans! Following up on yesterday’s Update, there are three decisions to report. The cases all involve criminal law issues, so if you don’t practice criminal law (or occasionally wish you did), you might want to skip this one, though the Court’s opinion on prudential standing in Kowalski is certainly all litigators. All in […]
Greetings, Court Fans! The Court has returned from its winter recess with a brief flurry of activity in the last few days: one opinion in an argued case, two unsigned rulings in other cases, and a slew of cert grants in an effort to fill out the Term. Today, the Court issued a […]
Greetings Court fans! Adding some excitement to this Term, the Court granted cert in two cases brought by prisoners currently being held at the Navy Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Rasul v. Bush (03-334); Al Odah v. United States (03-343). The prisoners want to challenge the legality of their continued confinement, but the first […]
Greetings Court fans! We’re in the last few weeks of the Term, and so, predictably, the Court issued a handful of decisions today. Five to be exact. Before I turn to those decisions, let me address a few orders. First, late last week, the Court noted probable jurisdiction (read: granted) in the campaign finance law […]
Greetings Court fans! On Wednesday, the last day of argument for October Term 2003, the Court handed down two opinions, a Clean Air Act case and a voting rights case. I’ll begin with the environmental case. In Engine Manufacturers Assn v. South Coast Air Quality Management District (02-1343), the Court reversed the Ninth […]
Greetings, Court Fans! We’re back from a brief hiatus, with five decisions and a few other items to report. Without further ado, here are the summaries: In Garcetti v. Ceballos (04-473), a major decision that came down last week, the Court held 5-4 that when public employees make statements in the context of […]
Greetings Court fans! Ok, three decisions to go, so let’s get to it. First, in a big “non-decision,” the Court dismissed Nike, Inc. v. Kasky (02-575) as improvidently granted. In shorthand, the case was “digged.” This is the “oops” resolution — there is some jurisdictional problem with the case that should have been […]
Greetings, Court fans! The Court issued its first opinions of the session today. Perhaps in the spirit of unity professed by the President and Senator Kerry, both opinions were unanimous and uncontroversial. (Alas, for all of you who bet that Booker and Fanfan would be decided first, we’re sorry to say that you’ll have […]
Greetings, Court fans! The Court returned from its two-week recess today, and the big news is the health of Chief Justice Rehnquist, who just underwent treatment for thyroid cancer. The Chief did not return to work as expected, and his chambers issued the following statement: “I underwent a tracheotomy nine days ago and, […]
Greetings Court fans! Of course, the big news out of the Court today is that they agreed to hear the Pledge of Allegiance case out of the Ninth Circuit (surprise!). They also agreed to hear 7 other cases, so here’s the run down: 1. Littleton Co. v. Z.J. Gifts D-4 LLC (02-1609): A First […]
Greetings, Court Fans! The deluge begins . . . the Court hit us with six opinions yesterday. The decisions were largely uncontroversial (unlike the Jackson verdict!), with two civil cases and four criminal cases, including two Batson cases regarding the use of peremptory challenges during jury selection. We’ll do the other four today, and […]
Greetings Court fans! Didn’t the summer just fly by? It seems like just yesterday that we were all watching the Court hand down its final opinions from OT 2002 and wondering which Justices, if any, would retire. Well, they’re all back for another Term, and so am I. Welcome to another Term of Supreme […]
Greetings, Court fans! We owe you a few more summaries before the Court comes back Monday with yet more decisions, so let’s get right to it. In Schriro v. Landrigan (05-1575), a 5-4 Court reversed a Ninth Circuit habeas ruling (surprise!). Landrigan, while serving time for multiple violent crimes, escaped and killed another man. At […]
Greetings, Court fans! The first Supreme Court battle over the 2004 election has officially come and gone in Spencer v. Pugh, 04A360, and Summit County Democratic Central & Executive Committee, 04A364, and for all practical purposes it has gone the Republicans’ way. As the Ohioans in the audience are surely tired of hearing, Ohio is […]
Greetings Court fans! Finally, I’m back! Thanks for your patience. We have a lot of ground to cover — 6 decisions and 2 order lists — so I’ll split it up into a couple emails to reduce your reading load. The opinions covered in this email all deal, in one way or another, with sex […]
Since 2012, Connecticut has permitted patients with certain medical conditions to use and possess medical marijuana to treat those conditions. The U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut held this month that federal law does not preempt the provisions of Connecticut's Palliative Use of Marijuana Act (PUMA) prohibiting employers from firing or refusing to […]