On Monday we expect the Court to issue ... (click to view)
Editor's Note :
On Monday we expect the Court to issue orders from its December 11 Conference at 9:30 a.m., followed by one or more opinions in argued cases at 10 a.m. We will begin live-blogging at 9:25 a.m.
Whether the Court should resolve the conflict among the circuits and decide the question expressly left open in Magwood v. Patterson of whether a subsequent habeas petition challenging the undisturbed conviction would be second or successive after the state imposes only a new sentence following a remand for a resentencing.
Whether a district court may dismiss a removed action rather than remanding it to state court under 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c) after a dispositive finding by the district court that there is no federal jurisdiction and, for the same reason, there can be no state court jurisdiction.
Whether, in the absence of a warrant, a state may make it a crime for a person to refuse to take a chemical test to detect the presence of alcohol in the person’s blood.
Whether Mississippi can, consistent with the First Amendment, prohibit a small informal group of friends and neighbors from spending more than $200 on pure speech about a ballot measure unless they become a political committee, adopt the formal structure required of a political committee, register with the state, and subject themselves to the full panoply of ongoing record-keeping, reporting, and other obligations that attend status as a political committee.
The Court issued additional orders from the December 4 Conference on Monday. On Tuesday the Court released its opinion in Shapiro v. McManus. The Court also heard oral arguments on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. The hearing list for the December sitting is here. On Friday the Justices will meet for their December 11 Conference, our list of "petitions to watch" for that Conference is available here.
Major Cases
Zubik v. Burwell Does the availability of a regulatory method for nonprofit religious employers to comply with the HHS contraceptive mandate eliminate the substantial burden on religious exercise in violation of RFRA that the Court recognized in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.?
Whole Woman’s Health v. Cole Whether, when applying the “undue burden” standard of Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the Fifth Circuit erred in concluding that this standard permits Texas to enforce, in nearly all circumstances, laws that would cause a significant reduction in the availability of abortion services while failing to advance the State’s interest in promoting health - or any other valid interest.
Evenwel v. Abbott Does the "one-person, one-vote" principle require states to use voter population, as opposed to total population, when drawing state legislative districts?
Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin Does the use of racial preferences in undergraduate admissions by the University of Texas violate the Equal Protection Clause?
Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins Whether Congress may confer Article III standing upon a plaintiff who suffers no concrete harm, and who therefore could not otherwise invoke the jurisdiction of a federal court, by authorizing a private right of action based on a bare violation of a federal statute.
AT&T, Inc. v. United States ex rel. Heath Whether a relator asserting a claim under the False Claims Act can satisfy Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 9(b)’s particular pleading requirement without setting forth specific facts regarding at least one allegedly false or fraudulent claim submitted to the government.
CarMax Auto Superstores California, LLC v. Areso Whether California's Iskanian rule, which categorically exempts representative Private Attorney General Act actions from mandatory arbitration, is preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act.
American Freedom Defense Initiative v. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (1) Whether the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) created a public forum by accepting for display on its property a wide array of controversial political and public-issue ads, including ads that address the same controversial subject matter as petitioners’ pro-Israel ad, and thus violated the First Amendment by rejecting petitioners’ ad based on its content; and (2) regardless of the nature of the forum, whether the MBTA’s rejection of petitioners’ advertisement based on an advertising guideline that prohibits ads considered by MBTA officials to be “demeaning and disparaging” was a viewpoint-based restriction of speech in violation of the First Amendment.
Hall v. North Carolina Whether the retroactive application of a sex offender program violates the Ex Post Facto Clause of the United States Constitution where the program imposes numerous onerous obligations and restrictions upon a registrant for life, with no opportunity to terminate registration even upon a showing that the registrant does not pose a threat to public safety.
As part of the Antonin Scalia Lecture series at Harvard Law School, Justice Elena Kagan discusses the reading of statutes.
Awards
Peabody Award
Awarded the Peabody Award for excellence in electronic media.
Sigma Delta Chi
Awarded the Sigma Delta Chi deadline reporting award for online coverage of the Affordable Care Act decision.
National Press Club Award
Awarded the National Press Club's Breaking News Award for coverage of the Affordable Care Act decision.
Silver Gavel Award
Awarded the Silver Gavel Award by the American Bar Association for fostering the American public’s understanding of the law and the legal system.
American Gavel Award
Awarded the American Gavel Award for Distinguished Reporting About the Judiciary to recognize the highest standards of reporting about courts and the justice system.
Webby Award
Awarded the Webby Award for excellence on the internet.
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