SCOTUSblog's list of petitions with a "reasonable" chance of being granted

The complete list: OT06
                                         

Long Conference (note the first section below are all docket numbers of 05-)

Name
Counsel of Record
Certiorari To
DN
Summary of QP
Status
King et al. v. Grand River Enterprises (Note: this case was mistakenly omitted from the first version of this list.)
Gary Feinerman
SG of Illinois
CA2
1343
Whether a court in one State may exercise personal jurisdiction over the Attorney General of another State in certain circumstances. Denied
United Hauler's Assoc v. Oneida-Herkimer Solid Waste Management
Evan Tager
Mayer Brown
CA2
1345 Whether local ordinances mandating the transfer and sale of solid waste to public entities are invalid under the dormant Commerce Clause. Granted, 9/26
Educational Credit Management v. Reynolds
Curtis Zaun
Edu. Credit Man.
CA8
1361 Whether discharging student-loan debt requires, as a threshold, an inability to repay that debt. Denied
Alabama v. Collins
Kevin Newsom
SG of Alabama
Ct. of Crim. App.of Ala.
1378
Whether Davis' clear-invocation rule applies when the suspect ambiguously references a lawyer during an initial Miranda colloquy. Denied
Oregon v. ASW
Mary Williams
SG of Oregon
CA9
1385
Whether Congress intended to create private rights to adoption assistance benefits when it enacted the Adoption Assistance Program. Denied
Warch v. Ohio Casualty Insurance Co.
Lee Boothby
Int'l Acad. for Freedom of Religion and Belief
CA4
1387
Whether a terminated employee must show that he continues to meet his employer's legitimate job expectations in the prima facie stage of an age discrimination case. Denied
Gonzales v. Tchoukhrova
Paul Clement
Solicitor General
CA9 1401
Whether a parent may qualify for asylum and withholding of removal based solely on alleged persecution of her child. GVR
Moore v. Maryland
Albert Turkus
Skadden Arps
Ct. of App. of Md.
1411
Whether an indigent criminal defendant's right to due process of law was violated when he was denied state funds for expert assistance because he was represented by private counsel, rather than a Public Defender. Denied
Dillard's v. AZPB
Lloyd Palans
Bryan Cave
CA Ariz., Div. 1
1422

Whether, under federal principles of claim preclusion and issue preclusion, an unsecured creditor of a debtor in bankruptcy is in privity with the Chapter 7 bankruptcy

Trustee.
Denied
Travelers v. Pacific Gas and Electric [Consol. below with DeRoche]
Eric Brunstad
Bingham McCutchen
CA9
1429
Whether a litigant may recover attorneys' fees under a contract or state statute where the issues litigated involve matters of federal bankruptcy law. [Disclosure: Tom Goldstein represents the respondent in this case.] Granted, 10/6
DeRoche v. Arizona Industrial Comm. [Consol. below with Travelers]
Eric Brunstad
Bingham McCutchen
CA9
1439
Whether a litigant may recover attorneys' fees under a contract or state statute where the issues litigated involve matters of federal bankruptcy law. GVR
Beck v. Pace Int'l Union
Miller Baker
McDermott Will & Emery
CA9
1448 Whether a pension plan sponsor's decision to terminate a plan by purchasing an annuity is a plan sponsor decision not subject to ERISA's fiduciary obligations. Granted, 1/19
AT&T v. RLH
Michael Kellogg
KHHTEF
CA Calif., 4th App. Dist, Div. 3
1493 Whether a State's direct regulation of commercial conduct that occurs wholly outside that State and that has no effect on consumers or markets within that State is a per se violation of the Commerce Clause. Denied
Allred v. Sup. Ct. of Calif.
Erwin Chemerinsky
Duke University
CA Calif., 1st App. Dist.
1505
Whether it violates the First Amendment for a trial court to issue an order in a criminal case preventing an attorney representing a non-party witness from making public statements about a pending case. Denied
Alvarado v. US
Lawrence Robbins
Robbins Russell
CA4
1512 Whether "dual sovereignty" principles apply in the Sixth amendment context in circumstances where a person is charged with overlapping state and federal drug offenses. Denied
Quarterman v. Graves
Gena Bunn
Texas AG's office
CA5
1568
Whether a criminal defendant's rights are violated when prosecutors fail to disclose certain statements by a co-defendant. Denied
Acosta v. Texas
Roger Jon Diamond

Ct. of App. of Tex., 8th Dist.
1574
Whether a Texas prohibition on the sale of sex toys is unconstituional on Due Process grounds, especially in light of the holding in Lawrence v. Texas.
Denied
Schriro v. Landrigan
Kent Cattani
Ariz. AG's Office
CA9
1575

Whether defense counsel has an obligation to develop and present mitigating evidence in a capital case when the defendant actively thwarts counsel's efforts.

Granted, 9/26
US Bank Corp. v. Kroske
Beth Brinkmann
Morrison & Foerster
CA9
1607
Whether a presumption against preemption permits state laws to apply to national banks despite the preemptive force of the National Bank Act. Denied
Newell v. Mass. Dept. of Mental Retardation
Norman Pattis
Law Offices of Norm Pattis
S. Jud. Ct. of Mass.
1622

Whether a judgment on the merits and a court-ordered consent decree are the only form of relief that meet the "judicial imprimatur" requirement for the award of attorney's fees.

Denied
Gonzales v. Duenas-Alvarez
Paul Clement
Solicitor General
CA9
1629 Whether a "theft offense," which is an "aggravated felony" under the Immigration and Nationality Act, includes aiding and abetting. Granted, 9/26
Corzine v. Amer. Trucking Assoc.
Patrick DeAlmeida
NJ AG's Office
CA3
1638
Whether highway safety regulations that have an incidental effect on interstate commerce are subject to strict scrutiny under the dormant Commerce Clause. Denied
Wallace v. Calogero [Consol. below with Leclerc]
William Livingston
Covington & Burling
CA5
1645
Whether a state law that discriminates against nonpermanent visaholding resident aliens ought to be analyzed under strict scrutiny for the purposes of an Equal Protection challenge. CVSG, Deny
Washington v. Washington Edu. Assoc.
William Collins
Dep. SG of Wash.
S. Ct. of Wash.
1657
Whether a requirement that nonmembers of a union must affirmatively consent before their fees may be used to support the union's political agenda violate the union's First Amendment rights. Granted, 9/26

Petitions Below are
Docketed 06-



Leclerc v. Webb [Concol. below with Wallace]
Jeffrey Sarles
Mayer Brown
CA5
11 Whether a state law that discriminates against nonpermanent visaholding resident aliens ought to be analyzed under strict scrutiny for the purposes of an Equal Protection challenge. CVSG,
Deny
Tomic v. Catholic Diocese of Peoria
Paul Wolfson
Wilmer Hale
CA7
15 Whether the "ministerial exception" to federal employment discrimination laws bars the courts from adjudicating an age-discrimination complaint brought by a lay employee of a religious organization. Denied
Detroit Entertainment v. Romanski
Tom Goldstein
Akin Gump
CA6
38
Whether private conduct that is contrary to state policy does not constitute "state action" for purposes of 42 U.S.C. 1983. Denied
Hartford Fire Insurance Co. v. Reynolds [Consol. below with Safeco and Geico]
Carter Philips
Sidley Austin
CA9
82

Whether a defendant may "willfully" violate Section 616 of the Fair Credit

Reporting Act (FCRA) by acting merely in "reckless disregard" of statutory obligations, rather than by acting with knowledge that its conduct violates FCRA.
Dismissed
Safeco Insurance v. Burr [Consol. below with Hartford and Geico] Michael Kellogg
KHHTEF
CA9
84

Whether a defendant may "willfully" violate Section 616 of the Fair Credit

Reporting Act (FCRA) by acting merely in "reckless disregard" of statutory obligations, rather than by acting with knowledge that its conduct violates FCRA.
Granted, 9/26
Geico v. Edo [Consol. below with Safeco and Hartford] Robert Allen
Baker & McKenzie
CA9
100

Whether a defendant may "willfully" violate Section 616 of the Fair Credit

Reporting Act (FCRA) by acting merely in "reckless disregard" of statutory obligations, rather than by acting with knowledge that its conduct violates FCRA.
Granted, 9/26
Sinochem Int'l v. Malaysia Int'l Shipping
Gregory Castanias
Jones Day
CA3
102 Whether a district court must first conclusively establish jurisdiction before dismissing a suit on the ground of forum non conveniens. Granted, 9/26
Perm. Miss. of India to the UN v. NY
John Howley
Kaye Scholer
CA2
134 Whether a tax lien on a foreign sovereign's real property is valid when the municipality seeking the taxes does not claim any right to own, use, enter, control, or possess the property at issue. CVSG
Granted

Conferences of 10/6/06 and 10/13/06

Name
Counsel of Record
Certiorari To
DN
Summary
Status
W.R. Grace and Co. et al. v. US
Christopher Landau
Kirkland & Ellis
CA9
05-1363
What is the scope of the obligation of a responsible party to pay for a response action under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). Denied
FreeEats.com v. North Dakota John F. Cooney
Venable LLP
S. Ct. of N.D.
06-127 Whether a North Dakota statute which restricts the making of prerecorded telephone calls to residents is preempted by the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and the implementing rule by the FCC as applied to prerecorded interstate telephone calls that seek to survey the recipient's political views. Denied
At Home v. Cox et al.
Joseph Allerhand
Weil, Gotshal & Manges
CA2
06-147 Whether statutory insiders may escape liability under sec. 16(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 because of a judicial interpretation that establishes the date of creation of a hybrid derivative instrument as the only "sale" date. Denied
Woodford v. Remeidio      
Thomas Patterson
Calif. AG's office
CA9
06-167
Whether an inmate can proceed on a civil rights claim that prison officials retaliated against him for First Amdnement expression if the action taken against the inmate objectively served a legitimate penological purpose.
Denied
Sommers v. Wells Fargo
Stacy Obenhaus
Gardere Wynne Sewell    
CA5
06-172 Whether, banckrupcty law remedies affecting a third party are barred if a bankruptcy court modifies the automatic stay in effect from 11 USC sec. 362 and allows a creditor to pursue state law claims against the third party.
Denied
           Conf. of 10/13                                                   


Conf. of 10/13

Signator Insurance v. Patten
Edwin Schallert
Debevoise & Plimpton
CA4
06-49 Whether an arbitral award may be vacated on nonstatutory, merits-based grounds - such as that the arbitrator manifestly disregarded the law or that the award did not draw its essence from the agreement - despite the explicit requirement of 9 U.S.C. sec. 9 that a court "must" confirm an arbitral award unless the award is vacated or corrected as provided in 9 U.S.C. secs. 10 and 11. Denied
Drebick et al. v. City of Olympia                                                                          
Meriem L. Hubbard
Pacific Legal Foundation
S. Ct. of Wash.
06-223
Whether a local government may avoid the "nexus" and "rough proportionality" tests of Nollan v. California Coastal Commission and Dolan v. City of Tigard by imposing development exactions either in the form of "impact" fees or by legislative enactment. Denied
Hatch v. Cellco Partnership*
Margaret Chutich
Minn. AG's office
CA8
05-1159
(SG)
Whether Minnesota's law requiring wireless service providers to provide notice and obtain customer consent before they change the terms of an existing contract is preempted by 47 U.S.C. sec. 332(c)(3)(A).
Denied


Conference of 10/27

Name
Counsel of Record
Certiorari To
DN
Summary
Status
Winkelman v. Parma City School District Jean-Claude Andre
Ivey, Smith, & Ramirez 
CA6
05-983

Whether a non-lawyer parent of a disabled child may file a lawsuit, without a lawyer, to enforce the child's rights under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). (Note: case was CVSG'd; see post here)

Granted, 10/27
Microsoft v. AT&T Theodore Olson
Gibson Dunn
CAFC
05-1056

Whether software object code can be a component of a patented invention and whether foreign-made copies of such a component are to be considered "supplied" from the United States.  (Note: case was CVSG'd; see post here)

Granted, 10/27
Schmidt v. Van Patten Christopher Wren
Wisc. AG's office
CA7
05-1527

Whether a defendant's Sixth Amendment right to effective counsel was violated because his counsel participated in a no-contest plea hearing by speakerphone.

GVR
Scott v. Harris     Philip Savrin
Freeman, Mathis, & Gary
CA11
05-1631

Whether a law enforcement officer violates a fleeing suspect's Fourth Amendment rights by using deadly force to terminate a dangerous high-speed pursuit.

Granted, 10/27
Omar v. Babock Roy Wason
Wason & Assoc.                                    
CA11
06-78

Whether the standard for imposing liability under section 1983 in child abuse should be the "professional judgment" standard or the "deliberate indifference" standard.

Denied
Stolt-Nielsen v. US Chris Curran
White & Case
CA3
06-97

Whether federal courts have authority to enjoin federal prosecutors from breaching a promise "not to bring any criminal prosecution" against a company and its executives. (Note: Lyle has written extensively on previous developments in this case.   Search SCOTUSblog for "Stolt")

Denied
Cox v. DaimlerChrysler                                                                           Tom Casey
SG of Mich.
CA6.
06-273

Whether Michigan laws that restrict inmates to only a prison bank account impose a burden on a private pension plan when the plan is required to send an inmate-pensioner's payments to the prison for deposit into the inmate's account.

CVSG, Deny
Morse and Juneau School District v. Frederick Kenneth Starr
Kirkland & Ellis
CA9
06-278
Whether the First Amendment allows public schools to prohibit students from displaying messages promoting the use of illegal substances at school-sponsored, faculty-supervised events. (Note: This case will be the lead in the edition of "Conference Call" running in Legal Times on Monday, 10/23)
Granted, 12/1

Conference of 11/3

Name
Counsel of Record
Certiorari To
DN
Summary
Status
Skakel v. Connecticut Theodore Olson
Gibson Dunn
Sup. Ct. of Conn.
06-52

Whether it violates the Ex Post Facto doctrine and due process for the judiciary to allow a state statute that eliminates limitations periods for certain offenses to apply to criminal acts conducted before the enactment of the statute. (This case is the feature case in this week's edition of "Conference Call.")

Denied
Davis et al. v. United States   Tom Goldstein
Akin Gump                                                  
CA6
06-160

Whether, when police use the fruits of an illegal search to secure a search warrant, evidence seized pursuant to the warrant is admissible under the "good faith exception" to the exclusionary rule (more briefs here). [Disclosure: Akin Gump and Howe & Russell represent the petitioners]

Denied
CNH v. Yolton/
El Paso Tennessee Pipleine Co. v. Yolton                            
Bobby Burchfield (176)
Carter Phillips (201)                                                    
CA6
06-176/
06-201

Whether a retiree's health care benefits are "vested," and thus must be fully funded by the employer for the rest of the retiree's life because the collective bargaining agreement providing the benefits does not expressly limit their duration. [Consol. below]

Denied
Riegel v. Medtronic  Allison M. Zieve
Public Citizen Lit. Grp.        
CA2
06-179

Whether the express preemption provision of the Medical Device Amendments to the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act preempts state-law claims seeking damages for injuries caused by medical devices that received premarket approval from the FDA.

CVSG,
Deny
Ayers v. Clark Scott Tarlyle
Calif. AG's office
CA9
06-287

Whether the Ninth Circuit violated the Supreme Court’s directive in Rogers v. Tennessee when it failed to defer to a state court’s analysis of a new criminal statute.

Denied

Conference of 11/9

Name
Counsel of Record
Certiorari To
DN
Summary
Status
Met-Life v. Hawkins-Dean                             Lee Patterson
Winston & Strawn         
CA9
05-1424

Whether the Ninth Circuit erred in reviewing de novo a benefit decision by an administrator of an ERISA-regulated plan that grants the administrator discretion in making benefit decisions.

GVR
McGladrey & Pullen v. NC State Board of CPA Examiners Carter Philips
Sidley Austin
Sup. Ct. of N.C.
06-197

Whether a court reviewing a state professional regulatory board's decision that prohibits allegedly misleading commercial speech should review the record de novo to determine whether the speech is misleading and the prohibition constitutional.

Denied
Perdue v. Dan Brown and Random House, et al. Luther Munford
Phelps Dunbar 
                                                          
CA2
06-213

Whether, when deciding if part of a literary work is "substantially similar" to protected expression in a previously copyrighted literary work, a court should look to the two works alone or also consider expert affidavits.  Note: this is the feature case in this week's edition of "Conference Call."

Denied
Brown v. Dekalb County   David Bederman
Private Counsel
Ct. of App. of GA 06-332

Whether McMillian v. Monroe County should be construed as raising a presumption that states exercise effective control over such autonomous officials as county sheriffs in order to categorize them as "arms of the State" for purposes of determining liability under 42 U.S.C. 1983.

Denied
Qwest v. New England Health Care Employees Pension Fund   David Boyd
Boies, Schiller, & Flexner
CA10
06-343

Whether production of privileged documents to federal law enforcement authorities in the course of federal investigations and pursuant to written confidentiality agreements waives the attorney-client privilege and the protections afforded to attorney work product with respect to  private litigants in separate proceedings.

Denied

Conference of 11/21

Name
Counsel of Record
Certiorari To
DN
Summary
Status
Illinois v. Sloup Gary Feinerman
SG of Illinois
App. Ct. of Ill.
05-1367