Today’s Orders

The Court has granted certiorari in three cases: Bloate v. U.S., United States v. Stevens,  and Pottawattamie County et al. v. McGhee et al. The full order list is available here. Filings for cases are below:

Docket: 08-728
Title: Bloate v. U.S.
Issue: Whether time granted at the request of a defendant to prepare pretrial motions qualifies as “delay resulting from other proceedings concerning the defendant” and is thus excludable from the time within which trial must commence under the Speedy Trial Act of 1974, 18 U.S.C. 3161 et seq.

• Opinion below(8th Circuit)
• Petition for certiorari
• Brief in opposition
• Petitioner’s reply

Docket: 08-769
Title: United States v. Stevens
Issue: Is 18 U.S.C. 48, on depictions of  animal cruelty, facially invalid under the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment?

• Opinion below (3rd Circuit)
• Petition for certiorari
• Brief in opposition
• Petitioner’s reply brief
• Brief amicus curiae of the Humane Society (in support of petitioner)

Docket: 08-1065
Title:  Pottawattamie County et al. v. McGhee et al.
Issue: Whether a prosecutor may be subjected to a civil trial and potential damages for a wrongful conviction and incarceration where the prosecutor allegedly violated a criminal defendant’s “substantive due process” rights by procuring false testimony during the criminal investigation, and then introduced that same testimony against the criminal defendant at trial.

• Opinion below (8th Circuit)
• Petition for certiorari
• Brief in opposition for respondent Terry Harrington
• Brief in opposition for respondent Curtis McGhee
• Petitioner’s reply brief
• Brief amicus curiae of National Association of Assistant United States Attorneys and National District Attorneys Association (in support of petitioners)

[Akin Gump represents the amici parties]