Petitions of the Week

Another gun case waits in the wings

The Petitions of the Week column highlights a selection of cert petitions recently filed in the Supreme Court. A list of all petitions we’re watching is available here.

On Thursday, the court issued its first major ruling on the Second Amendment in over a decade, striking down a New York gun regulation and holding that the right to bear arms extends outside the home. Fourteen years earlier, the court’s modern jurisprudence on guns began with the decision in District of Columbia v. Heller, striking down a D.C. gun regulation and holding that the Constitution protects an individual right to keep guns inside the home. This week, we highlight cert petitions that ask the court to consider, among other things, whether a post-Heller regulation that prevents anyone in the District of Columbia with a “propensity for violence or instability” from obtaining a license to carry a gun is unconstitutionally vague.

OPINION ANALYSIS

A ruling that curtails the All Writs Act in habeas proceedings will be felt by state prisoners and federal courts

The Supreme Court in Shoop v. Twyford continued its sustained assault on efforts by prisoners to challenge their state-court convictions and sentences in federal court. In Tuesday’s 5-4 decision, the justices limited the ability of federal courts to use the All Writs Act to order states to transport prisoners, even when such transport could help prisoners investigate whether their convictions are unconstitutional. While the court’s decision plainly affects prisoners seeking relief in federal court, it may also affect the functioning of federal courts in diverse contexts.

As background, the federal district court in this case relied on the All Writs Act to order Ohio prison warden Tim Shoop to transport state death-row prisoner Raymond Twyford to a medical facility for neuroimaging. Twyford sought information that could support his habeas corpus proceedings, i.e., his challenge to his state-court conviction and death sentence. He pointed to the presence of bullet fragments lodged in his head from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, among other circumstances, to justify the imaging. The warden immediately appealed the district court’s transport order, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit affirmed. The Supreme Court took the case to consider whether and when federal courts may employ the All Writs Act in habeas corpus proceedings.

WHAT WE'RE READING

The morning read for Friday, June 24

Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles, commentary, and other noteworthy links related to the Supreme Court. To suggest a piece for us to consider, email us at roundup@scotusblog.com.

Here’s the Friday morning read:

• Confidence in U.S. Supreme Court Sinks to Historic Low (Jeffrey M. Jones, Gallup News)
• Supreme Court nears end of term amid conflict and discord (Mark Walsh, ABA Journal)
• What the Supreme Court’s new gun rights ruling means (Tierney Sneed, CNN)
• A Good Week for Religious Freedom (Richard W. Garnett, The Wall Street Journal)
• Maine’s End Run Around the Supreme Court Offers States a Blueprint on Guns (Aaron Tang, The New York Times)

Live

Announcement of opinions for Friday, June 24 (complete)

On Friday, June 24, we live blogged as the court released opinions in Becerra v. Empire Health Foundation and Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.

Click here for a list of FAQs about opinion announcements.

RELIST WATCH

The independent state legislature theory and more on jurisdiction

The Relist Watch column examines cert petitions that the Supreme Court has “relisted” for its upcoming conference. A short explanation of relists is available here.

This week’s conference represents the Supreme Court’s last currently scheduled conference. But if the past is any guide, the relist fun won’t end quite yet. Every June, before the justices leave town, they ordinarily have one last impromptu conference to consider – and usually dispose of – all the cases relisted after their last scheduled conference. In recent years, that has overwhelmingly happened on the last Monday of June, which is also when the court usually hands down the last opinions of the term; the resulting order list is usually released the following day.