Court issues final summer Orders List
on Aug 31, 2007 at 10:08 am
The Supreme Court on Friday released the third and final list of summer orders on pending matters. There were no grants of review in any new cases. The next orders, probably including grants, are expected on Sept. 24 or 25 after the opening Conference of the new Term.
Friday’s Orders List can be found here. UPDATE: Later in the day, the Court issued a revised Orders List. The only change was the notation that Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., had not taken part in the order denying the stay application in Scherer v . Merck & Co., 07A26.
Among the issues the Justices were to consider during the Summer recess was a plea by lawyers for Guantanamo detainee Salim Ahmed Hamdan for permission to file a rehearing petition in 06-1169 (Hamdan v. Gates) after the time for such a filing had passed. The Court took no action on that motion Friday. Hamdan also has filed a new petition for review (Hamdan v. Gates. 07-15), and has asked for expedited action on that petition. Those matters are now scheduled for consideration at the Sept. 24 Conference, according to the Court’s electronic docket.
It is conceivable the Court may take no action on Hamdan’s cases until it decides the granted detainee cases, Boumediene v. Bush (06-1195) and Al Odah v. U.S. (06-1196). Hamdan’s lawyers have filed an amicus brief in those cases, seeking to explain to the Court how his situation differs from those of the Boumediene/Al Odah detainees. That brief also argues that “this Court should resolve Boumediene in a manner that protects Hamdan’s pre-trial access…to the [habeas] writ.” Unlike most other Guantanamo detainees, Hamdan faces potential war crimes charges before a military commission.
Both his lawyers and Justice Department lawyers moved quickly on his new appeals, perhaps to have them argued along with Boumediene/Al Odah. That appears less and less likely as time passes with no action by the Justices.
