Today at the Court

At 10 a.m., the Court may release one or more opinions from pending cases. Following the announcement of any rulings, the Court will hear two criminal sentencing cases.

First, the Court will hear argument in Abuelhawa v. United States (08-192), on whether a person who uses a cell phone to buy drugs solely for personal use (a misdemeanor) can be charged with the separate crime of using a phone to facilitate the sale of drugs (a felony). Sri Srinivasan of O’Melveny & Myers in Washington, DC will argue for Salman Khade Abuelhawa. Assistant Solicitor General Eric Miller will argue for the United States.

At 11 a.m., the Court will hear argument in Dean v. United States (08-5274), involving the ten-year mandatory minimum sentence for discharging a gun during a violent crime. Scott J. Forster of Calhoun, Georgia, will argue for Christopher Michael Dean. Assistant Solicitor General Deanne Maynard will argue for the United States.

We will post opinions and transcripts as soon as they are available.