The Week Ahead

The October 2009 Term officially opens today. At 10 a.m, the Court will likely release the remaining orders from the Justices’ private conference last Tuesday.

The argument schedule for this week is as follows (links direct to our sister site, SCOTUSWiki.com):

Mon., Oct. 5:

• Maryland v. Shatzer (08-680) — limits on police questioning after a suspect asks for a lawyer
• Mohawk Industries, Inc. v. Carpenter (08-678)) — right to appeal compelled disclosure of attorney-client communications

Tues., Oct. 6:

• United States v. Stevens (08-769) — government power to criminalize videos and other depictions of animal cruelty
• Johnson v. U.S.(08-6925) — battery as a “violent felony” for sentence enhancement
• Bloate v. U.S. (08-728) — calculation of time of pre-trial stages under federal Speedy Trial Act

Wed., Oct. 7:

• Salazar v. Buono (08-472) — right to sue to challenge a religious symbol on public lands
• Reed Elsevier, et al., v. Muchnick, et al. (08-103) — federal court power to approve settlement of a copyright dispute
• Union Pacific Railroad Company v. Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen General Committee of Adjustment, Central Region (08-604) — scope of federal court review of arbitration in railroad and airline industries

The Justices will hold a private conference on Friday.