Thursday round-up

The Court heard argument in two cases yesterday. InCity of Arlington v. FCC, the Court will consider whether an agency’s determination of its own jurisdiction is entitled to deference under Chevron USA, Inc. v. NRDC, Inc. Adam Liptak has coverage for TheNew York Times, while Jonathan Stempel has coverage forReuters. [Disclosure: Goldstein & Russell, P.C., whose attorneys work for or contribute to this blog in various capacities, is among the counsel to petitioner City of Arlington in this case.]

The Court also heard argument inGunn v. Minton, in which it will consider whether federal courts have exclusive “arising under” jurisdiction when the sole substantive issue in the case is the application of a patent law doctrine which is an essential element of the plaintiff’s legal malpractice claim. Dennis Crouch has coverage of the argument forPatently-O. Kali has posted links to transcripts of both arguments onthis blog.

Other coverage focuses on the role of the Court in the debates over gun control. At Slate, Emily Bazelon discusses the “hot question bouncing around the lower courts: whether the constitutional right to bear arms, as laid out inHellerandMcDonald, extends outside the home,” while at theHuffington PostDavid Ropeik contends that the Court’s decision inDistrict of Columbia v. Heller“offers some real hope that a reasonable middle ground may be possible.”

Coverage continues of Tuesday’s decision inLozman v. City of Riviera Beach, in which the Court held that a floating home is not subject to federal maritime jurisdiction, with Howard Wasserman ofPrawfsBlawgwriting that the case “suffers from jurisdiction/merits conflation.” Additional coverage of the decision is available from David Savage at the Los Angeles Times.

Briefly:

• Amy has posted aremembrancefor Frank Lorson, the former Chief Deputy Clerk of the Supreme Court who died on Friday, forthis blog.
• In his report for Reasonon Tuesday’s oral argument inKoontz v. St. John’s River Water Management District, involving a takings claim based on conditions attached to a land-use permit, Damon W. Root notes that Justice Scalia’s questioning was unexpectedly friendly to the government’s position.
• Howard Langer of the Alliance for Justice’s Justice Watch blog reports on the issues raised byFederal Trade Commission v. Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc., in which the Court will consider the legality of reverse payment settlements in patent litigation.
• In hisVerdictcolumn for Justia, Michael C. Dorf posts the first of a three-part series on the fortieth anniversary ofRoe v. Wade, addressing three “common criticisms” of the decision.
• Dena Potter ofThe Associated Press(via The Houston Chronicle) reports on the Court’s denial of a stay of execution in the case of Robert Gleason, a Virginia prisoner who vowed to continue killing unless he was executed.
• Reasonmagazine has posted a video preview of “3 Supreme Court cases to watch in 2013,” on gay marriage, drunk driving, and property rights.