Every post published in October 2016, most recent first.
The court’s November sitting begins today with oral arguments in two cases. The first is Fry v. Napoleon Community Schools, which stems from a school district’s refusal to allow a disabled child to bring her service dog to school; Amy Howe previewed the case for this blog.
After granting review in five new cases last Friday, the Supreme Court issued additional orders from its October 28 conference this morning. The justices did not add any new cases to their merits docket for the term.
The most famous goldendoodle in America was outside the Supreme Court today, accompanied by some of his service dog friends. A Michigan school district’s refusal to allow Wonder, a trained service dog, to go to school with E.F., a student who was born with cerebral palsy and whose mobility is impaired, was the catalyst for the first oral argument of the day, in Fry v. Napoleon Community Schools.
The transcript in Fry v. Napoleon Community Schools is here; the transcript in Star Athletica, LLC v. Varsity Brands, Inc. is here.
The court issued additional orders from its October 28 conference on Monday. It called for the views of the solicitor general in one case, and it granted, vacated and remanded in the cases of five Arizona inmates sentenced to life without parole as juveniles.
Supreme Court coverage and commentary continue to focus on the prospect of a Republican blockade of future nominees to the court in a Democratic administration.
If they had their druthers, Supreme Court justices would probably prefer to avoid deciding election disputes. Resolving election law cases draws the justices closer than they like to the political stage. Lately, however, the justices seem to be encountering election law disputes at every turn.
[Update at 5:29 p.m.: This post has been expanded to include a discussion of all today’s grants.] The Supreme Court added five new cases to its docket this afternoon.
Under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, a federal law enacted in 1976, foreign countries normally cannot be sued in U.S. courts unless one of only a few specific exceptions applies.
In The Washington Post, David Weigel reports that Sen. Ted Cruz said yesterday “that there was ‘precedent’ for a Supreme Court with fewer than nine justices — appearing to suggest that the blockade on nominee Merrick Garland could last past the election.” Additional coverage of Cruz’s remarks comes