Every post published in February 2017, most recent first.
This morning, the Supreme Court heard arguments in Esquivel-Quintana v. Sessions, a case that arose from the U.S. government’s effort to remove a lawful permanent resident for a “sex crime.” Judging from today’s argument, the justices appeared closely divided on the question of statutory interpretation before the court.
Today the court hears oral argument in Dean v. United States, in which the justices will consider whether mandatory statutory gun-sentencing provisions may limit a district court’s discretion under the advisory sentencing guidelines. Douglas Berman previewed the case for this blog.
The transcript in Dean v. United States is here.
Today the court hears oral argument in two cases. The first is Packingham v. North Carolina, which asks whether a ban on social media use by sex offenders violates the First Amendment. Amy Howe previewed the case for this blog.
At today’s oral argument in Packingham v. North Carolina, a challenge to a state law that imposes criminal penalties on registered sex offenders who visit social networking sites, Justice Elena Kagan suggested that social media sites like Facebook and Twitter were “incredibly important parts” of the country’s political and religious culture.
The transcript in Packingham v. North Carolina is here; the transcript in Esquivel-Quintana v. Sessions is here.
This morning the Supreme Court issued orders from last week’s private conference. The justices added three new cases to their merits docket for the next term, but – like last week – the most interesting development may have come in a death penalty case in which the court denied review.
The court issued orders from its February 24 conference on Monday. It granted certiorari in three cases. On Wednesday, the court released its opinion in Bethune-Hill v. Virginia State Board of Elections. The court also heard oral arguments on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
This evening the Supreme Court asked both sides in Gloucester County School Board v. G.G., a challenge to a Virginia school board’s bathroom policy, to submit letters to the court discussing “how the case should proceed in light of” yesterday’s revocation of the Obama administration’s prior guidance.
Yesterday evening, the court asked both sides in Gloucester County School Board v. G.G., a challenge to a Virginia school board’s bathroom policy, to submit letters discussing “how the case should proceed in light of” the Trump administration’s revocation of prior guidance from the federal