Rucho v. Common Cause

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Rucho v. Common Cause

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Docket No.	Op. Below	Argument	Opinion	Vote	Author	Term
18-422	M.D.N.C.	Mar 26, 2019 Tr.Aud.	TBD	TBD	TBD	OT 2018

Issues: (1) Whether plaintiffs have standing to press their partisan gerrymandering claims; (2) whether plaintiffs’ partisan gerrymandering claims are justiciable; and (3) whether North Carolina’s 2016 congressional map is, in fact, an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander.

The final three weeks of October term 2018 (SCOTUStalk)
Argument analysis: Justices divided and hard to read on partisan gerrymandering (Amy Howe)
Argument preview: Justices to tackle partisan gerrymandering … again (Amy Howe)
Symposium: Clarity of the record should bring clarity of purpose (Justin Levitt)
Symposium: 1 First Street, NE, Punxsutawney, PA (Tyler Green)
Symposium: Precedent dictates a win for the plaintiffs in this term’s partisan-gerrymandering cases (Guy-Uriel E. Charles and Luis E. Fuentes-Rohwer)
Symposium: Much ado about partisan gerrymandering (Kaylan Phillips)
Symposium: How to win the partisan-gerrymandering cases (Daniel Tokaji)
Symposium: Why not continue the political struggle in partisan-gerrymandering cases? (Derek Muller)
Justices to tackle partisan gerrymandering ... again: In Plain English (Amy Howe)
Supreme Court to tackle partisan gerrymandering again (Amy Howe)

Date	Proceedings and Orders (key to color coding)
Oct 01 2018	Statement as to jurisdiction filed. (Response due November 2, 2018)
Oct 23 2018	Blanket Consent filed by Respondents, Common Cause, et al..
Oct 30 2018	Blanket Consent filed by Petitioners, Robert A. Rucho, et al..
Oct 31 2018	Motion to affirm filed by appellees League of Women Voters of North Carolina, et al.
Nov 01 2018	Brief amicus curiae of Philip P. Kalodner filed.
Nov 02 2018	Motion to affirm filed by appellees Common Cause, et al.
Nov 05 2018	Blanket Consent filed by Respondents, League of Women Voters of North Carolina, et al..
Nov 08 2018	Supplemental brief of appellees Common Cause, et al. filed.
Nov 20 2018	DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 12/7/2018.
Nov 20 2018	Brief opposing motion to affirm from appellants Robert A. Rucho, et al. filed. (Distributed)
Dec 10 2018	Rescheduled.
Dec 19 2018	DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/4/2019.
Jan 04 2019	Further consideration of the question of jurisdiction is POSTPONED to the hearing of the case on the merits. The case will be set for argument in the March argument session.
Jan 08 2019	Appellants' briefs on the merits are to be filed on or before Friday, February 8, 2019. Appellees' briefs on the merits are to be filed on or before Monday, March 4, 2019. Reply briefs on the merits are to be filed in accordance with Rule 25.3 of the Rules of this Court. Amicus curiae briefs in support of appellants or in support of neither party are to be filed on or before Tuesday, February 12, 2019. Amicus curiae briefs in support of appellees are to be filed on or before Friday, March 8, 2019.
Jan 25 2019	SET FOR ARGUMENT on Tuesday, March 26, 2019
Jan 30 2019	Blanket Consent filed by Petitioners, Robert A. Rucho, et al..
Feb 05 2019	Blanket Consent filed by Respondents, Common Cause, et al..
Feb 05 2019	Blanket Consent filed by Respondent, League of Women Voters of North Carolina, et al.
Feb 05 2019	Joint motion for enlargement of time for oral argument and for divided argument filed by appellees.
Feb 08 2019	Joint appendix (2 volumes) filed. (Statement of costs received)
Feb 08 2019	Brief of appellants Robert A. Rucho, et al. filed.
Feb 11 2019	Brief amicus curiae of David Orentlicher in support of neither party filed (also in 18-726).
Feb 11 2019	Brief amicus curiae of The National Republican Redistricting Trust filed. (Distributed)
Feb 12 2019	Brief amici curiae of the American Civil Rights Union and Southeastern Legal Foundation filed. (Distributed)
Feb 12 2019	Brief amici curiae of Judicial Watch, Inc. and Allied Educational Foundation in support of neither party filed. (Distributed)
Feb 12 2019	Brief amicus curiae of Public Interest Legal Foundation filed. (Distributed)
Feb 12 2019	Brief amici curiae of The Republican National Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee filed. (Distributed)
Feb 12 2019	Brief amici curiae of Members of Congress from the North Carolina Delegation filed. (Distributed)
Feb 12 2019	Brief amicus curiae of Texas House Representative Carl Isett filed. (Distributed)
Feb 12 2019	Brief amicus curiae of Speaker Michael C. Turzai filed. (Distributed)
Feb 12 2019	Brief amici curiae of Bernard Grofman and Ronald Keith Gaddie in support of neither party filed (also in 18-726). (Distributed)
Feb 12 2019	Brief amici curiae of The Wisconsin State Senate and Wisconsin State Assembly filed. (Distributed)
Feb 14 2019	CIRCULATED
Feb 15 2019	Brief amici curiae of States of Texas, et al. filed. (Distributed)
Feb 21 2019	Record requested from the U.S.D.C. Middle Dist. of North Carolina.
Feb 21 2019	Record from the U.S.C.A 4th Circuit is electronic and located on PACER.
Mar 04 2019	Brief of appellees League of Women Voters of North Carolina, et al. filed. (Reprinted version submitted)
Mar 04 2019	Brief of appellees League of Women Voters of North Carolina, et al. filed. (March 5, 2019) (Distributed)
Mar 04 2019	Brief of appellees Common Cause, et al. filed. (Distributed)
Mar 06 2019	Brief amici curiae of Colleagues of Professor Norman Dorsen filed. (Distributed)
Mar 07 2019	Brief amicus curiae of First Amendment Clinic Duke Law School filed. (Distributed)
Mar 07 2019	Brief amicus curiae of Eric S. Lander filed. (Distributed)
Mar 08 2019	Brief amicus curiae of Stephen M. Shapiro filed. (Distributed)
Mar 08 2019	Brief amicus curiae of Professor D. Theodore Rave filed. (Distributed)
Mar 08 2019	Brief amici curiae of First Amendment and Election Law Scholars filed (also in 18-726). (Distributed)
Mar 08 2019	Amicus brief of Floyd Abrams Institute for Freedom of Expression not accepted for filing. (March 11, 2019)
Mar 08 2019	Brief amici curiae of Professors Wesley Pegden, et al. filed. (Distributed)
Mar 08 2019	Brief amicus curiae of Brennan Center for Justice at N.Y.U. School of Law filed (also in 18-726). (Distributed)
Mar 08 2019	Brief amici curiae of Bipartisan Group of Current and Former Members of the House of Representatives filed (also in 18-726). (Distributed)
Mar 08 2019	Brief amici curiae of Professors Christopher S. Elmendorf, et al. filed. (Distributed)
Mar 08 2019	Brief amicus curiae of Constitutional Accountability Center filed. (also in 18-726) (Distributed)
Mar 08 2019	Brief amicus curiae of Senator Sheldon Whitehouse filed. (Distributed)
Mar 08 2019	Brief amici curiae of States of Oregon, et al. filed. (Distributed)
Mar 08 2019	Brief amici curiae of 27 Election Law, Scientific Evidence, and Empirical Legal Scholars filed. (Distributed)
Mar 08 2019	Brief amicus curiae of the American Jewish Committee filed (also in 18-726). (Distributed)
Mar 08 2019	Brief amici curiae of Political Science Professors filed (also in18-726). (Distributed)
Mar 08 2019	Brief amici curiae of Governors Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lawrence Joseph Hogan, Jr. filed (also in 18-726). (Distributed)
Mar 08 2019	Brief amici curiae of Democracy North Carolina and The People's Alliance Fund filed. (Distributed)
Mar 08 2019	Brief amici curiae of the American Civil Liberties Union, et al. filed (also in 18-726). (Distributed)
Mar 08 2019	Brief amici curiae of NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc., et al. filed (also in 18-726). (Distributed)
Mar 08 2019	Brief amici curiae of Historians filed (also in 18-726). (Distributed)
Mar 08 2019	Brief amicus curiae of Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law filed (also in 18-726). (Distributed)
Mar 08 2019	Brief amici curiae of International Municipal Lawyers Association, et al. filed (also in 18-726). (Distributed)
Mar 08 2019	Brief amici curiae of Anti-Defamation League, et al. filed (also in 18-726). (Distributed)
Mar 08 2019	Brief amicus curiae of Professor Michael Kang filed (also in 18-726). (Distributed)
Mar 08 2019	Brief amici curiae of Mathematicians, Law Professors, and Students filed (also in 18-726). (Distributed)
Mar 11 2019	Amicus brief of Floyd Abrams Institute for Freedom of Expression not accepted for filing. (Corrected brief submitted).
Mar 11 2019	Brief amicus curiae of Floyd Abrams Institute for Freedom of Expression filed (March 18, 2019) (also in 18-726). (Distributed)
Mar 15 2019	Joint motion of appellees for enlargement of time for oral argument and for divided argument GRANTED in part, and the time is divided as follows: 35 minutes for appellants, 20 minutes for appellees Common Cause, et al., and 15 minutes for appellees League of Women Voters of North Carolina, et al.
Mar 19 2019	Reply of appellants Robert A. Rucho, et al. filed. (Distributed)
Mar 26 2019	Argued. For appellants: Paul D. Clement, Washington, D. C. For appellees Common Cause, et al.: Emmet J. Bondurant, II, Atlanta, Ga. For appellees League of Women Voters of North Carolina, et al.: Allison J. Riggs, Durham, N. C.

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Opinion analysis: Justices allow "peace cross" to stand – Amy Howe

Relist Watch – John Elwood

Monday at the Supreme Court: Four opinions and a GVR – SCOTUStalk
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The Supreme Court released orders from the June 13 conference on Monday; the justices granted, vacated and remanded Klein v. Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries.
Also on Monday, the justices released their opinions in four argued cases: Manhattan Community Access Corp. v. Halleck, Virginia Uranium Inc. v. Warren, Gamble v. United States and Virginia House of Delegates v. Bethune-Hill.
On Thursday, the justices released their opinions in four argued cases: Gundy v. United States, McDonough v. Smith, The American Legion v. American Humanist Association and PDR Network, LLC v. Carlton & Harris Chiropractic Inc.
Also on Thursday, the justices met for their June 20 conference; John Elwood's "Relist Watch" compiles the petitions that were relisted for this conference.
On Friday, the Supreme Court will release opinions in one or more argued cases at 10 a.m.
Major Cases
- Department of Commerce v. New York
  (1) Whether the district court erred in enjoining the secretary of the Department of Commerce from reinstating a question about citizenship to the 2020 decennial census on the ground that the secretary’s decision violated the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. 701 et seq; (2) whether, in an action seeking to set aside agency action under the APA, a district court may order discovery outside the administrative record to probe the mental processes of the agency decisionmaker -- including by compelling the testimony of high-ranking executive branch officials -- without a strong showing that the decisionmaker disbelieved the objective reasons in the administrative record, irreversibly prejudged the issue, or acted on a legally forbidden basis; and (3) whether the secretary’s decision to add a citizenship question to the decennial census violated the enumeration clause of the U.S. Constitution.
- Lamone v. Benisek
  In case in which the plaintiffs allege that a Maryland congressional district was gerrymandered to retaliate against them for their political views: (1) whether the various legal claims articulated by the three-judge district court are unmanageable; (2) whether the three-judge district court erred when, in granting plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment, it resolved disputes of material fact as to multiple elements of plaintiffs’ claims, failed to view the evidence in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, and treated as “undisputed” evidence that is the subject of still-unresolved hearsay and other evidentiary objections; and (3) whether the three-judge district court abused its discretion in entering an injunction despite the plaintiffs’ years-long delay in seeking injunctive relief, rendering the remedy applicable to at most one election before the next decennial census necessitates another redistricting.
- Kisor v. Wilkie
  Whether the Supreme Court should overrule Auer v. Robbins and Bowles v. Seminole Rock & Sand Co., which direct courts to defer to an agency’s reasonable interpretation of its own ambiguous regulation.
- Rucho v. Common Cause
  (1) Whether plaintiffs have standing to press their partisan gerrymandering claims; (2) whether plaintiffs’ partisan gerrymandering claims are justiciable; and (3) whether North Carolina’s 2016 congressional map is, in fact, an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander.
- The American Legion v. American Humanist Association
  The Bladensburg Cross does not violate the establishment clause of the First Amendment.
- Gamble v. United States
  The dual-sovereignty doctrine – under which two offenses are not the “same offence” for double jeopardy purposes if prosecuted by separate sovereigns – is upheld.
see all this term’s cases »
Recent Decisions
- Gundy v. United States TThe judgment of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit that 34 U. S. C. §20913(d) – which requires the U.S. attorney general to apply the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act’s registration requirements as soon as feasible to offenders convicted before the statute’s enactment – is not an unconstitutional delegation of legislative authority is affirmed.
- McDonough v. Smith The statute of limitations for Edward McDonough’s 42 U. S. C. §1983 fabricated-evidence claim against his prosecutor began to run when the criminal proceedings against him terminated in his favor – that is, when he was acquitted at the end of his second trial.
- PDR Network, LLC v. Carlton & Harris Chiropractic Inc. The extent to which a 2006 Federal Communications Commission order interpreting the term “unsolicited advertisement” binds lower courts may depend on the resolution of two preliminary questions that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit should address in the first instance: (1) whether the order is the equivalent of a legislative rule, which has the force and effect of law, or an interpretative rule, which does not; and (2) whether PDR Network, LLC had a “prior” and “adequate” opportunity to seek judicial review of the order.
- The American Legion v. American Humanist Association The Bladensburg Cross does not violate the establishment clause of the First Amendment.
- Gamble v. United States The dual-sovereignty doctrine – under which two offenses are not the “same offence” for double jeopardy purposes if prosecuted by separate sovereigns – is upheld.
- Manhattan Community Access Corp. v. Halleck Manhattan Community Access Corp., a private nonprofit corporation designated by New York City to operate the public access channels on the Manhattan cable system owned by Time Warner (now Charter), is not a state actor subject to the First Amendment.
- Virginia House of Delegates v. Bethune-Hill The House of Delegates lacks standing to appeal the invalidation of Virginia’s redistricting plan.
- Virginia Uranium, Inc. v. Warren The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit’s judgment that the Atomic Energy Act does not preempt Virginia’s prohibition on uranium mining in the commonwealth is affirmed.
see all this term’s cases »
Current Relists
- Atlanta Gas Light Co. v. Bennett Regulator Guards Inc. (1) Whether the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit erred in concluding that it had jurisdiction to review the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s decision to institute inter partes review of respondent’s patent over respondent’s objection that it was time-barred; and (2) whether the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit erred when it rejected the longstanding principle that a dismissal without prejudice leaves the parties as if a suit had never been brought, splitting the circuits.
- Banister v. Davis (1) Whether Gonzalez v. Crosby extends to post-judgment motions filed under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 59(e); (2) whether, if Gonzalez does apply, a timely filed Rule 59(e) motion should toll the time to file a notice of appeal under Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 4(a)(4)(A)(iv); and (3) whether a pro se petitioner must be warned and given an opportunity to withdraw a post-judgment motion which has be recharacterized as a successive habeas petition if that recharacterization will effect his ability to file a timely notice of appeal.
- Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of the University of California (1) Whether the Department of Homeland Security’s decision to wind down the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy is judicially reviewable; and (2) whether DHS’s decision to wind down the DACA policy is lawful.
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Cases argued	69
Cases decided	53
Summary reversals	5
Merits cases granted to date	74

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