New Supreme Court Rules
On July 1st, certain revisions of the Court's rules will go into effect. We will post more on the changes in coming days, but you can review the amendments here, and see the entire 2013 Rule Book here.
9
May, 2013
5
Apr, 2013
The Special Requirements for Petition-Stage Amici
Adam Chandler over at SCOTUSblog recently posted this update of his earlier work on the influence of petition-stage amici. Chandler notes that in the last five years, the number of petition-stage amicus filings has increased 35%, and the total number of amicus filers has increased by almost 65%. “In short: more, more, [...]
11
Mar, 2013
Conference Timing Through The End Of The Term
We are getting near the end of the Court’s October 2012 Term. Some petitioners and respondents might be thinking about timing their filings to either have the case considered this term, or have it carried through the summer and into next fall. The last conference for this term is June 20th, and the last paid-petition [...]
13
Jun, 2012
Where’s the Record? UPDATE
UPDATE: On Thursday, the Court denied cert, over a rare written dissent from Justice Sotomayor. You can see other coverage in the ABA Journal, Courthouse News Service, and at the AllGov website. On March 13, 2012, we printed and filed the Petition in Fairey v. Tucker, 11-7185. In the Conference of April 16th, the Court requested the record [...]
1
May, 2012
Beating Distribution: The Curious Math of Late Petition-Stage Filings
What is Distribution? Very simply, distribution is the process of delivering petition-stage briefing documents to the Justices and their clerks for consideration prior to the conference. Shortly after distribution, a randomly assigned clerk in the Cert Pool (and a clerk for Justice Alito, who does not participate in the Cert Pool) will [...]
12
Oct, 2011
Strip Search This Post, Please!
This morning the US Supreme Court heard arguments in Florence v. Board of Chosen Freeholders. While it sounds like a witchcraft trial, this is actually a case that asks whether or not the 4th Amendment restricts a jailor’s ability to strip search prisoners without any particular suspicion that the prisoner might smuggle contraband into the [...]
29
Sep, 2011
The Summer of 2012
With the news that the Solicitor General has joined with Affordable Care Act opponents to request a US Supreme Court ruling on the individual mandate, Randy Barnett over at The Volokh Conspiracy is predicting a decision in mid-June of next year. It got me thinking about my schedule for that summer... March 12th, a solemn [...]
21
Sep, 2011
The Other Big Healthcare Case
The other big healthcare case this term is actually three cases. In Douglas v. Independent Living Center of Southern California, Douglas v. California Pharmacists Association, and Douglas v. Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, the State of California has asked the Court to review 9th Circuit rulings that struck down the state’s effort to [...]
13
Sep, 2011
The Confrontation Clause Redux
The US Supreme Court is currently taking merits briefs in Williams v. Illinois, the most recent in a series of modern high court cases seeking to re-establish the vitality of the Confrontation Clause. Prior to 2004, a court’s hearsay-exception analysis turned on the question of trustworthiness, asking if the circumstances of the proffered out-of-court statement [...]
1
Sep, 2011
The Hippie and the Tea Partier
He is an engaged activist, who attends large rallies of like-minded agitators, often dressed in funny clothes. She would tear down the present structure so that human nature will take over and something beautiful will grow. He makes a case based on theory and ideology, and dismisses contrary evidence as a media conspiracy. She spends [...]