Quon Reply Brief
The merits reply brief in City of Ontario v. Quon, No. 08-1332, was filed yesterday. The brief can be viewed here.
13
Apr, 2010
6
Apr, 2010
The Forgotten Section of a Supreme Court Brief
If I had to pick the one section most frequently overlooked by attorneys filing cert petitions, it is what we at Cockle colloquially call the “appendix index.” That section has gained importance because the Supreme Court recently amended their rules to require an index in every brief containing an appendix. In this post, I will [...]
30
Mar, 2010
Arguing Importance When No Circuit Split Is Present
What happens when your petition for writ of certiorari does not contain an arguable claim of lower court conflict? The absence of a split is challenging for any Supreme Court practitioner, given that the primary reason the Court grants cert is to resolve lower court conflicts. While some petitioners attempt to create a conflict, the [...]
17
Mar, 2010
Quon Bottom Side Brief Filed
The Respondents’ brief in City of Ontario v. Quon, No. 08-1332, was filed yesterday. Quon involves whether the Fourth Amendment permits a city to search government-issued pagers. The Supreme Court will conduct oral arguments in Quon on April 19th.
16
Mar, 2010
Toobin Piece on Justice Stevens
Yesterday, Jeffrey Toobin had a detailed piece on Justice John Paul Stevens in the New Yorker. The article chronicles both the life and judicial philosophy of the Justice. The profile is well worth the read.
10
Mar, 2010
A Tour of Talent: My Weekend Trip to Harvard University
My wife Annie and I had a wonderful trip to Harvard University. We stayed at the famous Preacher’s Suite in Lowell House, and Sandy Alexander of WilmerHale was a gracious host. The following is a recap of our trip. We toured the Cambridge campus on Saturday. I gave a short speech to a group of [...]
5
Mar, 2010
Court News for the First Week of March
It was another hectic week at the Court, starting with an order in Kiyemba v. Obama, No 08-1234, where the Court remanded “in light of new developments.” One of those developments was the fact that all seven petitioners were offered settlements in other countries. On Monday, the Court granted certiorari in Michigan v. Bryant, No. [...]
5
Mar, 2010
Weekend Trip to Harvard University
My wife Ann Marie and I are traveling to Boston tomorrow for a three-day trip to Harvard University. I have been asked to speak to a group of Harvard faculty and undergrad students, and on Monday, I will be sitting in on a criminal law school class. The trip is exciting for a number of [...]
24
Feb, 2010
Busy Week at the Supreme Court
The Court began the week with a flurry granting two cert petitions on Monday in Los Angeles County v. Humphries, No. 09-350 and Harrington v. Richter, No. 09-587. In Humprhies, the Court was asked to rectify a circuit split on whether a plaintiff, in a request for declaratory relief, must demonstrate that the constitutional violation was [...]
5
Feb, 2010
Quon Topside Brief Filed
Today, the Petitioner’s Brief and Joint Appendix were filed in City of Ontario, et al. v. Quon, et al., No. 08-1332. The Quon case involves the issue of whether the search of a government-issued text-messaging pager used by a SWAT member to send and receive hundreds of personal messages violates the Fourth Amendment right to unreasonable searches [...]