Legal minds on legal matters and whatever else strikes our fancy.
Today, the Petitioner’s merits brief was filed in Los Angeles County v. Humphries, No. 09-350. The brief can be viewed here. The questions presented in Humphries are: Are claims for declaratory relief against a local public entity subject to the requirement of Monell v. Department of Social Services, 436 U.S. 658 (1978) that the plaintiff [...]
The Court granted four cert petitions yesterday morning. The issues presented in those petitions included bankruptcy matters, the Court of Federal Claims’ jurisdiction, the first-sale doctrine of the Copyright Act and in what circumstances an employer is liable based on the unlawful intent of officials who caused or influenced but did not make the ultimate [...]
The merits reply brief in City of Ontario v. Quon, No. 08-1332, was filed yesterday. The brief can be viewed here.
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 [...]
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 [...]
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.
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.
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 [...]
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. [...]
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 [...]