Scribble

Editor's Note :

Scribble

Government returns to Supreme Court on military transgender ban – Amy Howe

Symposium: Crosses and constitutional clarity – Lindsay See

Symposium: Cross purposes -- Why a Christian symbol can’t memorialize all war dead – Richard B. Katskee

Live blog of opinions | April 18, 2017

Live blog of opinions | April 18, 2017

Dec. 2018

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Conference of December 7, 2018

Orders

DAWSON V. STEAGER (17-419)

LORENZO V. SEC (17-1077)

BIESTEK V. BERRYHILL (17-1184)

HELSINN HEALTHCARE V. TEVA PHARMACEUTICALS (17-1229)

Supreme Court building closed for National Day of Mourning for George H.W. Bush

GAMBLE V. UNITED STATES (17-646)

Conference

Orders

Opinions

Holiday

3rd & 7 37yd

Good morning, everyone! Welcome to our live blog.

by Amy Howe 4/18/2017 1:43:53 PM

Comment ()
I am down at the court waiting for possible opinions at 10 am.

by Amy Howe 4/18/2017 1:44:13 PM

Comment ()
We could get a pretty wide range of opinions today. There is still one opinion left from October: Manrique v. United States. Justice Thomas is the only justice who does not yet have an opinion from October, so he is likely the author of that decision, whenever it comes.

by Amy Howe 4/18/2017 1:45:36 PM

Comment ()
There are three decisions left from November: Venezuela v. Helmerich & Payne International; Bank of America v. Miami; and Sessions v. Morales-Santana. Justices Ginsburg and Breyer do not yet have any November decisions, so presumably they each have at least one of theirs; the third one could be just about anyone's.

by Amy Howe 4/18/2017 1:47:09 PM

Comment ()
And from December we have Jennings v. Rodriguez and McCrory v. Harris; Roberts, Alito, and Kagan have not yet written for December. Thanks to the blog's Andrew Hamm for putting these together.

by Amy Howe 4/18/2017 1:48:15 PM

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Is it reasonable to think Packingham V North Carolina could be one?

by AnonMoose 4/18/2017 1:48:34 PM

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Since the Chief wrote two opinions for January, do you think it's likely that Kagan & Alito are writing for December?

by Kevin 4/18/2017 1:49:07 PM

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Anyone noteworthy there yesterday for Justice Gorsuch's first day on the bench? His family? Retired justices? Etc?

by Scotusblog fan 4/18/2017 1:50:05 PM

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If a case comes from a circuit in which a new justice sat doe s he or she recuse even if he or she was not on the panel which decided the case?

by Schmerguls G. 4/18/2017 1:51:30 PM

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How likely is a 4-4 summary affirmance in the City of Miami cases? Unless the Court comes to some compromise position (which Gorsuch's confirmation may motivate on the liberals' side), it is hard to count to five for a reversal.

by Thomas 4/18/2017 1:52:46 PM

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Last time one reader asked about the quickest turnaround to hearing a case in recent memory. Here’s what I found going back to Stevens.

John Roberts, 4 days: Confirmed September 29, 2005, heard first case on October 3, 2005 (Roberts had already been confirmed for O’Connor’s seat on September 6, 2005, which would be 27 days)
David Souter, 7 days: Confirmed on October 2, 1990, heard first case on October 9, 1990
Sandra Day O’Connor, 14 days: Confirmed on September 21, 1981, heard first case on October 5, 1981
Antonin Scalia, 19 days: Confirmed on September 17, 1986, heard first case on October 6, 1986
Anthony Kennedy, 19 days: Confirmed on February 3, 1988, heard first case on February 22, 1988
Clarence Thomas, 20 days: Confirmed October 15, heard first case on November 4, 1991
Samuel Alito, 21 days: Confirmed January 31, 2006, heard first case on February 21, 2006
John Paul Stevens, 26 days: Confirmed on December 17, 1975, heard first case on January 12, 1976

Thank you to Oyez and the U.S. Senate. https://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/reference/nominations/Nominations.htm

by Andrew Hamm 4/18/2017 1:53:13 PM

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I didn't see Louise Gorsuch yesterday, but didn't look that closely at the other side of the courtroom.

by Circuit Justice assignments 4/18/2017 1:53:50 PM

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Just had the five-minute buzzer.

by Amy Howe 4/18/2017 1:55:03 PM

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going in to wait for opinions.

by Amy Howe 4/18/2017 1:56:42 PM

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Any chance that Gorsuch will write an opinion this term?

by Gagafor Gorsuch 4/18/2017 1:56:56 PM

Comment ()
First opinion. Goodyear Tire v Haeger by Kagan

by Edith Roberts 4/18/2017 2:01:01 PM

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Reversed and remanded

by Edith Roberts 4/18/2017 2:01:07 PM

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When a federal court exercises its inherent authority to sanction bad faith conduct by ordering a litigant to pay the other side's legal fees, the award is limited to the fees the innocent party incurred solely because of the misconduct

by Edith Roberts 4/18/2017 2:02:05 PM

Comment ()
To put it another way, the award is limited to the fees that the party would not have incurred but for the bad faith.

by Edith Roberts 4/18/2017 2:02:37 PM

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The district court has broad discretion to calculate fee awards under that standard.

by Edith Roberts 4/18/2017 2:03:00 PM

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Howard Wasserman will have our analysis in Goodyear. Here is the opinion. www.supremecourt.gov

by Andrew Hamm 4/18/2017 2:03:09 PM

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Only one box today.

by Amy Howe 4/18/2017 2:03:37 PM

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But here, the court granted legal fees beyond those resulting from the litigation misconduct, so this award cannot stand.

by Edith Roberts 4/18/2017 2:03:40 PM

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8-0, 13 pages.

by Edith Roberts 4/18/2017 2:03:46 PM

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Amy is going for the next one. Probably not more than one more, because there is only one box.

by Edith Roberts 4/18/2017 2:04:07 PM

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Second and final opinion. Coventry Health Care v Nevils. 8-0, by Ginsburg, concurrence by Thomas.

by Edith Roberts 4/18/2017 2:04:50 PM

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Argued March 1.

by Edith Roberts 4/18/2017 2:04:58 PM

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Reversed and remanded

by Edith Roberts 4/18/2017 2:05:58 PM

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The Federal Employees Health Benefits Act's express preemption provision overrides state law barring subrogation and reimbursement.

by Edith Roberts 4/18/2017 2:06:50 PM

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Ronald Mann will have our analysis in Coventry. Here is the opinion. www.supremecourt.gov

by Andrew Hamm 4/18/2017 2:06:57 PM

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The regime Congress enacted is compatible with the Supremacy Clause.

by Edith Roberts 4/18/2017 2:07:24 PM

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Barely 11 pages. Thomas has a one-paragraph concurrence.

by Edith Roberts 4/18/2017 2:07:37 PM

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That is all the opinions for today.

by Edith Roberts 4/18/2017 2:07:54 PM

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Do we know how Gorsuch has staffed his chambers with clerks? Did he bring some in with him, or is he relying on a pool?

by Col. Mustard 4/18/2017 2:08:25 PM

Comment ()
And that is all she wrote. We are still waiting on Manrique and the November cases. Maybe we will get one of them tomorrow? We will be back here again at 9:45; hope to see you then!

by Amy Howe 4/18/2017 2:10:24 PM

Comment ()
Thanks, everyone!

by Andrew Hamm 4/18/2017 2:12:11 PM

Comment ()

Featured Posts

Government returns to Supreme Court on military transgender ban – Amy Howe

Symposium: Crosses and constitutional clarity – Lindsay See

Symposium: Cross purposes -- Why a Christian symbol can’t memorialize all war dead – Richard B. Katskee
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This Week at the Court
The Supreme Court released orders from the December 7 conference on Monday; the justices added Kisor v. Wilkie to their merits docket for this term. The justices also released their decision in United States v. Stitt on Monday.
The justices will meet next for their January 4 conference. The calendar for the January sitting, which will begin on January 7, is available on the Supreme Court's website.
Recent Decisions
- United States v. Stitt The term "burglary" in the Armed Career Criminal Act includes burglary of a structure or vehicle that has been adapted or is customarily used for overnight accommodation.
- Weyerhaeuser Company v. United States Fish and Wildlife Service An area is eligible for designation as “critical habitat” under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 only if it is habitat for the listed species; and the decision by the secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior not to exclude an area from critical habitat under 16 U. S. C. §1533(b)(2) is subject to judicial review.
- Mount Lemmon Fire District v. Guido State and local governments are covered employers under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 regardless of the number of employees they have.
see all this term’s cases »
Current Relists
- City of Escondido, California v. Emmons (1) Whether the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit erred in denying the officers qualified immunity by considering clearly established law at too high a level of generality rather than giving particularized consideration to the facts and circumstances of this case; (2) whether the lower court erred in denying the officers qualified immunity by relying on a single decision, published after the event in question, to support its conclusion that qualified immunity is not available; and (3) whether the lower court erred in failing or refusing to decide whether the subject arrest was without probable cause or subject to qualified immunity.
- Hester v. United States Whether the rule of Apprendi v. New Jersey–which held that any fact, other than a prior conviction, that increases the penalty for a crime beyond the prescribed statutory maximum must be submitted to a jury and proven beyond a reasonable doubt–should apply to the imposition of criminal restitution.
- Kennedy v. Bremerton School District Whether public school teachers and coaches retain any First Amendment rights when at work and “in the general presence of” students.
More Petitions »
Major Cases
- 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.
- In re Department of Commerce
  Whether, in an action seeking to set aside agency action under the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. § 701 et seq., 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—when there is no evidence that the decisionmaker disbelieved the objective reasons in the administrative record, irreversibly prejudged the issue, or acted on a legally forbidden basis.
- The American Legion v. American Humanist Association
  (1) Whether a 93-year-old memorial to the fallen of World War I is unconstitutional merely because it is shaped like a cross; (2) whether the constitutionality of a passive display incorporating religious symbolism should be assessed under the tests articulated in Lemon v. Kurtzman, Van Orden v. Perry, Town of Greece v. Galloway or some other test; and (3) whether, if the test from Lemon v. Kurtzman applies, the expenditure of funds for the routine upkeep and maintenance of a cross-shaped war memorial, without more, amounts to an excessive entanglement with religion in violation of the First Amendment.
- Gamble v. United States
  Whether the Supreme Court should overrule the “separate sovereigns” exception to the double jeopardy clause.
- Timbs v. Indiana
  Whether the Eighth Amendment’s excessive fines clause is incorporated against the states under the Fourteenth Amendment.
- Apple Inc. v. Pepper
  Whether consumers may sue anyone who delivers goods to them for antitrust damages, even when they seek damages based on prices set by third parties who would be the immediate victims of the alleged offense.
see all this term’s cases »
Recent Special Features
Statistical Snapshot

Cases argued 32

Cases decided 3

Summary reversals 0

Merits cases granted to date 57

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Justice Sotomayor at Harvard

On November 13, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit and Judge Susan Carney of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit presided over the final round of the 2018 Ames Moot Court Competition at Harvard Law School.

Peabody Award
Awarded the Peabody Award for excellence in electronic media.
Sigma Delta Chi
Awarded the Sigma Delta Chi deadline reporting award for online coverage of the Affordable Care Act decision.
National Press Club Award
Awarded the National Press Club's Breaking News Award for coverage of the Affordable Care Act decision.
Silver Gavel Award
Awarded the Silver Gavel Award by the American Bar Association for fostering the American public’s understanding of the law and the legal system.
American Gavel Award
Awarded the American Gavel Award for Distinguished Reporting About the Judiciary to recognize the highest standards of reporting about courts and the justice system.
Webby Award
Awarded the Webby Award for excellence on the internet.

3
Orders
DAWSON V. STEAGER (17-419)
LORENZO V. SEC (17-1077)

4
BIESTEK V. BERRYHILL (17-1184)
HELSINN HEALTHCARE V. TEVA PHARMACEUTICALS (17-1229)

5
Supreme Court building closed for National Day of Mourning for George H.W. Bush

6
GAMBLE V. UNITED STATES (17-646)

7
Conference

10
Orders
Opinions

Cases argued	32
Cases decided	3
Summary reversals	0
Merits cases granted to date	57