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Live blog of opinions | June 27, 2018 (with First Mondays)

We live-blogged as the Supreme Court released its final decisions of October Term 2017, in Janus v. AFSCME and Florida v. Georgia. Dan Epps of First Mondays joined us on the live blog.

3rd & 7 37yd

So I've got a question...let's say Kennedy retires. Does that start the death clock on Obergefell if the current president is able to appoint a replacement? Also, I think that many people think Trump is going to be able to get an Alito type through the Senate to replace Kennedy. Will Sen. Collins and Sen. Murkowski be willing to help appoint the end of Roe?

by Elijah Bathory 6/27/2018 1:32:09 PM
My father’s brother’s nephew’s cousin’s former roommate, who sometimes sees Mitch McConnel at the deli, is pretty sure they have a deal worked out to get two additional seats added to the court.

by Kal-El 6/27/2018 1:32:45 PM
Dan, you mentioned you never saw a Justice playing basketball during your tenure. Judge Kavanaugh came and played (with the D.C. Cir. clerks vs SCOTUS clerks), so you may need to refine that answer in a few months.

by Deahlio 6/27/2018 1:33:04 PM
When a justice in the majority or minority assigned an opinion, is that done during the conference or later, in chambers?

by Brian G. 6/27/2018 1:33:16 PM
Wondering why virtually all of the comments I've ever seen here could be said to be left of center, and reading between the lines, most of the commentators on this blog.

by spider rob 6/27/2018 1:33:38 PM
Gray skies and thinner crowds (so far) this morning at the Court.

by Erica Oleszczuk Evans 6/27/2018 1:33:43 PM
What is the exact moment when a SCOTUS ruling becomes official? Could a Justice, while someone else's dissent in a 5-4 decision is being read, stand up and proclaim - I CHANGE MY VOTE!

by Bill S. 6/27/2018 1:34:03 PM
Do we anticipate that there will be an order list tomorrow re: any petitions still pending cert?

by Krista 6/27/2018 1:34:17 PM
I'm not even supposed to say this, but I am the newest justice on the Supreme Court. All the other members will resign and I have made a special pact with the government that my word will be the final say on all constitutional matters. EXCLUSIVE TO SCOTUSBLOG MUST CREDIT

by Newest Justice 6/27/2018 1:34:31 PM
Really loved this week's First Mondays--especially the extensive coverage of Carpenter and the Fane Lozman interview--but what we REALLY need is a discussion of how Ortiz kept the Golden CAAF tradition alive for future terms.

by MattP 6/27/2018 1:34:54 PM
Has an opinion (or just outcome) ever leaked from the Court?

by oxwof 6/27/2018 1:35:14 PM
How exactly does the process work of getting in the court to watch opinion announcements for a regular person?

by Nick 6/27/2018 1:35:29 PM
Dan have you answered even one question?

by jtm 6/27/2018 1:36:28 PM
Might there be a "world's largest outdoor cocktail party" reference in the Florida v. Georgia opinion? Asking for a friend . . .

by AttyTMD 6/27/2018 1:36:47 PM
Wasn't the ACA vote supposedly changed after reading the dissent?

by ShroudSciuridae 6/27/2018 1:37:08 PM
RE: lefty comments.
This is a moderated blog, so we should chalk that up to the moderators, including Dan Epps yes? After all he is a law professor. Have there ever been any studies done on the liberal/conservative breakdown of law professors? I know what it was like at my school.

by WMantooth 6/27/2018 1:37:59 PM
Remembering the day in 2003 when everyone thought Justice O'Connor was going to step down and Rehnquist ended the last day of the term by saying "we have a retirement to announce" and then after everyone gasped, he went on to thank the Supreme Court librarian for her years of dedicated service and wished her well in retirement.

www.economist.com

by Adam Shah 6/27/2018 1:38:09 PM
There's a connection between the makeup of the commentators and who decides to comment... but there are conservatives silently following along. Same for First Mondays.

by Lurking 6/27/2018 1:38:45 PM
Any speculation on why FL/GA is being held until the last day? How do you think this bodes for either party?

by Here4FL/GA 6/27/2018 1:39:33 PM
I'm a little disappointed the jingle on First Mondays for the hotline calls isn't Hotline Bling...

by Nathan Curtiss 6/27/2018 1:40:25 PM
Is it possible that Janus comes down as some sort of compromise? E.g. The unions have to more clearly delineate where agency fees are going, and limit that money strictly to collective bargaining.

by Mark Janus 6/27/2018 1:40:36 PM
I'm a conservative and will be 2/6 on getting my comments approved on the live blog if this one makes it through the gauntlet...

by Dr. Shake Shack 6/27/2018 1:40:52 PM
For the former clerks here: During your time at the Court, did Justices ever switch sides of an issue post-conference, whether or not it affected the outcome? (I realize you won't be able to name names.)

by oxwof 6/27/2018 1:41:20 PM
Based on the grants thus far, it seems OT 2018 is likely to be not much of a blockbuster term. What are the odds that changes?

by Pure Applesauce 6/27/2018 1:41:51 PM
Is there always this much buzz about a justice retiring at the end of each term? Or is this because of the circumstances (same-party POTUS + Congress, age of justices, etc.)?

by ER 6/27/2018 1:41:53 PM
I heard the justices were debating who was better, Herschel Walker or Tim Tebow, and that's why Florida v. Georgia is taking so long. Heard this from a florists whose cousin knows a guy who went to elementary school with a clerk and they keep in touch.

by Joseph 6/27/2018 1:42:36 PM
The action starts at 10 a.m. eastern?

by Matt H 6/27/2018 1:43:08 PM
Odds of a "Florida-Georgia Line" joke in Florida v. Georgia?

by AKG 6/27/2018 1:43:50 PM
Has any SC Justice ever announced their retirement when a president of the opposite party that nominated them is in office?

by Jesse S. 6/27/2018 1:44:14 PM
What is the hotline ##? would like an answer to my question.

by patty 6/27/2018 1:44:18 PM
Hey Ian and Dan,
I really love listening to First Mondays every week. I'm curious, could you guys sort of give a preview of all or some of the cases in OT 2018 one of the upcoming podcast episodes? It would be really helpful to people like me as a non-lawyer lay person who enjoys following the Court.

by Fan of SCOTUSBlog 6/27/2018 1:45:34 PM
I read somewhere that if the Democrats can take over Congress, then when a Democratic president is in office, they could potentially create more seats on the Supreme Court - is that true? I know unlikely and extreme, but would they have the power to do that?

by Erik 6/27/2018 1:46:01 PM
For those of you asking why we haven't published your comments, there are tons coming in and we have only a few of us. And we're trying to answer questions that we haven't already answered.

by Amy Howe 6/27/2018 1:46:08 PM
Is it possible to just listen to the hotline, or is it for asking questions only?

by JusticeOConnorRulez 6/27/2018 1:46:13 PM
Your banner image seems faulty, With respect, i doubt Justice Ginsburg is that flexible.

by Pierre-Luc Gagnon 6/27/2018 1:46:30 PM
Ok, I'm signing off—remember to listen to First Mondays; we'll have lots of great content coming in the next few weeks!

by Dan Epps 6/27/2018 1:47:19 PM
4 years ago, I sat in this same seat - coffee in hand, laptop open, Scotusblog on my screen - waiting on the last day for Harris. Hoping for Justice Alito to read the majority opinion in Janus. Wondering if Mark Janus realizes the whirlwind he is about to swept up into. Grateful for our judicial system that allows a mom from IL or a Social worker for the same state to petition the Court and have our cases heard by these brilliant jurists. Thank you Scotusblog!

by Pamela Harris 6/27/2018 1:47:21 PM
In cases between states like FL v. GA, what is the role of SCOTUS appointed special master and how much weight do they place on special master?

by Davenj 6/27/2018 1:48:24 PM
Who draws your banners? Very talented artist and a phenomenal sense of humor!

by Sam Z 6/27/2018 1:49:18 PM
How common are retirements announced from the bench, as opposed to later on like O’Connor did?

by Brian G. 6/27/2018 1:50:20 PM
We have one box today. But we kind of knew that already.

by Amy Howe 6/27/2018 1:51:25 PM
Wasn’t the 4-4 vote in Friedrichs the best indicator that Janus will be 5-4 against the unions? Gorsuch will not disappoint the conservatives.

by Allan Dollison 6/27/2018 1:51:40 PM
Five minute buzzer just sounded.

by Amy Howe 6/27/2018 1:55:17 PM
The underlying argument may be the same in Friedrichs and Janus, but the facts of each case are different enough that the Court may find another way through Janus.

by Mike B. 6/27/2018 1:55:31 PM
Powell's retirement announced from the bench. Marshall last day of term as well, but maybe later in the day?

by cam 6/27/2018 1:55:34 PM

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- Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia Whether discrimination against an employee because of sexual orientation constitutes prohibited employment discrimination “because of . . . sex” within the meaning of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2.
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  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.
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  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.
- 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
  (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.
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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.

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Awarded the Peabody Award for excellence in electronic media.
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Awarded the Sigma Delta Chi deadline reporting award for online coverage of the Affordable Care Act decision.
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Awarded the National Press Club's Breaking News Award for coverage of the Affordable Care Act decision.
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Cases argued	43
Cases decided	9
Summary reversals	2
Merits cases granted to date	73

Editor's Note :

Scribble

Live blog of opinions | June 27, 2018 (with First Mondays)

We live-blogged as the Supreme Court released its final decisions of October Term 2017, in Janus v. AFSCME and Florida v. Georgia. Dan Epps of First Mondays joined us on the live blog.

Featured Posts

Challengers urge justices to dismiss census case after district court ruling (Updated) – Amy Howe

Reargument analysis: Justices seek a “middle position” in takings litigation case – Miriam Seifter

Argument analysis: Justices have strong views about removal of class actions – Ronald Mann

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Merits Case Pages and Archives

Recent Decisions

Current Relists

Conference of January 18, 2019

Major Cases

Recent Special Features

Live Blog Archives

Jan. 2019

Download our App in the Apple Store

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Peabody Award

Sigma Delta Chi

National Press Club Award

Silver Gavel Award

American Gavel Award

Webby Award