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Interim Stat Pack for October Term 2018 – Adam Feldman

Justices release financial disclosures – Amy Howe

Challengers ask justices to put off census decision – Amy Howe

Live blog of orders and opinions | April 3, 2017

Live blog of orders and opinions | April 3, 2017

June 2019

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Conference of June 13, 2019

3rd & 7 37yd

Good morning, everyone! Welcome to our live blog.

by Amy Howe 4/3/2017 1:25:31 PM

Comment ()
We are expecting orders from last week's conference in a few minutes.

by Amy Howe 4/3/2017 1:26:41 PM

Comment ()
Will we get something in Masterpiece Cakeshop, the challenge by a Colorado cake artist who believes that compelling him to create a cake for same-sex marriage celebrations violates his religious beliefs? It has been relisted several times, so we may know soon.

by Amy Howe 4/3/2017 1:28:59 PM

Comment ()
Two grants today

by Edith Roberts 4/3/2017 1:30:43 PM

Comment ()
First is in 16-499, Jesner v Arab Bank

by Edith Roberts 4/3/2017 1:31:01 PM

Comment ()
Question is whether Alien Tort Statute, which gives district courts jurisdiction over civil cases by noncitizens for torts committed in violation of the law of nations categorically forecloses corporate liability

by Edith Roberts 4/3/2017 1:32:01 PM

Comment ()
Second is in 16-6795, Ayestas v. Davis.

by Edith Roberts 4/3/2017 1:32:24 PM

Comment ()
Limited to question 2

by Edith Roberts 4/3/2017 1:32:29 PM

Comment ()
Complicated death penalty habeas case

by Edith Roberts 4/3/2017 1:32:54 PM

Comment ()
Don't appear to be any CVSGs

by Edith Roberts 4/3/2017 1:33:35 PM

Comment ()
Court did not act on Masterpiece Cakeshop

by Edith Roberts 4/3/2017 1:33:50 PM

Comment ()
That's everything of interest from the orders list.

by Edith Roberts 4/3/2017 1:34:52 PM

Comment ()
Why didn't they also grant cert in Licci v. Lebanese Canadian Bank, which has the same or nearly the same issue as in Jesner v. Arab Bank?

by Arab Bank case 4/3/2017 1:36:10 PM

Comment ()
Good morning! Why is it only "a possibility of opinions" this Term? Previous Terms it was phrased as "we will have opinions."

by oxwof 4/3/2017 1:37:04 PM

Comment ()
When and how do you find out whether there will be opinions on a given day? Do you just have to wait until 9AM and see if anything shows up, or does someone whisper to you?

by Chuck 4/3/2017 1:37:43 PM

Comment ()
Now we are waiting for opinion(s) at 10:00.

by Edith Roberts 4/3/2017 1:39:16 PM

Comment ()
What are the prospects of soon-to-be-Justice Gorsuch hearing the cases during the April sitting?

by cwgivens21 4/3/2017 1:39:28 PM

Comment ()
What time is the Gorsuch vote today?

by Awaiting Amy 4/3/2017 1:41:55 PM

Comment ()
Not sure what opinions we will get today. There's still one case left undecided from the October sitting, Manrique v. United States, and Thomas is the only justice without an opinion from that sitting.

by Edith Roberts 4/3/2017 1:43:07 PM

Comment ()
There are three cases left from November and two from December.

by Edith Roberts 4/3/2017 1:43:56 PM

Comment ()
Roberts has written four opinions so far, followed by Kennedy and Sotomayor with three each and the rest with two each.

by Edith Roberts 4/3/2017 1:44:40 PM

Comment ()
Is it true that you know the number of opinions by the number of boxes you see? Many boxes, more than one opinions?

by Chris Gramatidis 4/3/2017 1:45:09 PM

Comment ()
Another Gorsuch question - how will he handle the clerk situation between now and OT 2017? Bring his CA10 clerks along? Hire clerks now for a year-and-a-half term?

by Colton 4/3/2017 1:45:56 PM

Comment ()
Officially, does Judge Gorsuch begin preemptively working on cases he may sit on? It seems to me that two weeks worth of time is quite short to prepare for oral argument on a questions you're unfamiliar with. I figure he can always just read the cases and briefs himself, but I'm still curious.

by Alex 4/3/2017 1:50:12 PM

Comment ()
Last week we had a question about the length of time it takes for the court to deliver an opinion after hearing oral argument. Amy said it can vary dramatically from three weeks to many months, depending on who is writing, how long the opinion is, and whether/how the court is divided.

by Andrew Hamm 4/3/2017 1:50:33 PM

Comment ()
Of the 20 argued cases the court has decided so far this term, four have been decided within two months. They were all unanimous, with an average opinion length of 13.5 pages. Sotomayor wrote two of them.
Bravo-Fernandez v. United States, by Ginsburg, 8-0, 19 pages (1 month, 25 days)
Samsung Electronics v. Apple, by Sotomayor, 8-0, 9 pages (1 month, 26 days)
State Farm Fire and Casualty Co. v. United States ex rel. Rigsby, by Kennedy, 8-0, 10 pages (1 month, 5 days)
Lightfoot v. Cendant Mortgage Corporation, by Sotomayor, 8-0, 16 pages (1 month, 10 days)

by Andrew Hamm 4/3/2017 1:50:47 PM

Comment ()
Six took over four months. None were unanimous, with an average opinion length of about 19 pages. Roberts wrote two of them.
Buck v. Davis, by Roberts, 6-2, 26 pages (4 months, 17 days)
Manuel v. City of Joliet, by Kagan, 6-2, 15 pages (5 months, 16 days)
Pena-Rodriguez v. Colorado, by Kennedy, 5-3, 21 pages (4 months, 26 days)
Star Athletica, LLC v. Varsity Brands, by Thomas, 6-2, 17 pages (4 months, 22 days)
SCA Hygiene Products Aktiebolag v. First Quality Baby Products, LLC, by Alito, 7-1, 16 pages (4 months, 20 days)
National Labor Relations Board v. SW General, Inc., by Roberts, 6-2, 20 pages (4 months, 14 days)

by Andrew Hamm 4/3/2017 1:51:06 PM

Comment ()
What are the possibilities for an opinion in lynch v. Morales-santana today?

by Henryjkre 4/3/2017 1:51:11 PM

Comment ()
There are five cases that have been pending for at least four months since argument.
Manrique v. United States (since October 11)
Venezuela v. Helmerich & Payne International (since November 2)
Bank of America Corp. v. City of Miami (since November 8)
Sessions v. Morales-Santana (since November 9)
Jennings v. Rodriguez (since November 30)

by Andrew Hamm 4/3/2017 1:51:27 PM

Comment ()
Five-minute buzzer just sounded.

by Amy Howe 4/3/2017 1:54:54 PM

Comment ()
Looks like one box of opinions today, although of course we don't know how many or which ones.

by Amy Howe 4/3/2017 1:55:23 PM

Comment ()
Last week Sotomayor wrote a concurring opinion in Expressions Hair Design v. Schneiderman, which Alito joined. One reader asked if this was the first time they concurred together like this.

I found two earlier examples, but I'm happy to be alerted to other instances in case a reader knows one I missed.
Tapia v. United States (10-5400) – A 9-0 Kagan decision in which Sotomayor filed a concurring opinion joined by Alito.
Cuozzo Speed Technologies, LLC v. Lee (15-446) – An 6-2 Breyer decision in which Alito filed an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part joined by Sotomayor.

by Andrew Hamm 4/3/2017 1:57:02 PM

Comment ()
Anyone compiled how many cases where 9th justice would have changed the result this term.?

by Awaiting Amy 4/3/2017 1:57:22 PM

Comment ()
Amy is lining up for the opinion(s).

by Edith Roberts 4/3/2017 2:00:47 PM

Comment ()
First opinion, there will be more

by Edith Roberts 4/3/2017 2:01:09 PM

Comment ()
McLane Co. v. EEOC

by Edith Roberts 4/3/2017 2:01:16 PM

Comment ()
9th circuit decision vacated and remanded

by Edith Roberts 4/3/2017 2:01:31 PM

Comment ()
By Justice Sotomayor, but CJ is reading it for her.

by Edith Roberts 4/3/2017 2:01:48 PM

Comment ()
Here is the opinion in McLane Co. v. EEOC. Charlotte Garden will have our analysis. www.supremecourt.gov

by Andrew Hamm 4/3/2017 2:02:27 PM

Comment ()
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act allows EEOC to issue a subpoena to get evidence from an employer. The statute authorizes district court to issue order to enforce subpoena. QUestion is standard of review of district court order to enforce or quash subpoena.

by Edith Roberts 4/3/2017 2:03:26 PM

Comment ()
Should it be de novo or for abuse of discretion

by Edith Roberts 4/3/2017 2:03:43 PM

Comment ()
Ninth Circuit said de novo; today court says abuse of discretion.

by Edith Roberts 4/3/2017 2:03:55 PM

Comment ()
Second decision is Dean v US

by Edith Roberts 4/3/2017 2:04:32 PM

Comment ()
By Roberts. Unanimous. Eight pages long

by Edith Roberts 4/3/2017 2:04:52 PM

Comment ()
Court reverses 8th circuit and sends case back.

by Edith Roberts 4/3/2017 2:05:04 PM

Comment ()
Only other opinion today

by Edith Roberts 4/3/2017 2:05:22 PM

Comment ()
IT is a separate offense to use or possess a firearm in connection with drug trafficking crimes. If you do so, there's a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years for first conviction, 25 years for second

by Edith Roberts 4/3/2017 2:06:17 PM

Comment ()
The sentences are in addition to and consecutive to whatever you get for the underlying offense.

by Edith Roberts 4/3/2017 2:06:42 PM

Comment ()
Douglas Berman will have our analysis in Dean v. US. Here is the opinion. www.supremecourt.gov

by Andrew Hamm 4/3/2017 2:06:48 PM

Comment ()
Question was whether when judge is deciding sentence for underlying offense, he or she can consider whether you are going to serve the mandatory minimums for possessing a firearm as well.

by Edith Roberts 4/3/2017 2:07:40 PM

Comment ()
Supreme Court says sentencing court can consider it.

by Edith Roberts 4/3/2017 2:07:54 PM

Comment ()
In McLane, 6 of 7 justices joined Sotomayor's opinion in full; Ginsburg concurred in part and dissented in part, agreeing that abuse of discretion is usually right standard, but would still affirm 9th circuit's judgment in this case.

by Edith Roberts 4/3/2017 2:09:35 PM

Comment ()
Can Gorsuch join an opinion on a case heard before he is sworn in? Specially thinking of any possible 4-4 cases already heard.

by Richard Hoenes 4/3/2017 2:10:36 PM

Comment ()
Why would a case's conference typically be rescheduled? I am referring to Peruta v San Diego being rescheduled prior to two conferences now.

by Roundabout 4/3/2017 2:12:37 PM

Comment ()
Is Lee vs. US going to be decided today? I have a history paper due on it today, and it would be very interesting if it's decided today.

by Andrew 4/3/2017 2:13:44 PM

Comment ()
Okay, thank you very much, everyone. The justices will have their next conference on April 13. The April sitting will begin on April 17.

by Andrew Hamm 4/3/2017 2:17:35 PM

Comment ()
We're signing off for now.

by Andrew Hamm 4/3/2017 2:17:53 PM

Comment ()

Featured Posts

Interim Stat Pack for October Term 2018 – Adam Feldman

Justices release financial disclosures – Amy Howe

Challengers ask justices to put off census decision – Amy Howe
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This Week at the Court
The Supreme Court will release orders from the June 13 conference on Monday at 9:30 a.m.; John Elwood's "Relist Watch" compiles the petitions that were relisted for this conference.
There is a possibility of opinions on Monday at 10 a.m.
On Thursday, the justices meet for their June 20 conference.
Major Cases
- Department of Commerce v. New York
  (1) Whether the district court erred in enjoining the secretary of the Department of Commerce from reinstating a question about citizenship to the 2020 decennial census on the ground that the secretary’s decision violated the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. 701 et seq; (2) whether, in an action seeking to set aside agency action under the APA, 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 -- without a strong showing that the decisionmaker disbelieved the objective reasons in the administrative record, irreversibly prejudged the issue, or acted on a legally forbidden basis; and (3) whether the secretary’s decision to add a citizenship question to the decennial census violated the enumeration clause of the U.S. Constitution.
- Lamone v. Benisek
  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.
- 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.
- 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.
see all this term’s cases »
Recent Decisions
- Quarles v. United States Michigan’s third-degree home-invasion statute substantially corresponds to or is narrower than generic burglary for purposes of qualifying for enhanced sentencing under the Armed Career Criminal Act.
- Parker Drilling Management Services, Ltd. v. Newton Under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, when federal law addresses the relevant issue, state law is not adopted as surrogate federal law on the Outer Continental Shelf.
- Return Mail Inc. v. United States Postal Service The federal government is not a “person” capable of petitioning the Patent Trial and Appeal Board to institute patent review proceedings under the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act.
- Azar v. Allina Health Services Because the Department of Health and Human Services neglected its statutory notice-and-comment obligations when it revealed a new policy that dramatically – and retroactively – reduced Medicare payments to hospitals serving low-income patients, its policy must be vacated.
- Fort Bend County, Texas v. Davis The charge-filing precondition to suit set out in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is not a jurisdictional requirement.
- Mont v. United States Pretrial detention later credited as time served for a new conviction tolls a supervised-release term under 18 U.S.C. §3624(e), even if the court must make the tolling calculation after learning whether the time will be credited.
- Taggart v. Lorenzen A creditor may be held in civil contempt for violating a bankruptcy court’s discharge order if there is no fair ground of doubt as to whether the order barred the creditor’s conduct.
see all this term’s cases »
Current Relists
- Jordan v. City of Darien, Georgia Whether the existence of probable cause defeats a First Amendment retaliatory arrest claim as a matter of law.
- Klein v. Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (1) Whether Oregon violated the free speech and free exercise clauses of the First Amendment by compelling the Kleins to design and create a custom wedding cake to celebrate a same-sex wedding ritual in violation of their sincerely held religious beliefs; (2) whether the Supreme Court should overrule Employment Division, Department of Human Resources of Oregon v. Smith; and (3) whether the Supreme Court should reaffirm Smith’s hybrid-rights doctrine, applying strict scrutiny to free exercise claims that implicate other fundamental rights, and resolve the circuit split over the doctrine’s precedential status.
- McGee v. McFadden (1) Whether the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit erred when it found no constitutional error when the state failed to disclose Brady evidence, a letter from a jailhouse snitch, until the post-trial hearing for a motion for a new trial; (2) whether the state and federal courts’ decisions were contrary to Giglio v. United States, United States v. Bagley, Brady v. Maryland and Napue v. Illinois when the state failed to disclose material impeachment evidence, a letter from a jailhouse snitch who testified that petitioner confessed to him; and (3) whether the state and federal courts erred in finding that trial counsel rendered effective assistance of counsel when he failed to interview Michael Jones and call him as a witness.
More Petitions »
Recent Special Features
Statistical Snapshot

Cases argued 69

Cases decided 42

Summary reversals 5

Merits cases granted to date 73

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Justice Thomas at the Supreme Court Historical Society

On June 3, Justice Clarence Thomas spoke with David Rubenstein for the Supreme Court Historical Society’s annual lecture at the Supreme Court.

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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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Awarded the Silver Gavel Award by the American Bar Association for fostering the American public’s understanding of the law and the legal system.
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Awarded the American Gavel Award for Distinguished Reporting About the Judiciary to recognize the highest standards of reporting about courts and the justice system.
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Cases argued	69
Cases decided	42
Summary reversals	5
Merits cases granted to date	73

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6
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10
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13
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