Scribble

Live blog of orders and opinions | June 11, 2018

We live-blogged as the Supreme Court released orders from the June 7 conference and opinions in argued cases. The justices called for the views of the solicitor general in three cases involving the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act: Sudan v. Owens, Opati v. Sudan and Sudan v. Opati. The justices also released their decisions in Husted v. A. Philip Randolph Institute, Sveen v. Melin, China Agritech Inc. v. Resh and Washington v. United States.

June 2018

3rd & 7 37yd

The culverts case?

by Chris 6/11/2018 2:20:32 PM
Anticlimax.

by Col. Mustard 6/11/2018 2:20:33 PM
The last time we had an equally divided vote was in 2015 when the Court had 3 after the loss of Scalia. Before that was in 2010 when Kagan joined the Court. There were two that term.

by Adam Feldman 6/11/2018 2:21:24 PM
When they give you the last opinion of the day, do they say it's the last opinion? Or is it that you can see the box is empty?

by skc 6/11/2018 2:21:56 PM
I understand why the outcome of a case is kept secret, but why not let people know when opinions are going to be delivered?

by ayeayesur 6/11/2018 2:22:26 PM
Do we know which justices were on one side and which were on the other in the 4-4 case?

by bill 6/11/2018 2:23:10 PM
Did the marshall announce when they will hand down more opinions?

by ph 6/11/2018 2:23:36 PM
How does an equally divided Court impact the reverse seniority rule? Is an equally divided Court always considered "senior" and deliberately announced last, or is it just randomly placed by CJ?

by Ben Friedman 6/11/2018 2:24:11 PM
Why was Kennedy not a part of the Washington case?

by mgh 6/11/2018 2:24:31 PM
Do you have a projection from oral argument? Thanks!

by bill 6/11/2018 2:24:34 PM
In a 5-4 case is there any informal process for writing the "main" dissent (to the extent there is one), similar to the assignment of the majority opinion by senior justice in the majority?

by Glenn 6/11/2018 2:24:47 PM
Is there an audio feed from the Court to the press room? And if so, is it active during arguments?

by Richard Hoenes 6/11/2018 2:25:33 PM
I know that they have to decide a case within the term it's argued. When and how to they inform people that the case will be reargued in the next term if they can't decide it?

by ayeayesur 6/11/2018 2:26:19 PM
Any news on Ohio vs. American Express?

by SM 6/11/2018 2:28:25 PM
Do you sense any letdown that we did't get Carpenter, Janus or Gil opinions today?

by Matt Kilk 6/11/2018 2:29:16 PM
Is there a quick reference to find out how many opinions are outstanding?

by Bob 6/11/2018 2:30:06 PM
There's now a decent chance that Breyer is writing Benisek, in my view. If a "liberal" justice is writing, then Roberts or Kennedy would have assigned the opinion to them. Breyer and Kagan have most often written for the Court in gerrymandering cases, and her opinion today makes it unlikely she has another majority from March.

by RP 6/11/2018 2:30:13 PM
I'm going to get to work on my coverage of Husted and Sveen v. Melin. Hopefully others will be able to stick around and answer questions. I am also waiting for reporters to come down from the courtroom to fill us in on what was said, if anything, about possible decision days later this week. Thanks for joining us, and we will see you soon!

by Amy Howe 6/11/2018 2:30:22 PM
Is there any anti-Kennedy retirement tea leaf reading from the 4-4 affirmance? If they expected him to retire in a couple weeks, couldn't they order the case re-argued when they would have someone new?

by Richard 6/11/2018 2:31:00 PM
Okay, the buzzer just sounded to indicate that the justices are finished upstairs in the courtroom.

by Amy Howe 6/11/2018 2:31:02 PM
We will be back again for more opinions on Thursday! Hooray!

by Amy Howe 6/11/2018 2:31:56 PM
Does the SCOTUS tend to 'space out' big decisions to not fall on the same day to avoid overshadowing? Or they just announce whenever they are ready?

by DragonPup 6/11/2018 2:33:18 PM
My case Sturgeon v Frost 17-949 was listed in the June 7 conference but wasn't listed as denied this morning. Can anyone tell me what is going on?

by Sturgeon 6/11/2018 2:34:54 PM
Did they change their calendar at all to provide more non argument days? They still have many opinions and few calendered

by Shawn Posey 6/11/2018 2:35:18 PM
When a justice recuses from a case, do they participate in oral argument? Chooses not to ask questions but still sits to hear the case?

by Matthew Durst 6/11/2018 2:37:52 PM
When is the last day for Supreme Court to make decisions?

by Ed 6/11/2018 2:38:22 PM
@Bob Has the top chart on the statistics page been updated recently or am I reading it incorrectly? Masterpiece is still listed in red.

by Counts 6/11/2018 2:40:03 PM
How many opinions came down today? I'm aware of the Ohio one (got a notification on my phone), but any others?

by Paul 6/11/2018 2:42:42 PM
Will the identities of the Justices on each side of the 4-4 split in the Washington v. United States slip affirmance be disclosed? Or is the mere fact of a split all we get to know?

by Zack Att 6/11/2018 2:43:23 PM
Hi all, we're going to stop here for today's live blog. I'll post First Mondays in a moment. And our analyses of today's opinions (and Amy's report on the order list) will be forthcoming.

by Andrew Hamm 6/11/2018 2:46:56 PM
Back on Thursday!

by Andrew Hamm 6/11/2018 2:47:05 PM

Featured Posts

Opinion analysis: Court holds that police will generally need a warrant for sustained cellphone location information (Updated) – Amy Howe

Opinion analysis: Justices approve broad damage recovery for patent-infringing exports – Ronald Mann

Opinion analysis: Court holds agreement to statutory severance of overlapping counts waives issue-preclusion claim after acquittal at first trial – Lissa Griffin
Email Digest Sign-Up
Receive a daily email digest from Feedburner by entering your email.
Merits Case Pages and Archives

Archives

or

This Week at the Court
On Monday the Supreme Court will release orders from the June 21 conference (9:30 a.m.) and opinions in argued cases (10 a.m.).
This post will be updated on Monday to reflect any additional non-argument sessions the justices may schedule.
Major Cases
- Trump v. Hawaii
  (1) Whether the respondents’ challenge to the president’s suspension of entry of aliens abroad is justiciable; (2) whether the proclamation – which suspends entry, subject to exceptions and case-by-case waivers, of certain categories of aliens abroad from eight countries that do not share adequate information with the United States or that present other risk factors – is a lawful exercise of the president’s authority to suspend entry of aliens abroad; (3) whether the global injunction barring enforcement of the proclamation’s entry suspensions worldwide, except as to nationals of two countries and as to persons without a credible claim of a bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States, is impermissibly overbroad; and (4) whether the proclamation violates the establishment clause of the Constitution.
- South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc.
  Quill Corp. v. North Dakota and National Bellas Hess Inc. v. Department of Revenue of Illinois -- which held that a state cannot require an out-of-state seller with no physical presence in the state to collect and remit sales taxes on goods the seller ships to consumers in the state -- are overruled.
- Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Council 31
  Whether Abood v. Detroit Board of Education should be overruled and public-sector “agency shop” arrangements invalidated under the First Amendment.
- Gill v. Whitford
- Carpenter v. United States
  The government’s acquisition of Timothy Carpenter’s cell-site records from his wireless carriers was a Fourth Amendment search; the government did not obtain a warrant supported by probable cause before acquiring those records.
- Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission
see all this term’s cases »
Recent Decisions
- Carpenter v. United States The government’s acquisition of Timothy Carpenter’s cell-site records from his wireless carriers was a Fourth Amendment search; the government did not obtain a warrant supported by probable cause before acquiring those records.
- Currier v. Virginia Because Michael Currier consented to a severance of the multiple charges against him, his second trial and resulting conviction, following an acquittal at his first trial, did not violate the double jeopardy clause.
- Ortiz v. United States Military judge Colonel Martin Mitchell’s simultaneous service on an Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals and the Court of Military Commission Review violated neither 10 U. S. C. §973(b)(2)(A) nor the appointments clause of the Constitution.
- WesternGeco LLC v. ION Geophysical Corp. The focus of the Patent Act’s general damages provision, 35 U. S. C. §284, in a case involving infringement under Section 271(f)(2) is on the act of exporting components from the United States; therefore, WesternGeco’s award for lost profits was a permissible domestic application of Section 284, not an impermissible extraterritorial one.
- Lucia v. Securities and Exchange Commission Securities and Exchange Commission administrative law judges are “officers of the United States,” subject to the Constitution’s appointments clause.
- Pereira v. Sessions A putative notice sent to a nonpermanent resident to appear at a removal proceeding that fails to designate a specific time or place for that proceeding does not end the continuous residence period calculation necessary for possible cancellation of the individual’s removal.
- South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc. Quill Corp. v. North Dakota and National Bellas Hess Inc. v. Department of Revenue of Illinois -- which held that a state cannot require an out-of-state seller with no physical presence in the state to collect and remit sales taxes on goods the seller ships to consumers in the state -- are overruled.
- Wisconsin Central Ltd. v. United States Employee stock options are not taxable “compensation” under the Railroad Retirement Tax Act of 1937.
see all this term’s cases »
Current Relists
- Arlene's Flowers Inc. v. Washington (1) Whether the creation and sale of custom floral arrangements to celebrate a wedding ceremony is artistic expression, and, if so, whether compelling their creation violates the free speech clause; and (2) whether the compelled creation and sale of custom floral arrangements to celebrate a wedding and attendance of that wedding against one's religious beliefs violates the free exercise clause.
- Bearcomesout v. United States Whether the “separate sovereign” concept actually exists when Congress’s plenary power over Indian tribes and the general erosion of any real tribal sovereignty is amplified by the Northern Cheyenne Tribe’s constitution in such a way that the petitioner’s prosecutions in both tribal and federal court violate the double jeopardy clause of the Fifth Amendment to the U. S. Constitution.
- Biestek v. Berryhill Whether a vocational expert’s testimony can constitute substantial evidence of “other work,” 20 C.F.R. § 404.1520(a)(4)(v), available to an applicant for social security benefits on the basis of a disability, when the expert fails upon the applicant’s request to provide the underlying data on which that testimony is premised.
More Petitions »
Recent Special Features
Statistical Snapshot

Cases argued 63

Cases decided 57

Summary reversals 8

Merits cases granted to date 63

see all »
Live Blog Archives
See all
Twitter Feed

Tweets by @SCOTUSblog

Full Calendar Submit Event

4
Orders
Opinions

7
Conference

11
Orders
Opinions

14
Conference
Opinions

18
Orders
Opinions

21
Conference
Opinions

25
Orders
Opinions

Orders/Opinions
Arguments
Conferences

Events
Holidays
Multiple

Download our App in the Apple Store
First Mondays see all
Videos see all

Justice Thomas gives commencement address

On May 12, Justice Clarence Thomas gave the commencement address at Christendom College in Front Royal, Virginia.

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.