The petition of the day is:... Read More »»»

On Monday we expect one or more opinions in argued cases and orders from the Court’s January 20 Conference. Our list of “Petitions to watch” is here.  We will be live blogging beginning shortly before 10:00 a.m. The Justices are not scheduled to hear oral arguments again until the February sitting begins on February 21.... Read More »»»

Today’s petitions of the day are:... Read More »»»

Jill E. Family is an Associate Professor and Associate Director, Law & Government Institute, Widener University School of Law. At oral argument on January 18, the Court questioned the attorneys in Holder v. Gutierrez and Holder v. Sawyers about calculating relief from removal.  At issue in these consolidated cases is whether a parent’s immigration status [...]... Read More »»»

Earlier today the Court issued a per curiam opinion in the Texas redistricting case, Perry v. Perez.  In that case, the Court returned the judge-drawn interim legislative district maps to the district court, with instructions to redraw the maps with greater deference to the redistricting plan already created by the Texas legislature and currently awaiting [...]... Read More »»»

Alan Horowitz is a member of Miller & Chevalier Chartered, where he heads the Supreme Court and Appellate Practice Group. He served for 11 years as an Assistant to the Solicitor General, including four years as the Tax Assistant, where he argued 28 cases in the Supreme Court and briefed many others. He regularly covers [...]... Read More »»»

In its second ruling Friday on courts’ power to draw new election districts, the Supreme Court in a West Virginia case raised doubts about the authority of federal District Courts to require states to achieve absolute equality of population in drafting new voting boundaries.   In a brief order, found here, the Court blocked a federal [...]... Read More »»»

UPDATE 12:09 p.m.   Two hours after issuing its ruling on Texas’s redistricting dispute, the Supreme Court put on hold a lower court’s decision striking down the West Virginia legislature’s new plan for electing that state’s three members of the House of Representatives. The lower court ruling will be on hold until the Justices decide a [...]... Read More »»»

The Court issued three opinions on Wednesday, all of which continue to generate coverage and commentary. In Maples v. Thomas, the Court held that death row inmate Cory Maples had shown requisite “cause” to excuse his procedural default, which occurred after his lawyer missed a filing deadline in state court. The Atlantic’s Garrett Epps reviews [...]... Read More »»»

We close our discussion of Justice O’Connor’s legacy by soliciting your predictions for the future. Which of the Justice’s decisions will continue to endure and influence the law, and which are likely to be overruled or modified? Ultimately, how do you think history will remember Justice O’Connor? Registration for the Community is here.... Read More »»»

On Monday the Court will be closed in observance of the Martin Luther King holiday. On Tuesday we expect the remaining orders from the January 13 Conference. Lyle covered the three cases from that Conference that were granted on Friday. Our full list of “Petitions to watch” for the Conference is here.  We will be [...]... Read More »»»

The Supreme Court soon will again turn its gaze to a complex immigration case involving a long-term lawful permanent resident of the United States facing deportation.  Just last December, the Court in Judulang v. Holder rejected as arbitrary and capricious the ruling of the Board of Immigration Appeals that a lawful permanent resident convicted of [...]... Read More »»»

On January 11, the Court heard oral arguments in Roberts v. Sea-Land Services, a workers’ compensation case arising under the provisions of the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act.  At issue in the case is how to calculate the maximum weekly rate that applies to compensation for disability under the Act:  Is it the maximum [...]... Read More »»»

Introduction Depending on how the Court resolves a threshold issue, United States v. Home Concrete & Supply, LLC (scheduled for oral argument on January 17) could yield a decision of broad importance or instead one of interest only to tax lawyers.  The ultimate issue concerns the scope of an extended statute of limitations applicable only [...]... Read More »»»

Sometimes, oral argument can be misleading.  An advocate can spend much of her time being battered by one or two Justices, leaving an uncareful observer to walk away thinking that the advocate’s chances are slimmer than they are, when one takes into account that there are nine Justices on the Court. Something like that happened [...]... Read More »»»