In brief, here are today’s stories on the Supreme Court: At Balkinization, Jason Mazzone summarizes his research on Supreme Court review of state court decisions. He concludes that “compared to its predecessors, the Roberts Court is reviewing fewer cases from the state courts but reversing a higher percentage of them. In other words, the Roberts [...]... Read More »»»

The Ninth Circuit Court on Tuesday morning ordered an expedited review of a second appeal on California’s Proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriage — a plea by local officials in Imperial County,  Calif., to enter the case in order to defend the ballot measure’s constitutionality.  The motions panel of the Circuit Court, in a two-page [...]... Read More »»»

As Lyle Denniston explains on this blog, late yesterday the Ninth Circuit delayed the granting of same-sex marriage licenses in California at least until December and ordered the proponents of Proposition 8 to brief the issue of their standing to challenge U.S. District Judge Vaughn R. Walker’s August 4 decision striking down the law. Prior [...]... Read More »»»

UPDATE 8:55 p.m.  The lawyers who won the challenge to Proposition 8 in District Court do not plan to ask the Supreme Court to lift the stay issued by the Ninth Circuit.  One of those attorneys, Theodore Boutrous, said in a statement: ”We are gratified that the Ninth Circuit has recognized the importance and pressing nature [...]... Read More »»»

Backers of California’s Proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriage in that state on Monday questioned whether a federal judge lacked the authority even to rule in the federal constitutional case, so his ruling striking down the ban must be wiped out.   The argument was made as attorneys completed the briefing before the Ninth Circuit Court [...]... Read More »»»

The Supreme Court on Monday put an end to a running battle between a California lawyer — a prominent figure in the movement to challenge the legitimacy of Barack Obama’s Presidency — and a federal judge in Georgia.  The full Court refused, without comment, to block a $20,000 penalty that District Judge Clay D. Land [...]... Read More »»»

On Friday, the California Attorney General notified the Ninth Circuit that the state would not appeal Judge Walker’s decision in the Proposition 8 case, as Lyle Denniston of this blog reports. The state’s refusal to defend the law has led to the question whether Proposition 8’s supporters even have standing to appeal Judge Vaughn Walker’s [...]... Read More »»»

Last week, we updated our sister site, SCOTUSwiki, to include a number of new filings in OT10 merits cases.  New petitioners’ briefs have been added to the case pages for Mayo Foundation v. United States, Cullen v. Pinholster,  and Wall v. Kholi, and we have added new respondents’ briefs to the case pages for Connick [...]... Read More »»»

The Court is in recess for the summer; it is expected to return on October 4 for the first oral argument of October Term 2010. The schedule of merits briefs due this week follows the jump. Monday, August 16: Respondent’s brief in Kasten v. Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corp. (09-834) Thursday, August 19: Petitioner’s brief in [...]... Read More »»»

California’s Attorney General, Edmund G. Brown, Jr., formallly notified the Ninth Circuit Court Friday night that the state will not appeal a federal judge’s ruling striking down the Proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriage.  That position, along with a flurry of other filings in the Circuit Court, puts new emphasis on a basic issue: can [...]... Read More »»»

A motions panel of the Ninth Circuit Court on Friday set a fast schedule for reviewing a plea to put on hold, for several months, a federal judge’s ruling striking down California’s Proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriage.  In a scheduling order, the panel ordered briefing completed by Monday morning — a little more than [...]... Read More »»»

The interim appointment of an Acting Principal Deputy Solicitor General this week got me thinking about the choice of a successor to Elena Kagan as Solicitor General.  I don’t know precisely where the process stands (and in fact, I don’t know who will make the decision), but as with the choice of a nominee to [...]... Read More »»»

Yesterday afternoon, federal district court judge Vaughn Walker declined to stay his decision invalidating California’s ban on same-sex marriage, re-igniting speculation that the issue will soon come before the Supreme Court.  At the Volokh Conspiracy, Orin Kerr predicts that the Court will overturn the denial of the stay, and, in a second post, discusses the [...]... Read More »»»

Analysis From the moment nearly 15 months ago that two master legal tacticians, David Boies and Theodore Olson, launched the case of Perry v. Schwarzenegger, it was almost universally expected that it would become a historic Supreme Court test of gay marriage and the Constitution.   Now, perhaps for the first time, it seems realistic to suggest that [...]... Read More »»»

The federal judge who struck down California’s ban on same-sex marriages last week refused on Thursday to postpone his decision, but did rule that it would not take effect until the Ninth Circuit Court has a chance to “consider the issue in an orderly manner.”  The order can be found here.  U.S. District Judge Vaughn R. Walker [...]... Read More »»»