The Supreme Court’s October 2018 Term began Monday with an 8-Justice Court. The Court heard oral argument in six cases during this first week of the Term.:
- Weyerhaeuser Co v. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: a case about critical habitat designations to private land under the Endangered Species Act.
- Mount Lemmon Fire District v. Guido: a case about whether the twenty-employee minimum that applies to private employers under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) applies to political subdivisions, such as fire districts, of a state.
- Gundy v. United States: a case about whether the authority to issue regulations given to the U.S. Attorney General under the Sex Offender Notification and Registration Act violates the nondelegation doctrine.
- Madison v. Alabama: a case about whether the Eighth Amendment prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment prohibits execution of a mentally disabled person who does not understand the circumstances of his sentence and is unable to remember the crime for which he was convicted.
- Knick v. Township of Scott: a case about the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment, and whether a property owner must exhaust state court remedies before bringing a federal case.
- New Prime Inc. v. Oliveira: a case about contract disputes under the Federal Arbitration Act.
The Court will also hold a Conference on Friday to discuss further cases to be added to the Term Calendar. SCOTUSblog’s list of petitions to watch, which are cases that are pending certiorari before the Court, can be found here.
Written by Eva Dickey, edited by Matthew Webber, and overseen by ISCOTUS Co-Director Carolyn Shapiro