The Supreme Court has a break from argument and from its scheduled Conferences for the next week or two. The Court is scheduled to release orders again on October 29, and on the same day will hear arguments in Henry Schein Inc. v. Archer and White Sales Inc.and Lamps Plus Inc. v. Varela. In the … Continue reading Primer on Types of Filings in the Supreme Court
Last Friday, the Supreme Court agreed to hear Manhattan Community Access Corp. v. Halleck, a case about when and whether a private entity that runs a public access channel is a “state actor.” The question is important because state actors can be held liable for violating constitutional rights; private actors generally cannot. As the Legal Information Institute … Continue reading New Case on State Action: Manhattan Community Access Corp. v. Halleck
Although the Supreme Court has held two Conferences since it began hearing oral arguments in October, it has not added any new cases to its argument docket for the Term. [Correction: it added one case on Friday, October 12. See here for details.] Indeed, the Order Lists from those Conferences were fairly uneventful. The Court … Continue reading Orders Lists: October 9 and 15, 2018
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments for two cases: Nielsen v. Preap and Air & Liquid Systems Corp. v. DeVries. In Nielsen, the Court will decide whether immigrants, with prior criminal convictions, are exempt from mandatory detention if the Department of Homeland Security does not immediately take them into custody after their release. … Continue reading October 10 Oral Argument: Statutory Interpretation in Immigration Law and Tort Liability in Maritime Law
Tuesday, October 9 was Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s first day on the bench, and the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in two cases. (For a brief overview of these cases, click here.) As the New York Times reported, Chief Justice John Roberts began the day by welcoming the newest justice, stating “we wish you a long … Continue reading October 9 Oral Arguments: Questions about the Armed Career Criminal Act
Brett Kavanaugh has been an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court for over a week now. Here’s a recap of events since his October 6 Senate confirmation vote. By some measures, Kavanaugh is the least popular nominee to make it to the Court. Kavanaugh’s 50-48 confirmation vote tied Justice Clarence Thomas, who was approved 52-48 … Continue reading The Court’s Newest Justice
ISCOTUS Co-Director Carolyn Shapiro appeared on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal today to talk about the history of confirmation hearings.
The Court will be back in session Tuesday after taking Columbus Day off, and Justice Brett Kavanaugh will be on the bench. Three cases are on the Court’s Tuesday docket, all presenting questions about the interpretations of crimes under the federal Armed Career Criminal Act (“ACCA”). The ACCA mandates prison sentences from 15 years to … Continue reading The Week Ahead: Week of October 8, 2018
When the Supreme Court goes to work on Tuesday, it will be back to its full nine-member strength. Justice Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed on Saturday and sworn in the same day. But for the first week of the Term, the Court had only eight members, and aspects of its new dynamics were on display. In … Continue reading Weekly Roundup: Week of October 1
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments on two cases, Knick v. Township of Scott, Pennsylvania and New Prime v. Oliveira. In New Prime, the Court must decide whether the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) applies to independent contractors in the trucking industry. Specifically, the FAA exempts from enforcement those arbitration clauses in “contracts of … Continue reading October 3 Oral Arguments: Arbitration for Workers?