Federal Judiciary

The Week Ahead

By Akin Gump Supreme Court Practice Group

The Court will be closed on Monday in observance of Columbus Day.

On Tuesday, the Court will release orders from the Justices’ private conference last Friday. We will link to the orders list as soon as it is available. Following the release of orders, the Court will hear argument in:

• Bartlett v. Strickland (07-689), on whether a racial minority group that makes up less than 50 percent of a proposed legislative district can state a vote dilution claim under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act;
• Pearson v. Callahan (07-751), on whether police officers were entitled to qualified immunity for conducting a warrantless search based on the signal of an undercover informant who had previously entered the home, and whether the Court should overrule its decision in Saucier v. Katz (2001); and
• Oregon v. Ice (07-901), on whether the Sixth Amendment requires that facts necessary to impose consecutive sentences (other than prior convictions) be found by a jury or admitted by the defendant.

On Wednesday, the Court will hear argument in:

• Waddington v. Sarausad (07-772), on whether, during habeas review, federal courts must accept state court determinations that jury instructions correctly explain state law regarding accomplice liability; and
• Hedgpeth v. Pulido (07-544), on whether, during habeas review, federal courts may determine erroneous jury instructions on which the jury may have relied to constitute structural error requiring reversal.

On Friday, the Justices will hold a private conference, orders from which are expected to be released the following Monday. To view our list of petitions to watch at the conference, click here.

No merits briefs for petitioners are due this week. Merits briefs for respondents are due Tuesday in Peake. v. Sanders (07-1209) and  Pacific Bell Telephone Co.,dba AT&T California v. linkLine Communications (07-512).

(Links above direct to case pages on SCOTUSwiki.)

In Guantanamo litigation, lawyers for 17 Chinese Muslim non-enemy detainees must file their response by Tuesday to the government’s motion for stay pending appeal of a district court’s order requiring that the Uighurs’ be released in the Washington, D.C., area. The Justice Department, which filed its motion for stay last Friday, must file its reply by Thursday.

Full post as published by SCOTUSBLOG on October 12, 2008 (boomark / email).