Federal Judiciary

Today’s Orders

By Akin Gump Supreme Court Practice Group

A copy of today’s orders list is now available here. Links to all available certiorari-stage filings in the granted cases are now or will soon be listed after the jump.

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Docket: 07-499
Case name: Neguise v. Mukasey
Issue: Whether the provision of the Immigration and Naturalization Act that prohibits the granting of asylum to individuals found to have themselves engaged in persecution applies to those who were compelled to do so by threats of deaths or torture.

• Opinion below (5th Circuit)
• Petition for certiorari
• Brief in opposition
• Petitioner?s reply

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Docket: 07-582
Case name: Federal Communications Commission v. Fox Television Stations, Inc., et al.
Issue: Whether the FCC provided an adequate explanation, or instead acted arbitrarily and capriciously, in changing its policy to permit isolated uses of expletives on broadcast television to be considered ?indecent? under federal law.

• Opinion below (2nd Circuit)
• Petition for certiorari
• Brief in opposition (Fox)
• Brief in opposition (NBC)
• Petitioner’s reply

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Docket: 07-591
Case name: Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts
Issue: Whether a state forensic analyst?s laboratory report prepared for use in a criminal prosecution is ?testimonial? evidence subject to the demands of the Confrontation Clause as set forth in Crawford v. Washington (2004). (Disclosure: Akin Gump is co-counsel for the petitioner.)

• Opinion below (Appeals Court of Massachusetts)
• Petition for certiorari
• Brief in opposition
• Petitioner?s reply
• Amicus brief of Professor Pamela R. Metzger, et al. (in support of the petitioner)
• Amicus brief of Professor Richard D. Friedman (in support of the petitioner)

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Docket: 07-689
Case name: Bartlett v. Strickland
Issue: Whether a racial minority group that constitutes less than 50% of a proposed district?s population can state a vote dilution claim under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. (Disclosure: Akin Gump filed the amicus brief of the NAACP in support of the petitioner.)

• Opinion below (Supreme Court of North Carolina)
• Petition for certiorari
• Brief in opposition
• Petitioner’s reply
  
• Amicus brief of the Honorable Vernon Sykes and Honorable Roger Corbin (in support of the petitioner)
• Amicus brief of the League of Women Voters of the United States (in support of the petitioner)
• Amicus brief of Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, and Ohio (in support of the petitioner)
• Amicus brief of the NAACP, Cindy Moore, Milford Farrior, and Mary Jordan (in support of the petitioner)

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Docket: 07-772
Case name: Waddington v. Sarausad
Issue: Whether, on federal habeas review, courts must accept state court determinations that jury instructions fully and correctly set out state law with regard to accomplice liability.

• Opinion below (9th Circuit)
• Petition for certiorari
• Brief in opposition
• Petitioner?s reply

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Docket: 07-773
Case name: Vaden v. Discover Bank
Issue: Whether, under the Federal Arbitration Act, a suit seeking to enforce a state-law arbitration obligation arises under federal law if the petition to compel itself raises no federal question but the dispute sought to be arbitrated involves federal law.

• Opinion below (4th Circuit)
• Petition for certiorari
• Brief in opposition
• Petitioner?s reply

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Docket: 07-901
Case name: Oregon v. Ice
Issue: Whether, under Apprendi v. New Jersey (2000) and Blakely v. Washington (2004), a sentencing judge violates the Sixth Amendment by imposing consecutive sentences based on a fact not found by the jury or admitted by the defendant.

• Opinion below (Supreme Court of Oregon)
• Petition for certiorari
• Brief in opposition
• Petitioner?s reply

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Docket: 07-6984
Case name: Jimenez v. Quarterman

• Questions Presented (certiorari limited to first question)
  
• Opinion below
  

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Full post as published by SCOTUSBLOG on March 17, 2008 (boomark / email).