The Eight found a whole lot to agree on in their last batch of decisions, unanimously holding state voting districts drawn to equalize the total population in each district (and not the number of eligible voters) do not violate the Constitution, that a sex offender need not notify his previous state of residence of his departure if he moves out of the country, and (least
Read More Evenwel v. Abbott (14-940), Nichols v. United States (15-5238) and Woods v. Etherton (15-723)
Luis v. United States (14-419)
Here’s a line-up you don’t see in every (read: any) syllabus: “BREYER, J., announced the judgment of the Court and delivered an opinion, in which ROBERTS, C.J., and GINSBURG and SOTOMAYOR, JJ., joined. THOMAS, J., filed an opinion concurring in the judgment. KENNEDY, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which ALITO, J., joined. KAGAN, J., filed a dissenting opinion.” That was the line-up in Luis
Read More Luis v. United States (14-419)
Americold Realty Trust v. Conagra Foods (14-1382), V.L. v. E.L. (15-648), Wearry v. Cain (14-10008) and Order List
More fun with an even number of Justices! The Court issued two orders today reflecting in different ways on the difficulties of deciding cases with a vacant seat.
This morning, the Court released its much anticipated decision in Friedrichs v. California Teachers Ass’n (14-915), the case in which the Court appeared primed to rule that unions representing government employees cannot constitutionally charge “agency fees”
Hawkins v. Patterson (14-520), Tyson Foods v. Bouaphakeo (14-1146), Nebraska v. Parker (14-406), Sturgeon v. Frost (14-1209) and Caetano v. Massachusetts (14-10078)
So many announcements since our last Update. The President announced D.C. Circuit Chief Judge Merrick Garland as his pick to take the late Justice Scalia’s seat on the Court; Senate Republicans promptly announced that they didn’t care; and, most importantly, Updater Kim Rinehart announced the birth of Baby Boy Rinehart #4. Congrats, Kim!
Meanwhile, The Nine Eight have sprung back into action, releasing five decisions
Lockhart v. United States (14-8358), Gobeille v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. (14-181)
Who could have imagined a month ago that our summary of Justice Scalia’s dissent in Montgomery v. Alabama (14-280) would be our last opportunity to analyze an opinion from the Justice who, alongside Jackson and Holmes, will forever be remembered as one of the Court’s great writers? (Perhaps more than would have imagined Justice Thomas peppering an attorney with over a dozen questions, as he
Read More Lockhart v. United States (14-8358), Gobeille v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. (14-181)
Montgomery v. Louisiana (14-280), Federal Energy Regulatory Commission v. Electric Power Supply Association (14-840), Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin v. United States (14-510) and Musacchio v. United States (14-1095)
We’re back with summaries of the four signed decisions the Court handed down this week, which included a couple of biggies and a couple of quickies.
The decision in Montgomery v. Louisiana (14-280) was a biggie, and not just because it retroactively applied the Court’s 2012 holding that mandatory sentences of life without parole for juvenile offenders violate the Eighth Amendment. Perhaps as important, the