A question on much of the public’s mind seems to be how Judge Kavanaugh will vote in abortion cases if confirmed to the Supreme Court, and more specifically if he will vote to overturn Roe v. Wade. Kavanaugh has only written a decision in one case regarding abortion — Garza v. Hargan. In the decision he did…
Get Ready for A Confirmation Battle More Intense Than Most
Even though the Supreme Court is not in session it is far from out of the news. With the nomination of Judge Kavanaugh, much of the conversation now surrounds expectations for the a fierce confirmation battle – possibly one of the most fierce we have ever seen. Some speculate that notwithstanding the drama surrounding the failure…
Getting Rid of those Amicus Blues
Good writing makes a world of difference in appellate practice. In an era where some scholars question whether oral arguments have very much utility, briefs, and especially amicus briefs, are thought to play a unique role in Supreme Court decision making. The Court receives briefs in large numbers, with amicus briefs leading the way. Cases with broad national repercussions may garner…
Expect Kavanaugh To Shift the Court Right. How Far No One Knows.
The discussion over who will fill the Supreme Court vacancy has dominated much of the political conversation since Justice Kennedy announced his retirement from the Supreme Court on June 27. Last night, Judge Brett Kavanaugh, an obvious choice and the one I predicted in December 2017, was announced as nominee. When Kennedy’s retirement rumors previously circulated,…
The Five Frontrunners
With less than one week left until President Trump announces his nominee to fill the second SCOTUS vacancy since he took office, not all names are getting equal attention. President Trump indicated the other day that he narrowed down his initial list to five finalists. While all members on this whittled down list are not known, a few judges…
Judicial Politics, Roberts’ Dilemma, and One Crazy Term
This Supreme Court term was nerve racking for some conservatives (mainly unwarranted), most liberals (with good reason), and probably for some of the justices too, and yet all for different rationales. Below I’ll go through what may have caused this tension and why members of these three groups might have felt it. Before the Court’s…
Don’t Cite Me Like That
An interesting debate was reignited by the Chief Justice’s majority opinion in Minnesota Voter’s Alliance v. Mansky. This debate surrounds the effect of oral arguments, if any, on the justices’ decisions. Here is one of the sections from Roberts’ majority opinion in that case that refers to oral arguments. In this example, as is the case…
One Opinion More Complex Than the Next
The Supreme Court finally appears decently situated to complete its decision making for the term. Some holdups are still in play including the long since argued case of Gill v. Whitford. Gill was argued 255 days from the next possible opinion release date of June 14, 2018. Only 10 cases have taken longer to decide…
A Seismic Shift?
It seems out of a script by the writers of the film Groundhog Day. At the end of the term each year Court watchers await the impending retirement of a justice. Stories break in the months before June trying to sort through the imperfect information concerning such retirement plans. In recent years, speculation of an…
Attorneys and Firms for the 2017 Term
The current term at the Supreme Court has been anything but ordinary. With two argued cases already ruled moot the justices are down to 61 argued cases for possible signed decisions. This would tie last term for the fewest signed decisions in the modern Court era. Not only are the cases few and far between,…
Retirement Plan Blues
It is that time of year again. As we near the end of the Supreme Court term, we are experiencing another round of prognostications on whether Justice Kennedy will retire leaving another vacancy for the Trump Administration to fill (last year’s take on the possibility of Kennedy’s retirement can be found here). About this time of…
The State of the States Before the Supreme Court
Rather than originating from a federal court of appeal like the majority of cases before the Supreme Court, the most discussed case of this term came from a state court. Masterpiece Cakeshop was petitioned to the Supreme Court after a decision from the Colorado Court of Appeals and Colorado’s Solicitor General, Frederick Yarger, handled the argument for…
