Roberts confirmed as Chief Justice - What SC cases are immediately before him?

Is there a list somewhere of what cases he’ll be ruling on this term?

Cert granted list as of June 2005: http://www.supremecourtus.gov/orders/05grantednotedlist.html

Additional grants of cert since then:

http://www.supremecourtus.gov/orders/04ordersofthecourt.html

And here is a summary of some of this stuff:

http://docket.medill.northwestern.edu/archives/002315.php

Well, there’s Anna Nicole…

There are at least 3 death penalty related cases in October term ( 1, 2, 3), one related to abortion rights and one related to use of controlled substances in religious practices.

Should be very interesting. I guess O’Connor will probably hear the first batch of cases. Her resignation isn’t effective until her replacement is confirmed, and October term arguments start next week.

Three questions whose answer I don’t have time to find:

  1. Did they reschedule the case conference for the Summer case list? (It was set for September 26, 2005). I’m thinking the answer is probably yes.

  2. If Roberts does not participate in the case conference, will he get to participate in oral argument and vote on cases? I’m thinking the answer is probably also yes.

  3. Does he get to take his clerks with him, at least temporarily?

Sure looks that way. It’ll take weeks for another justice to be proposed and put up for a vote.

Probably a couple of months. If O’Connor remains until the end of November, she will sit on all of these cases:

4-0631 Wagnon, Joan (Kansas Secy of Revenue) v. Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation 10-03-05 10th Circuit Court of Appeals (Aug. 11, 2004) State taxes, tribal sovereignty

04-0623 Gonzales, Alberto, Atty. Gen., et al. v. Oregon, et al. 10-05-05 9th Circuit Court of Appeals (May 26, 2004) Physician-assisted suicide, Ashcroft directive, Controlled Substances Act, Oregon Death with Dignity Act

04-0698 Schaffer, Brian, et al. v. Weast, Jerry, et al. 10-05-05 4th Circuit Court of Appeals (July 29, 2004) Individualized Education Program (IEP), Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), burden of proof, due process hearing

04-0712 Lincoln Property Co., et al. v. Roche, Christopher, et ux. 10-11-05 4th Circuit Court of Appeals (June 30, 2004) Federal jurisdiction, partnership citizenship, diversity, removal

04-0980 Brown, Jill (Warden) v. Sanders, Ronald 10-11-05 9th Circuit Court of Appeals (July 8, 2004) Capital case, aggravation and mitigation, 8th Amendment, habeas corpus

04-0473 Garcetti, Gil, et al. v. Ceballos, Richard 10-12-05 9th Circuit Court of Appeals (March 22, 2004) Whistleblower, employee retaliation, 1st Amendment, public concern

04-0759 U.S. v. Olson, Joseph, et al. 10-12-05 9th Circuit Court of Appeals (April 2, 2004) Sovereign immunity, Federal Tort Claims Act, safety inspections

04-0885 Central Virginia Community College, et al. v. Katz, Bernard 10-31-05 6th Circuit Court of Appeals (Aug. 4, 2004) Bankruptcy, Constitution, 11th Amendment, state sovereignty, student loans

04-0905 Volvo Trucks North America, Inc. v. Reeder-Simco GMC, Inc. 10-31-05 8th Circuit Court of Appeals (July 12, 2004) Unfair price competition, Robinson-Patman Act, Arkansas Franchise Practices Act

04-0373 Maryland v. Blake, Leeander 11-01-05 Maryland Court of Appeals (May 12, 2004) Interrogation, Miranda, suppression, death penalty

04-1084 Gonzales, Alberto (US Atty Gen.) v. O Centro Espirita Beneficiente Uniao Do Vegetal, et al. 11-01-05 10th Circuit Court of Appeals (Nov. 12, 2004) Sacramental hoasca, Religious Freedom Restoration Act, Controlled Substances Act, United Nations Convention on Psychotropic Substances

04-0597 Unitherm Food Systems, Inc., v. Swift Eckrich, Inc., dba ConAgra Refrigerated Foods, et al. 11-02-05 Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (July 12, 2004) Patents, civil verdicts, sufficiency of the evidence, new trial motion, Rules 50(a) & (b)

04-0881 Lockhart, James v. U.S., et al. 11-02-05 9th Circuit Court of Appeals (July 23, 2004) Social security, statute of limitations, student loans, Debt Collection Act

04-0848 Dolan, Barbara v. U.S. Postal Service, et al. 11-07-05 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals (Aug. 2, 2004) Sovereign immunity, Federal Tort Claims Act

04-0944 Arbaugh, Jenifer v. Y & H Corp., d/b/a The Moonlight Cafe 11-07-05 5th Circuit Court of Appeals (Aug. 2, 2004) Employess, civil rights, Title VII, sexual harassment

04-1067 Georgia v. Randolph, Scott 11-08-05 Georgia Supreme Court (Nov. 8, 2004) Warrantless search, consent, joint occupants, 4th Amendment

04-1140 Martin, Gerald T., et ux. v. Franklin Capital Corp., et al. 11-08-05 10th Circuit Court of Appeals (Dec. 30, 2004) Diversity jurisdiction, amounts in controversy

04-0721 Evans, Mike (acting warden) v. Chavis, Reginald 11-09-05 9th Circuit Court of Appeals (Aug. 27, 2004) Statute of limitations, habeas corpus, AEDPA

04-1203 / 04-1236 U.S. v. Georgia, et al. / Goodman, Tony v. Georgia, et al. 11-09-05 11th Circuit Court of Appeals (Sept. 16, 2004) Americans with Disabilities Act, Congressional power, 11th & 14th amendments, prisons

04-1186 Wachovia Bank, National Assn. v. Schmidt, Daniel, et al. 11-28-05 4th Circuit Court of Appeals (Nov. 1, 2004) Diversity jurisdiction, branch banks

04-1332 Will, Richard, et al. v. Hallock, Susan, et al. 11-28-05 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals (Oct. 22, 2004) Federal Tort Claims Act, federal employees, judgment bars

04-1264 Buckeye Check Cashing, Inc. v. Cardegna, John, et al. 11-29-05 Florida Supreme Court (Jan. 20, 2005) Arbitration

04-1329 Illinois Tool Works Inc., et al. v. Indepdendent Ink, Inc. 11-29-05 Federal Circuit Court of Appeals Antitrust, patents, burden of proof

04-1144 Ayotte, Kelly (New Hampshire Atty. Gen.) v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, et al. 11-30-05 1st Circuit Court of Appeals (Nov. 24, 2004) Abortion, parental notification, minors, judicial bypass

04-1244 / 04-1352 Scheidler, Joseph, et al. v. National Organization for Women, Inc., et al. / Operation Rescue v. NOW 11-30-05 7th Circuit Court of Appeals (Jan. 28, 2005) RICO, Hobbs Act, abortion protests, extortion

I assume that if O’Connor hears a case but resigns before a decision is reached that her replacement won’t vote on the decision. A justice is supposed to hear a case in order to vote on it, right?

Yes. If a case is 4-4 without O’Connor’s replacement, the Court can either rehear the case or issue a “tie” decision (in which case the lower court decision holds, but without precedential value for the other circuits).

In case anyone else was curious.

It appears the answer to this question is yes.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/09/30/roberts.starts/index.html/

Apparently so. http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/09/30/roberts.starts/index.html/

Two out of three, anyway.

Ah, but will Roberts wear the gold stripes on his robes’s sleeves, or will that just go down in history as Rehnquist’s affectation? We should know today (Mon. Oct. 3).