case suggestions – Page 7 – Prof. Zachary Wolfe, Esq.

January Cases

January 9, 2017case suggestions

This week, the Court considers a free speech challenge to credit card surcharges, litigation sanctions, and what standards for a free appropriate public education for students with disabilities. Next week, the Court takes on both disparaging trademarks and the rights of detainees who claim they were held in severe conditions of confinement based only on racial profiling.

Tuesday, January 10

An interesting case this morning involves claims of free speech rights in an unusual context: credit card fees. Merchants pay a fee to credit card companies, but ten states prohibit them from passing on that fee as a “surcharge.” The group of merchants in Expressions Hair Design v Schneiderman argue that this prohibition is an unconstitutional limitation on speech. The Second Circuit rejected that, holding that it only regulates commercial practices (conduct, not speech), but the merchants note that the law allows them to offer a discount for paying with cash, so as a practical matter, it regulates what they call it rather than what they charge.

The second case, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. v. Haeger, involves the scope of a court’s inherent power to award attorney fees and other sanctions where a party engages in some form of litigation misconduct.

Wednesday, January 11

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires states to provide children with disabilities with a “free appropriate public education” (FAPE), but that is not fully defined. Some courts, including the lower courts in this case (Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District), have held that it requires only that the state provide some sort of education that is of more than minimal value to the student. Other courts, and the Obama Administration in this case, have argued that this is not enough, and the standard should involve a “meaningful” education.

[This is the only case being argued today, and is scheduled for one hour. However, the Solicitor General is arguing along with the parties, so it may run a few minutes long.]

Wednesday, January 18

Two significant and contentious issues are before the Court today.

First, the Court considers the provision in the Trademark Act that allows for refusal to register the trademark if it would “disparage . . . persons, living or dead, institutions, beliefs, or national symbols, or bring them into contempt, or disrepute.” 15 U.S.C. 1052(a). The specific case (Lee v. Tam) involves Samuel Tam, who named his band The Slants in order to bring attention to discrimination against Asians, “following in the long tradition of reappropriation, in which members of minority groups have reclaimed terms that were once directed at them as insults and redirected the terms outward as badges of pride.” This case will have implications for the current name of the Washington football team, among other contentious current issues.

Next, the court considers detainee rights in Ziglar v. Abbasi and Hasty v. Abbasi, which allege that, in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, individuals were arrested and detained in extreme conditions on the basis of no evidence other than race, religion, and national origin. The Atlantic offers an overview and makes predictions of the sort of reception the cases are likely to receive. The Center for Constitutional Rights has detailed information about their case. [The parties had requested additional time for argument, but that was denied and the cases are considered with one hour total. I would expect it to run a little long nonetheless.]

December 5 – Voting Rights Act

December 4, 2016case suggestions

The Supreme Court and state legislators have been struggling with voting districts as they relate one-person-one-vote principles and racial discrimination in multiple cases over the past several years, and the issues arise again in the two cases scheduled for Monday, December 5.

Amy Howe has an excellent article on Scotusblog that provides a full description of the context and these cases. Briefly, Bethune-Hill v. Virginia State Board of Elections challenges twelve “majority-minority” districts in Virginia, with one side arguing that African Americans were packed into these districts in order to dilute their voting power in other districts and the other side claiming that the case was filed in order to require re-drawing of the maps after Democrats won the governorship. The second case, McCrory v. Harris, is a challenge to North Carolina’s infamous NC-1 and NC-12 districts, which look like this:

congressmap01

(via http://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article58756583.html)

Inaugural Parade Protests (DC Cir)

November 11, 2016case suggestions

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments on Monday (Nov. 14) in a case involving the rights of protesters to line the Inaugural Parade Route on January 20, 2017. The Partnership for Civil Justice went to court back in 2000 and successfully secured access for protesters on Inauguration Day 2001, but according to this release:

In an unprecedented court filing, the U.S. Government and its Justice Department argue that the government may take the public parklands, sidewalks and streets of America at the central moment of their use by the people for assembly, speech and debate, and petitioning of the government and redesignate our public spaces into exclusive “government speech” or No Free Speech Zones. There is no limitation to the scope of these zones.

Circuit arguments are open to the public and typically do not draw much of a crowd, although it would be wise to get there a bit early for Monday’s.

Monday, November 14 – 9:30 a.m.
US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit
333 Constitution Avenue
Courtroom 31

October cases

September 7, 2016case suggestions

First Monday is October 3 and opens the 2016-17 session of the Court, but this year Monday is a “non-argument day.” In the first two weeks, the Court will hear cases concerning racism and the death penalty, an allegation of extreme police and prosecutorial misconduct, and racist jurors who do not reveal their racism until after the jury has been selected and started private deliberations.

Tuesday, October 4

Two relatively technical cases are scheduled for this first argument day. Neither will be particularly accessible to a casual observer, but may be of interest to some.

Bravo-Fernandez v. US involves the “double jeopardy clause” and the doctrine of “collateral estoppel.” The first trial resulted in jury acquittal on some counts and conviction on other counts, but the conviction was later overturned due to erroneous instructions to the jurors. The government wants to reprosecute the overturned convictions, but the defendant says those counts, properly understood and with correct jury instructions, are logically inconsistent with the finding of acquittal on the other counts in the first trial. SCOTUSblog offers a useful overview.

Shaw v. US asks whether a bank fraud statute criminalizing a “scheme to defraud a financial institution” requires proof of “a specific intent not only to deceive, but also to cheat, a bank.” The scheme is at least an interesting read.

Wednesday, October 5

In the morning, the Court starts with an insider trading case, Salman v. United States. It’s an unusual subject to come before the Court, and could be interesting just on the facts of the case. Columbia Law School’s blog offers an interesting discussion.

The second morning argument involves racism and the death penalty, although the official question being considered involves procedure. In Buck v. Davis, the defendant seeks a hearing on whether “his trial counsel was constitutionally ineffective for knowingly presenting an ‘expert’ who testified that petitioner was more likely to be dangerous in the future because he is Black.” Wow…. See a full discussion of the case here.

Unusually, the Court has scheduled an afternoon session today. The case, Manuel v. City of Joliet, asks whether malicious prosecution can be brought under the 4th Amendment and involves a really shocking set of allegations of misconduct. Morning arguments close at noon and the courtroom will be cleared at that time, with afternoon sessions beginning at 1:00. Since afternoon sessions are so unusual, it’s hard to know what the crowds will be like, but it may well be easier to get in for this argument.

[The Court is closed Oct. 10 for Columbus Day]

Tuesday, October 11

The first case, Samsung Electronics v. Apple, involves damages in a patent infringement case and will be rather technical and involve a specialized area of law. But the second case, Pena-Rodriguez v. Colorado, is an unusual examination of what happened during jury deliberations. Ordinarily, juror comments are kept secret absent extreme misconduct. In this case, it is alleged that one of the jurors made racist comments that would give reason to be believe the individual should have been excluded from juror service (but, obviously, this racism did not come to light during juror selection). The Court has accepted cert. on the question of whether the usual veil of secrecy around what happens during deliberations “constitutionally may bar evidence of racial bias offered to prove a violation of the Sixth Amendment right to an impartial jury.” A useful overview is offered here.

There is another unusual afternoon argument today, but involving technical appeal procedure. And there are no arguments scheduled for Wednesday this week.

Final argument days

March 31, 2016case suggestions

The Supreme Court’s last day of schedule argument this term is April 27. In the final two weeks, it will consider cases involving immigration (two “deferred action” programs) and compelled alcohol testing without a warrant. [The Court also takes up issues relevant in patent and copyright litigation, the False Claims Act, specific criminal law issues, and other matters that are not recommended for the casual observer but are listed over on scotusblog.]

Monday, April 18

The sole case scheduled for today is among the most controversial of the term, U.S. v. Texas. The case is a challenge by 26 states to the Obama Administration’s DACA and DAPA policies (more fully, Deferred Action for Children Arrivals and Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents). The policies would (they were enjoined before implemented) provide guidelines for immigration authorities to postpone action on people who are alleged to be in the US illegally. There is longstanding authority that the executive branch can choose how to prioritize prosecution of cases. The central complication seems to be that formal deferred action would cause the individual to be termed “lawfully present,” which arguably comes with benefits and effects a change in the law that was not authorized by Congress or even arrived at through the normal process for considering and adopting Agency regulations (known as “notice and comment rule making,” as required by the Administrative Procedures Act) and would be–the states say–beyond the scope of what can be authorized by Executive Order. One interesting and useful response to that argument is available here.

If you go to the arguments, follow that link and take some time to understand the terminology. The politicized dispute is familiar but the legal arguments may be a little harder to follow without some preparation. And get there early–this is a highly controversial area and the arguments are sure to draw a crowd. (Or get there later and just plan to take in the demonstrations and press conferences out front.)

Wednesday, April 20

Several consolidated cases (one hour total) involve laws that make it a crime to refuse to take a drunk-driving test. The Court accepted cases with factual differences: one person refused to take a breathalyzer, another refused a blood test, and another refused a field sobriety test and was then taken to the hospital for a blood test against his will. In each instance, there was no warrant but a state law required compliance with a police officer’s order to take the test. In 2013, the Court issued an opinion that seemed suspicious of general rules that no warrant was required, but noted that dissipation of alcohol in the blood could amount to risk of loss of evidence and “exigent circumstances” in at least some cases, permitting a search without a warrant. However, the Court was divided and the facts were unclear in that case. A useful overview is available here.

The Court will also hear a case with limited applicability but a rather interesting question. The Fair Labor Standards Act provides that certain types of employees are exempt from overtime pay, including “any salesman, partsman, or mechanic primarily engaged in selling or servicing automobiles.” The question in Encino Motorcars, LLC v. Navarro is whether “Service Advisors,” who meet the customer coming in for service and decide what services the customer needs, is within that category of employees exempt from overtime pay.

Feb 29 – March 2 cases

February 24, 2016case suggestions

One of the most anticipated arguments of the term–involving abortion rights–is scheduled for Wednesday. The Court also takes up gun control for persons convicted of domestic violence and the death penalty on Monday.

Monday, February 29

The first case will be viewed as a gun control issue in the context of domestic violence, but involves questions of Congressional intent where a federal law is triggered by a state law conviction. Federal law prohibits firearm possession by someone who has been previously convicted of a crime of domestic violence. Such a criminal act generally evokes intentional conduct, but 34 states have reckless assault laws. The question is whether Congress intended for the federal prohibition to extend to convictions for laws that required only reckless conduct. Full write-up of all the issues in Voisine v. US is here.

The second argument is in a death penalty case. The official question presented in Williams v. Pennsylvania describes the case well: Whether the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments are violated where a state supreme court justice declines to recuse himself in a capital case in which he had personally approved the decision to pursue capital punishment against the defendant in his prior capacity as an elected prosecutor and continued to head the prosecutors’ office that defended the death verdict on appeal, and where he had publicly expressed strong support for capital punishment during his judicial election campaign by referencing the number of defendants he had “sent” to death row, including the defendant in the case now before the court; and (2) whether the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments are violated by the participation of a potentially biased jurist on a multimember tribunal deciding a capital case, regardless of whether his vote is ultimately decisive.

Tuesday, March 1

The cases today are important but fairly limited in scope. Nichols v. US asks whether federal law requires a sex offender to update his registration in the state where he was convicted when he resides outside the US. Husky International Electronics v. Ritz involves the “actual fraud” bar to discharging debts in bankruptcy.

Wednesday, March 2 – abortion

It has been eight years since the Supreme Court has directly taken on questions relating to laws that restrict access to abortion. States may regulate abortion providers, just as they may regulate other medical practices, but laws that place an “undue burden” on a woman’s ability to access abortion are unconstitutional. Regulations that improve safely and health typically survive the “undue burden” test, but in this case, providers argue that the restrictions Texas put into place do not actually enhance health and safety, despite the state’s claimed purposes. The Court has accepted cert on the question of whether the Fifth Circuit erred by “refusing to consider whether and to what extent laws that restrict abortion for the stated purpose of promoting health actually serve the government’s interest in promoting health.” Linda Greenhouse has co-authored a useful overview of this case and the history of the Court’s approaches to abortion rights and restrictions.

This case will draw a huge crowd. It will be worth going to the Court just to see (or be part of) the crowds, demonstrations, and press conferences. Demonstrations will start around 8:00am, may calm down a bit during the 10:00 argument and as people come and go, and then there will be more renewed demonstrations and press conferences when the arguing counsel exit the Court, probably around 11:30. If you want to get into the courtroom, you’ll need to get there very early; I wouldn’t be surprised if enough people camp out overnight to fill the court. More than 80 amicus briefs have been filed, and the Solicitor General has been granted permission to participate in oral argument (in addition to counsel for the clinic and for Texas, the parties to this case). I don’t see an order extending time for the argument, but no other case is scheduled for this day and I would expect the argument to run a little past the usual hour.

December 8 & 9 – voting rights & affirmative action

December 2, 2015case suggestions

November cases involved a number of fairly arcane legal issues, but next week sees two important sets of arguments in areas of broad interest.

Tuesday, December 8

Both cases today involve voting rights and Congressional Districts. An excellent overview of the history of “one person, one vote” is available here. Briefly, Evenwel v. Abbott raises the question of who counts as a “person” within that “one person, one vote” framework–in other words, in deciding whether Congressional Districts are equal in size, should we look to total population, registered voters, eligible voters, or some other measure? Oddly, this has never been decided. Harris v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission asks whether partisan gerrymandering is constitutional and whether a desire to obtain pre-clearance under the Voting Rights Act (which has since been struck down, but was purportedly on the minds of the commissioners when they drew these districts) can be a legitimate justification for the districts. The cases have not been consolidated, so one hour for each.

Wednesday, December 9

The Fisher v. Univeristy of Texas at Austin case is back before the Supreme Court today. This case has already generated one Supreme Court decision and two 5th Circuit decisions. This case against affirmative action persists, even though UT says Fisher would not have been admitted to the university regardless of race, and notes that applicants of color with higher test scores and GPAs were not admitted. There’s a great deal of speculation about why the Court has agreed to accept the case a second time. The oral arguments should be fascinating and over-alayzed, and it is sure to draw a crowd both for getting into the Court and for demonstrating on the plaza. This is the only case scheduled today, but is still set for one hour (UT’s counsel will share 10 minutes of that’s side’s half-hour with the Solicitor General).

First Monday (and more)

September 14, 2015case suggestions

The 2015-16 Supreme Court term opens on October 5 (the “first Monday” in October) and in the first two weeks the Court will hear arguments in several cases involving the death penalty, whether the 2012 decision that life without parole for minors is unconstitutional should apply retroactively to old cases, and whether Austria is entitled to sovereign immunity for a Eurail injury.

Looking further ahead, some of the most significant cases this term will involve the ability to challenge race discrimination in jury selection (Foster v. Chatman; oral arguments on November 2), “one person one vote” and the Voting Rights Act (two cases; arguments not yet scheduled but could be later this year), and affirmative action in college admissions (Fisher v. UT-Austin; also not scheduled, but probably early 2016).

I’ll have more to say on those and other cases as they come up for argument. The Court schedules cases for oral argument on an ongoing basis, as the written briefing in each case is complete. It hears cases on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, typically in the first two weeks of each month.

This blog is meant to point to cases that I think will be particularly interesting to my students and other casual observers. A reminder that Scotusblog is a great resource for the full listing of cases and other Court news, and that you can see practical info on attending arguments on this page.

And now, the October cases of note:

Monday, October 5

The term opens with two cases involving fairly technical areas of the law, but may be of interest to some casual observers.

In Hawkins v. Community Bank of Raymore, two wives were made to personally guarantee loans to a company owned by their husbands. They allege that the bank only required this because they were married to the owners of the company, which they say constitutes discrimination on the basis of marital status in violation of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. The Court will have to decide if guarantors are covered under the ECOA or if the Federal Reserve can extend protections to them by regulation.

OBB Personenverkehr AG v. Sachs involves a woman who was seriously injured on Eurail and had to have both legs amputated. The location and site of the injury was a government-owned railroad. Austria has asserted immunity under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, while the plaintiff says the “commercial activities” exception to FSIA applies. The Eurail pass was sold through a Massachusetts company. Is this commercial activity (selling tickets through an agent and running a travel service) or government activity (running a state-owned railroad)?

Tuesday, October 6

Cases today involve interpreting the elements of criminal conspiracy and preemption of the Federal Arbitration Act. Neither are particularly recommended for the casual observer.

Wednesday, October 7

The full day is devoted to important death penalty issues in consolidated cases. Ordinarily, jury members understand that they should only say something is true if they determine it to be true beyond a reasonable doubt–for example, “did the defendant shoot the victim?” or “did he act with malice aforethought?” should only be answered in the affirmative if it is beyond a reasonable doubt. In death penalty cases, however, jurors need not find mitigating factors beyond a reasonable doubt–if a juror thinks the defendant was probably under duress, for example, but is not completely sure, she can still vote for life. The juries in these cases were not told that mitigating factors need not be found beyond a reasonable doubt. The first hour today will be devoted to that issue, with the second hour addressing whether the defendants should have been tried separately.

Tuesday, October 13
(the Court is closed Monday for Columbus Day)

In 2012, the Court held that sentencing systems that can send a person to jail for life without possibility of parole for crimes committed while a minor are unconstitutional. The issue in Montgomery v. Louisiana is whether that rule is retroactive, requiring resentencing of defendants whose direct appeals were exhausted before the 2012 ruling.

The Court then returns to the death penalty in Hurst v. Florida, with the question “whether Florida’s death sentencing scheme violates the Sixth Amendment or the Eighth Amendment in light of this Court’s decision in Ring v. Arizona.” The wording of the question presented has led to considerable speculation.

Wednesday, October 14

Cases today involve technical issues regarding the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and issues of civil procedure in a specific factual context. Neither is recommended for the casual observer.

[The Court will next hear cases on November 2, so look for a post in mid-October discussing November cases.]

Speculation and Updates: Final decision days

June 25, 2015case suggestions, commentary

Factual update and speculation… To speculate first, Scalia offered an unhappy announcement of his dissent in the Affordable Care Act decision, which I think may provide a spoiler on the outcome of the Congressional redistricting case. The ACA issue was statutory interpretation, and the majority read insurance exchanges “established by the state” to include ones established by the federal government in stead of the state. To bash this, Scalia referenced the Constitution’s elections clause, and suggested that everyone would agree that Congress using its election-regulating power would not represent “the state legislature” acting (this is from memory, but that’s the gist). So — if this means that the majority of the Court has agreed that a plain and un-nuanced reading of the elections clause is what commands, then I think the Independent Redistricting Commission is about to lose… (See the bullets below if you need a refresher on what that case is about.) It’s possible that he was forecasting another dissent in that case, but that’s not how I heard it.

Further speculation is that I expect we’ll know about that case tomorrow, with marriage on Monday. I say this simply because it seemed like redistricting is almost ready, and because both Kennedy and Roberts had major opinions today so are a little less likely to have opinions tomorrow (and they seem the most likely authors of a marriage decision). But that’s a bit of a stretch on my part, and I plan to be in the courtroom tomorrow in any event.

If you plan to attend, know that the public area was full today but the bar section was not. There was also a fairly sizable set of demonstrators out front. The Obamacare supporters were chanting (they cleverly had stickers to modify their large signs, depending on the outcome), and I saw people who looked like they had been ready for a decision in the marriage cases. So even standing outside the courtroom can be a worthwhile experience on big decision days.

Now for objective information: after today’s decisions, there are now 5 cases that were heard this term but are still undecided, with two announcement days left on the Court’s calendar–tomorrow and Monday. So an updated recap of what remains (ordered by date of oral argument):

Congressional redistricting by independent bodies, Arizona State Legislature v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission (argued March 2). Frustrated with political gamesmanship and claims of racial discrimination in the process of drawing Congressional districts, voters in Arizona amended the state constitution to empower an independent body to draw the districts. Interestingly, Congressional districts are never mentioned in the U.S. Constitution, but it does state that “times, places and manner of holding elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each state by the legislature thereof.” (Art. I § 4.) Arizona’s legislature seized upon this to challenge the AIRC. Certainly, most people would not call the AIRC “the legislature,” but arguably the phrase refers to any body that makes statutory laws, and a state constitution can vest the legislative power in one body, in a bicameral system, or broken up among multiple bodies with specially defined legislative functions. In addition to the question of whether the Constitution permits the people of Arizona to prescribe this system, the Court must decide whether the legislature has standing to bring this case.
Role of cost-benefit analyses in EPA regulations, [3 cases] v. EPA (argued March 25). Important issues about what the EPA must consider when it regulates power plants. Fuller analysis is here.
Criminal law, Johnson v. US (argued April 20): (1) Whether mere possession of a short-barreled shotgun should be treated as a violent felony under the Armed Career Criminal Act. (2) Whether the residual clause in the Armed Career Criminal Act is unconstitutionally vague.
Same-sex marriage, Obergefell v. Hodges (argued April 28). One of the most high-profile cases of the term.
Death penalty drugs, Glossip v. Gross (argued April 29). A challenge to the “three-drug cocktail” commonly used in executions.

Final Decision Days – full recap

June 23, 2015case suggestions

The Court has issued decisions in a number of cases since my last post, but several of the most highly anticipated cases still remain. In addition to the typical Monday decision day, the last of which is next week (the 29th), the Court has added two decision day on Thursday and Friday this week. There are now 7 cases that were heard this term but still undecided. It’s possible that the Court will wrap up this week and not use Monday, but probably more likely that it will spread decisions over the 3 days that are currently on its calendar.

So an updated recap of what remains (ordered by date of oral argument):

Disparate impact under the Fair Housing Act, Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. The Inclusive Communities Project (argued Jan 29). The FHA prohibits denial of housing to a person “because of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, or national origin.” Certainly, any form of individualized, intentional discrimination would be “because of” the person’s protected status and therefore illegal; this is termed “disparate treatment.” But what about policies that are facially neutral as to status but in reality will almost always be obstacles for members of a certain demographic? Does enforcing a policy that has a “disparate impact” constitute denial of housing “because of” race or other protected status?
This case involves the allocation of tax credits and the impact on housing voucher programs. Ordinarily, landlords are legally entitled to decline to accept Section 8 housing vouchers, under which the government pays part of the rent for low-income renters — only landlords who have received a tax credit must accept vouchers. The state agency allocated most tax credits in predominantly non-white neighborhoods. The effect of that policy is that white neighborhoods have comparatively few landlords who are required to accept housing vouchers. Hence this suit, alleging that the tax credit allocation policy had a disparate impact on minorities who were seeking housing in historically white neighborhoods.
Congressional redistricting by independent bodies, Arizona State Legislature v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission (argued March 2). Frustrated with political gamesmanship and claims of racial discrimination in the process of drawing Congressional districts, voters in Arizona amended the state constitution to empower an independent body to draw the districts. Interestingly, Congressional districts are never mentioned in the U.S. Constitution, but it does state that “times, places and manner of holding elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each state by the legislature thereof.” (Art. I § 4.) Arizona’s legislature seized upon this to challenge the AIRC. Certainly, most people would not call the AIRC “the legislature,” but arguably the phrase refers to any body that makes statutory laws, and a state constitution can vest the legislative power in one body, in a bicameral system, or broken up among multiple bodies with specially defined legislative functions. In addition to the question of whether the Constitution permits the people of Arizona to prescribe this system, the Court must decide whether the legislature has standing to bring this case.
Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”), King v. Burwell (argued March 4). Its constitutionality is established, but there’s a question about whether the specific language in the law allows for tax subsidies for people who get their insurance through the federal exchange instead of through their state. Useful details in this article.
Role of cost-benefit analyses in EPA regulations, [3 cases] v. EPA (argued March 25). Important issues about what the EPA must consider when it regulates power plants. Fuller analysis is here.
Criminal law, Johnson v. US (argued April 20): (1) Whether mere possession of a short-barreled shotgun should be treated as a violent felony under the Armed Career Criminal Act. (2) Whether the residual clause in the Armed Career Criminal Act is unconstitutionally vague.
Same-sex marriage, Obergefell v. Hodges (argued April 28). One of the most high-profile cases of the term.
Death penalty drugs, Glossip v. Gross (argued April 29). A challenge to the “three-drug cocktail” commonly used in executions.

I’ve attended the last two decision days, walking into the Court at about 8:30. Last Thursday, there was barely any public line at that time, but yesterday, the line was getting close to capacity. With only three days left and so many significant cases, I would expect attendance to become more popular, so would suggest getting there as early as possible. (The lawyer section has not been full, if you happen to be a member of the Supreme Court Bar. But that may well change soon.)