Author: Erin Miller

No oral arguments are scheduled, and no non-capital orders are expected to be issued.  Although the Justices would normally have held a private Conference today, several Justices are in London to attend opening ceremonies for the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, and the Conference...

Most of the major news outlets have coverage of the hospitalization of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, including the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today, as well as the BLT.  It is the second time in less than a month that Ginsburg has been hospitalized, but she has returned home.  Yesterday Lyle covered the story extensively as well. Wednesday’s oral argument in Alvarez v. Smith disappointed some commentators insofar as the Justices focused largely on procedural questions rather than on a clash between individual rights and the police.  Nathan Koppel at the WSJ Law Blog has this commentary.  Ilya Somin at The Volokh Conspiracy explains why the case should be a significant one for the Due Process Clause, though it has “failed to attract the attention it deserves.”

No oral arguments are scheduled, and no non-capital orders are expected to be issued....

The transcript of oral argument in Alvarez v. Smith (08-351) is here. The transcript in Perdue v. Kenny A. (08-970) is here....

The grant of certiorari in Skilling v. United States yesterday is dominating news and blog headlines. As the New York Times reports, former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling is challenging his conviction under the federal law banning “honest services fraud,” or an attempt to “deprive another of the intangible right of honest services.”  Skilling claims the law is unconstitutionally vague, unless it is interpreted to mean that the defendant intended to derive private gain at the expense of his employer.  The government has conceded that Skilling’s actions to inflate Enron profits did not advance his private interests.  Yet Bloomberg points out the government’s claim that, for Skilling, “a victory on the honest services issue would leave intact his convictions on other securities fraud and conspiracy counts.”

The Court will hear oral arguments this morning in two cases. In Alvarez v. Smith, it will consider whether the Due Process Clause provides individuals whose personal property was seized by government authorities pursuant to a state criminal forfeiture statute with the right to an interim...

The transcripts of oral arguments are here for Padilla v. Kentucky (08-651), here for Smith v. Spisak (08-724), and here for South Carolina v. North Carolina (138 Original)....

The Court will hear oral arguments in three cases. In Padilla v. Kentucky (08-651), it will consider whether the Sixth Amendment's guarantee of legal counsel is met by a defense lawyer who misrepresents the deportation consequences of a guilty plea to his noncitizen client.  Anna Christensen...