More opinions are to be announced Wednesday and Thursday. Expect the Noel Canning and Hobby Lobby cases then. That is all.
Burt Likko is the pseudonym of an attorney in Southern California. His interests include Constitutional law with a special interest in law relating to the concept of separation of church and state, cooking, good wine, and bad science fiction movies. Follow his sporadic Tweets at @burtlikko, and his Flipboard at Burt Likko.
Burt Likko
Pseudonymous Portlander. Pursuer of happiness. Bon vivant. Homebrewer. Atheist. Recovering Republican. Recovering Catholic. Recovering divorcé. Editor-in-Chief Emeritus of Ordinary Times. Relapsed Lawyer, admitted to practice law (under his real name) in California and Oregon. There's a Twitter account at @burtlikko, but not used for posting on the general feed anymore. House Likko's Words: Scite Verum. Colite Iusticia. Vivere Con Gaudium.
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I have very mixed feelings about the Court waiting until the end of term to release the major decisions.
On the one hand, I am sure that these cases get debated through a luck of memo writing behind the scenes.
On the other hand, I can’t help but think that they do it so they can flee for vacation and avoid the heat of the kitchen from the results.Report
This term has not been nearly so end-punctuated as others. Several big cases like McCutcheon v. FEC (election contributions), Town of Greece v. Galloway (Establishment clause), Schuette v. BAMN (affirmative action), and Executive Benefits v. Arkison (role of bankruptcy courts) have all been handed down already.Report
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You are forgetting Real Housewives of the Supreme Court!
That was the case I was waiting for.Report
Egad. I pray that’s not really a thing.Report
While probably of interest to only a small subset of us, today’s decision in Utility Air Regulatory Group v. EPA is significant. IANAL, but on first reading, “tortured” is the adjective that comes to mind. Well, Alito’s dissent (Thomas concurring) is clear enough: “The rest of you all got it wrong in Massachusetts v. EPA, you’re still wrong, and greenhouse gases simply can’t be regulated under the CAA.” Otherwise, it seems to set things up for a decade’s worth of challenges to every attempt that will be made to actually regulate greenhouse gases from fixed sources.Report
Maybe “cobbled together” is the adjective I’m looking for. I admit, this is one where I would love to be able to have a transcript of all the memos and conversations that went into putting it together.Report
Any predictions/thoughts on Harris v. Quinn?Report
They saved it for the last day, so that suggests it’s been some combination of exacting from a research perspective, and contentious from a disposition perspective. The 7th Circuit has gone 3-for-3 this term, and that bucks a 3:1 reversal ratio that’s been a highlight of the Roberts Court. I’d look for a 5-4 vote for reversal, I’m guessing Alito writing for majority on free association grounds, and Breyer leading the dissent on ripeness grounds.Report
Thanks for the thoughts. I imagine the fair share provision will be invalidated, but the decision won’t wipe out fair share generally, just in this case because of the weird medicaid issues. However, I don’t really know and am just spitballing. (I’ve listened to the oral arguments, but didn’t read the briefs, and ianal, etc.)Report
I’m expecting decisions in Hobby Lobby, Noel Canning, and McCullen tomorrow. And my term recap is mostly written now. Thing is, I have about a dozen trials starting about an hour and a half after the decisions are to be announced. So, bear with me tomorrow while I keep my own bills paid and we’ll have a recap ready to go.Report