US Supreme Court Docket
[Download March 21-30, 2005 Argument Calendar PDF]
[Click here for 2003-2004 Docket]
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Tuesday, March 1
Exxon Mobil Corporation v. Allapattah Services, Inc., et al.
No. 04-70
Maria Del Rosario Ortega, et al. v. Star-Kist Foods, Inc.
No. 04-79
Subject:
-
Supplemental Jurisdiction, Class Actions, Absent Class Members, Amount-in-Controversy
Exxon Mobil Corp. v. Allapattah Servs., Inc., et al. - No. 04-70Decisions:
Whether the supplemental jurisdiction statute, 28 U.S.C. 1367, authorizes federal courts with diversity jurisdiction over the individual claims of named plaintiffs to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the claims of absent class members that do not satisfy the minimum amount-in-controversy requirement?
Del Rosario Ortega, et al. v. Star-Kist Foods, Inc. - No. 04-79
Whether, in a civil diversity action in which the claims of one plaintiff meet the amount-in-controversy threshold, 28 U.S.C. 1367 authorizes the district courts to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the related claims of additional plaintiffs who do not satisfy the amount-in-controversy requirement?
- U.S. Court of Appeals - 11th Circuit (Allapattah Servs., Inc. v. Page), Opinion Filed: June 11, 2003
- U.S. Court of Appeals - 1st Circuit (Del Rosario Ortega, et al. v. Star-Kist Foods, Inc.), Opinion Filed: June 2, 2004
- United States Supreme Court, Cert. Granted: October 12, 2004
Resources:
- Docket Sheet - No. 04-70 From the U.S. Supreme Court.
- Docket Sheet - No. 04-79 From the U.S. Supreme Court.
- Northwestern University - Medill School of Journalism: On the Docket
Parties
-
Merits Phase
- Petitioner Exxon Mobil Corp.
- Respondents Allapattah Servs., Inc., et al.
- Respondent Star-Kist Foods, Inc. (2.2 MB)
- Petitioners Ortega, et al. - Reply (1.6 MB)
For Petitioner Exxon Mobil Corp.:
Carter G. PhillipsFor Respondents Allapattah Servs, Inc., et al.:
Sidley Austin Brown & Wood LLP
Washington, DC
Eugene E. StearnsFor Petitioners Ortega, et al.:
Sterns Weaver Miller Weissler
Alhadeff & Sitterson, P.A.
Miami, FL
Donald Belton AyerFor Respondent Star-Kist Foods, Inc.:
Jones Day
Washington, DC
Robert A. Long, Jr.
Covington & Burling
Washington, DC
Carman L. Deck v. Missouri
No. 04-5293
Subject:
-
Fifth, Sixth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments
-
Are the Fifth, Sixth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments violated by forcing a
capital defendant to proceed through penalty phase while shackled and handcuffed
to a belly chain in full view of the jury, and if so, doesn't the burden fall on the
state to show that the error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt, rather than
on the defendant to show that he was prejudiced?
- Supreme Court of Missouri, Opinion Filed: May 25, 2004
- United States Supreme Court, Cert. Granted: October 18, 2004
Resources:
- Docket Sheet From the U.S. Supreme Court.
- Northwestern University - Medill School of Journalism: On the Docket
Parties
-
Merits Phase
- Petitioner
- Respondent
- Petitioner - Reply
For Petitioner Deck:
Rosemary E. PercivalFor Respondent Missouri:
Kansas City, MO
Evan J. Buchheim
Jefferson City, MO
Wednesday, March 2
Thomas Van Orden v. Rick Perry, Governor of Texas and Chairman, State Preservation Board, et
al.
No. 03-1500
Subject:
-
First Amendment, Establishment Clause, Religion, Ten Commandments Display
-
Whether a large monument, 6 feet high and 3 feet wide, presenting the Ten
Commandments, located on government property between the Texas State Capitol
and the Texas Supreme Court, is an impermissible establishment of religion in
violation of the First Amendment.
- U.S. Court of Appeals - 5th Circuit Opinion Filed: November 12, 2003
- United States Supreme Court, Cert. Granted: October 12, 2004
Resources:
- Docket Sheet From the U.S. Supreme Court.
- Northwestern University - Medill School of Journalism: On the Docket
Briefs:
Parties
-
Merits Phase
- Petitioner
- Respondents
- Petitioner - Reply
For Petitioner Van Orden:
Erwin ChemerinskyFor Respondents Perry, et al.:
Duke University School of Law
Durham, NC
Amy Warr
Assistant Solicitor General
Austin, TX
McCreary County, Kentucky, et al. v. American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky, et al.
No. 03-1693
Subject:
-
First Amendment, Establishment Clause, Religion, Ten Commandments Display
- Whether the Establishment Clause is violated by a privately donated display
on government property that includes eleven equal size frames containing an
explanation of the display along with nine historical documents and symbols
that played a role in the development of American law and government
where only one of the framed documents is the Ten Commandments and the
remaining documents and symbols are secular.
- Whether a prior display by the government in a courthouse containing the
Ten Commandments that was enjoined by a court permanently taints and
thereby precludes any future display by the same government when the
subsequent display articulates a secular purpose and where the Ten
Commandments is a minority among numerous other secular historical
documents and symbols.
- Whether the Lemon test
should be overruled since the test is unworkable and has fostered excessive confusion in
Establishment Clause jurisprudence.
- Whether a new test for Establishment Clause purposes should be set forth by this Court when the government displays or recognizes historical expressions of religion.
- U.S. Court of Appeals - 6th Circuit, Opinion Filed: December 18, 2003
- United States Supreme Court, Cert. Granted: October 12, 2004
Resources:
- Docket Sheet From the U.S. Supreme Court.
- Northwestern University - Medill School of Journalism: On the Docket
Briefs:
Parties
-
Petition Phase
- Petitioners
- Respondents - Opposition
-
Merits Phase
- Petitioners
- Respondents
- Petitioners
- Reply
Counsel of Record
For Petitioners McCreary County, et al.:
Mathew D. Staver
For Respondents ACLU of KY, et al.:
Liberty Counsel
Longwood, FL
David A. Freidman
Louisville, KY
Monday, March 21
Town of Castle Rock, Colorado v. Jessica Gonzales, et al.
No. 04-278Subject:
-
Partial Restraining Orders, Procedural Due Process, Local Government, Absence of State
Remedy
- Whether, in conflict with decisions of the Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, and D.C.
Circuits, the Tenth Circuit's decision permitting a procedural due process
claim against a local government for its failure to protect the holder of a
partial restraining order from private violence, when the State itself
provides no such remedy, so circumvents as to effectively repudiate this
Court's holding in DeShaney
rejecting a similar substantive due process
claim?
- If the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause is read to permit, via its procedural aspects, the same substantive claims already rejected by this Court in DeShaney, what kind of process is required for police inaction with respect to a partial restraining order not to violate the constitution?
- U.S. Court of Appeals - 10th Circuit, En Banc Opinion Filed: April 29, 2004
- United States Supreme Court, Cert. Granted: November 1, 2004
Resources:
- Docket Sheet From the U.S. Supreme Court.
- Northwestern University - Medill School of Journalism: On the Docket
Briefs:
Parties-
Merits Phase
- Petitioner
- Respondents
For Petitioner Castle Rock:
Eric Michael Ziporin
For Respondents Gonzales, et al.:
Senter Goldfarb & Rice, L.L.C.
Denver, CO
Brian J. Reichel
Broomfield, CO
Jon B. Cutter, et al. v. Reginald Wilkinson, Director, Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, et al.
No. 03-9877Subject:
-
Establilshment Clause, Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act
-
Whether Congress violated the Establishment Clause by enacting the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, 42 U.S.C.
2000cc-1 through 2000cc-5,
which requires state officials to lift unnecessary governmental burdens imposed on
the religious exercise of institutionalized persons under their control.
- U.S. Court of Appeals - 6th Circuit, Opinion Filed: November 7, 2003
- United States Supreme Court, Cert. Granted: October 12, 2004
Resources:
- Docket Sheet From the U.S. Supreme Court.
- Northwestern University - Medill School of Journalism: On the Docket
Briefs:
Parties-
Merits Phase
- Petitioners
- Respondents
- Respondent United States - Supporting Petitioners [TEXT]
- Petitioners - Reply
For Petitioners Cutter, et al.:
David Goldberger
For Respondents Wilkinson, et al.:
Ohio State University College of Law
Columbus, OH
Douglas R. Cole
For Respondent United States:
State Solicitor General
Columbus, OH
Paul D. Clement
Acting U.S. Solicitor General
Washington, DC
Tuesday, March 22
Ulysses Tory, et al. v. Johnnie L. Cochran
No. 03-1488Subject:
-
First Amendment, Free Speech, Permanent Injunction against Speech, Defamation
-
Whether a permanent injunction as a remedy in a defamation action, preventing all
future speech about an admitted public figure, violates the First Amendment.
- Court of Appeal of California, Unpublished Opinion Filed: October 29, 2003
- United States Supreme Court, Cert. Granted: September 28, 2004
Resources:
- Docket Sheet From the U.S. Supreme Court.
- Northwestern University - Medill School of Journalism: On the Docket
Briefs:
Parties-
Merits Phase
- Petitioners
- Respondent
- Petitioners - Reply
For Petitioners Tory, et al.:
Erwin Chemerinsky
For Respondent Cochran:
Duke University School of Law
Durham, NC
Jonathan B. Cole
Nemecek & Cole
Sherman Oaks, CA
Michael Donald Dodd v. United States
No. 04-5286Subject:
-
Habeas Corpus, Motion Attacking Sentence, Statute of Limitations
-
Does the one-year limitations period in 28 U.S.C. 2255 6(3) begin to run (i) when either the Court
or the
controlling circuit court has held that the relevant right applies
retroactively to cases on collateral review (as the Third, Fourth, Sixth,
Seventh, and Ninth Circuits hold), or instead (ii) when the Court
recognizes a new right, whether or not it is made retroactively applicable
to cases on collateral review (as the Fifth and Eleventh Circuits hold, and
the Second and Eighth Circuits have stated in dicta)?
- U.S. Court of Appeals - 11th Circuit Opinion Filed: April 16, 2004
- United States Supreme Court, Cert. Granted: November 29, 2004
Resources:
- Docket Sheet From the U.S. Supreme Court.
- Northwestern University - Medill School of Journalism: On the Docket
Briefs:
Parties-
Merits Phase
- Petitioner
- Respondent
For Petitioner Dodd:
Janice L. Bergmann
For Respondent United States:
Assistant Federal Public Defender
Fort Lauderdale, FL
Paul D. Clement
Acting U.S. Solicitor General
Washington, DC
Monday, March 28
San Remo Hotel, L.P., et al. v. City and County of San Francisco, California, et al.
No. 04-340Subject:
-
Fifth Amendment, Due Process, Taking Without Just Compensation, Issue Preclusion
-
Is a Fifth Amendment Takings claim barred by issue preclusion based on a
judgment denying compensation solely under state law, which was rendered
in a state court proceeding that was required to ripen the federal Takings
claim?
- U.S. Court of Appeals - 9th Circuit Opinion Filed: April 14, 2004
- United States Supreme Court, Cert. Granted: December 10, 2004
Resources:
- Docket Sheet From the U.S. Supreme Court.
- Northwestern University - Medill School of Journalism: On the Docket
Briefs:
Parties-
Merits Phase
- Petitioners
- Respondents (1 MB)
For Petitioners San Remo Hotel, et al.:
Paul F. Utrecht
For Respondents San Francisco, et al.:
Andrew M. Zacks
San Francisco, CA
Andrew W. Schwartz
Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger LLP
San Francisco, CA
Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and its Optional Protocol Concerning the Compulsory Settlement of Disputes. Acting on the consent set forth in the Optional Protocol, Mexico initiated proceedings in the International Court of Justice seeking relief for the violation of Petitioners Vienna Convention rights. On March 31, 2004, the Court rendered a judgment that adjudicated Petitioners rights. Avena and Other Mexican Nationals (Mex. v. U.S.) , 2004 I.C.J. 128 (Mar. 31). The Avena Judgment built on the Courts rulings in LaGrand (F.R.G. v. U.S.), 2001 I.C.J. 104 (June 27), an earlier case also brought under the Optional Protocol.
- On Petitioner's application for a certificate of appealability of the denial of his petition for habeas corpus, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that precedents of this Court and its own barred it from complying with the LaGrand and Avena Judgments.
- In a case brought by a Mexican national whose rights
were adjudicated in the Avena Judgment, must a court in
the United States apply as the rule of decision,
notwithstanding any inconsistent United States precedent,
the Avena holding that the United States courts must
review and reconsider the national's conviction and
sentence, without resort to procedural default
doctrines?
- In a case brought by a foreign national of a State party to the Vienna Convention, should a court in the United States give effect to the LaGrand and Avena Judgments as a matter of international judicial comity and in the interest of uniform treaty interpretation?
- U.S. Court of Appeals - 5th Circuit Opinion Filed: May 20, 2004
- United States Supreme Court, Cert. Granted: December 10, 2004
Resources:
- Docket Sheet From the U.S. Supreme Court.
- Northwestern University - Medill School of Journalism: On the Docket
Briefs:
Parties-
Petition Phase
- Petitioner
- Respondent - Opposition (2.8 MB)
- Petitioner - Reply
-
Merits Phase
- Petitioner
- Respondent
- Petitioner - Reply
-
Merits Phase
- American Bar Association
- Bar Associations and Human Rights Organizations
- Former United States Diplomats
- European Union and Members of the International Communtiy
- Foreign Sovereigns, et al.
- International Law Experts, et al.
- Ambassador Bruce Laingen, et al.
- Government of the United Mexican States
- NAFSA: Association of International Educators, et al. (1.2 MB)
-
Merits Phase
- States of Alabama, et al.
- Alliance Defense Fund (4.2 MB)
- U.S. Senator John Cornyn
- Criminal Justice Legal Foundation
- Liberty Legal Institute (1.7 MB)
- Mountain States Legal Foundation
- National District Attorneys Association (2 MB)
- Professors of International Law, et al. (3 MB)
- United States [TEXT]
- Washington Legal Foundation, et al.
For Petitioner Medellin:
Donald Francis Donovan
For Respondent Dretke:
Debevoise & Plimpton, LLP
New York, NY
Gena Bunn
Assistant Attorney General
Austin, TX
Tuesday, March 29
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., et al. v. Grokster, Ltd., et al.
No. 04-480Subject:
-
Copyright Law, Internet-Based "File Sharing"
-
Whether the Ninth Circuit erred in concluding, contrary
to long-established principles of secondary liability in
copyright law (and in acknowledged conflict with the
Seventh Circuit), that the Internet-based "file sharing"
services Grokster and StreamCast should be immunized from
copyright liability for the millions of daily acts of copyright
infringement that occur on their services and that constitute
at least 90% of the total use of the services.
- U.S. District Court Order Filed: April 25, 2003
- U.S. Court of Appeals - 9th Circuit Opinion Filed: August 19, 2004
- United States Supreme Court, Cert. Granted: December 10, 2004
- United States Supreme Court, Decided: June 27, 2005
Resources:
- Docket Sheet From the U.S. Supreme Court.
- Northwestern University - Medill School of Journalism: On the Docket
Parties-
Merits Phase
- Motion Picture Studio and Recording Company Petitioners
- Songwriter and Music Publisher Petitioners
- Respondents Grokster, Ltd., and Streamcast Newtworks, Inc.
- Motion Picture Studio and Recording Company Petitioners - Reply
- Songwriter and Music Publisher Petitioners - Reply
-
Merits Phase
- American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada, et al.
- American Society of Composers, et al.
- Americans for Tax Reform
- Business Software Alliance
- Commissioner of Baseball, NBA, NFL, Professional Photographers of America, et al.
- Defenders of Property Rights
- International Rights Owners
- Kids First Coalition, Christian Coalition of America, Concerned Women for America, et al.
- Law and Economics Professors
- Law Professors, Economics Professors and Treatise Authors
- Macrovision Corporation
- Professors Peter Menell, David Nimmer, Robert Merges and Justin Hughes
- Napster, Movielink, CinemaNow, MusicNet et al.
- National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, et al.
- National Association of Broadcasters
- National Association of Recording Merchandisers
- Progress and Freedom Foundation
- State Attorneys General
- United States [TEXT]
-
Merits Phase
- Altnet, Inc.
- American Civil Liberties Union, et al.
- American Conservative Union and National Taxpayers Union
- Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association, et al.
- Computer Science Professors Harold Abelson, et al.
- Computing Industry Association
- Consumer Electronics Association, et al.
- Consumer Federation of America, et al.
- Creative Commons
- Distributed Computing Industry Association
- Eagle Forum Education and Legal Defense Fund
- Emerging Technology Companies
- Free Software Foundation and New Yorkers for Fair Use
- Innovation Scholars and Economists
- Intel Corporation
- Sixty Intellectual Property and Technology Law Professors, et al.
- Internet Law Faculty
- Law Professors J. Glynn Lunney, et al.
- Law Professors Edward Lee, Peter Shane and Peter Swire
- Media Studies Professors
- National Association of Shareholder and Consumer Attorneys
- National Venture Capital Association
- Charles Nesson
- Felix Oberholzer-Gee and Koleman Strumpf
- Malla Pollack and Other Law Professors
- Sharman Networks Limited
- Sovereign Artists on Behalf of Ann Wilson and Nancy Wilson, et al.
-
Merits Phase
- American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) in Support of Vacatur and Remand
- Audible Magic, Digimarc and Gracenote
- Bridgemar Services, Ltd, d/b/a Imesh.com
- Digital Media Association, Netcoalition, The Center for Democracy and Information Technology Association of America
- Professor Lee A. Hollaar
- IEEE-USA
- Intellectual Property Owners Association
- U.S. Senators Leahy and Hatch
- Video Software Dealers Association (VSDA) Suggesting Reversal
For Motion Picture Studio and
Recording Company Petitioners:
Donald B. Verrilli, Jr.
For Songwriter and Music
Jenner & Block LLP
Washington, DC
Publisher Petitioners:
Carey R. Ramos
For Respondents StreamCast
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind,
Wharton & Garrison LLP
New York, NY
Networks, Inc., et al.:
Cindy Ann Cohn
Electronic Frontier Foundation
San Francisco, CA
National Cable & Telecommunications Ass'n, et al. v. Brand X Internet Services, et al.
No. 04-277Federal Communications Commission and United States v. Brand X Internet Services, et al.
No. 04-281Subject:
-
Communications Act of 1934, Cable
Operators, Cable Internet Service, Information Service,
Telecommunications Service
-
National Cable & Telecomm. Ass'n, et al. v. Brand X
Internet Servs., et al., No. 04-277
Whether, under the framework set out in Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., 467 U.S. 837 (1984), the FCC was entitled to decide that, for purposes of regulation under the Communications Act, cable operators offering so-called "cable modem service" (high-speed Internet access over cable television systems) provide only an "information service" and not a "telecommunications service."
FCC, et al. v. Brand X Internet Services, et al., No. 04-281Whether the court of appeals erred in holding that the Federal Communications Commission had impermissibly concluded that cable modem service is an "information service," without a separately regulated telecommunications service component, under the Communications Act of 1934, 47 U.S.C. 151 et seq.
- National Cable & Telecomm. Ass'n
- U.S. Court of Appeals - 9th Circuit Opinion Filed: October 6, 2003
- United States Supreme Court, Cert. Granted: December 3, 2004
- United States Supreme Court, Decided: June 27, 2005
Resources:
- Docket Sheet - No. 04-277 From the U.S. Supreme Court.
- Docket Sheet - No. 04-281 From the U.S. Supreme Court.
- Northwestern University - Medill School of Journalism: On the Docket
Briefs:
Parties-
Merits Phase
- Cable-Industry Petitioners
- Federal Petitioners [TEXT]
- Respondents BellSouth and SBC - Supporting Petitioners
- Respondents Verizon, et al. - Supporting Reversal
- Respondents Brand X Internet Services, et al.
- Respondents Brand X Internet Services, et al. - Appendix
- Respondent MCI
- Respondents States and Consumer Groups
- Cable-Industry Petitioners - Reply
- Federal Petitioners - Reply [TEXT]
- Respondents Verizon, et al. - Reply
For Petitioners National Cable &
Telecommunications Association, et al.:Howard J. Symons
For Petitioners FCC, et al.:
Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris
Glovsky and Popeo P.C.
Washington, DC
Paul D. Clement
For Respondents Brand X Internet Servs., et al.:
Acting U.S. Solicitor General
Washington, DC
Harvey L. Reiter
For Respondent MCI:
Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP
Washington, DC
Mark D. Schneider
For Respondents States, et al.:
Jenner & Block LLP
Washington, DC
Ellen S. LeVine
For Respondents BellSouth and SBC:
California Public Utilities Commission
San Francisco, CA
Michael K. Kellogg
For Respondents Verizon, et al.:
Kellogg, Huber, Hansen,
Todd, Evans & Figel, P.L.L.C.
Washington, DC
Andrew G. McBride
Wiley Rein & Fielding LLP
Washington, DC
Wednesday, March 30
Reginald A. Wilkinson, Director, Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, et al. v. Charles E. Austin, et al.
No. 04-495Subject:
-
Prisoner Rights, Super-Maximum Security Prison, Due Process
-
Where state prison officials decide to place a prisoner in a
"super-maximum
security" facility based on a predictive assessment of the
security risk the
prisoner presents, but prison regulations create a liberty
interest for the
prisoner in avoiding such placement, do procedures meeting the
requirements specified in Hewitt v. Helms, 459 U.S. 460 (1983),
satisfy the prisoner's due process rights?
- U.S. District Court - Northern District of Ohio Opinion Filed: February 25, 2002
- U.S. Court of Appeals - 6th Circuit, Opinion Filed: June 10, 2004
- United States Supreme Court, Cert. Granted: December 10, 2004
Resources:
- Docket Sheet From the U.S. Supreme Court.
- Northwestern University - Medill School of Journalism: On the Docket
Briefs:
Parties-
Merits Phase
- Petitioners
- Respondents
- Petitioners - Reply
For Petitioners Wilkinson, et al.:
Douglas R. Cole
For Respondents Austin, et al.:
State Solicitor General
Columbus, OH
Jules Lobel
Center for Constitutional Rights
Pittsburgh, PA
Oct | Nov | Dec | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | Unscheduled
- Whether, in conflict with decisions of the Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, and D.C.
Circuits, the Tenth Circuit's decision permitting a procedural due process
claim against a local government for its failure to protect the holder of a
partial restraining order from private violence, when the State itself
provides no such remedy, so circumvents as to effectively repudiate this
Court's holding in DeShaney
rejecting a similar substantive due process
claim?