U.S. Supreme Court accepts three new cases for its 2020–2021 term

By

Brittony Maag
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On October 19, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) agreed to hear three new cases during its 2020-2021 term. These cases are Lange v. California, which came to the court on a writ of certiorari to the California First District Court of Appeal, and Wolf v. Innovation Law Lab and Trump v. Sierra Club, both of which came on writs of certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. As of October 19, SCOTUS had agreed to hear 41 cases during its 2020-2021 term. Dates for the cases’ oral arguments have not yet been set.

Lange v. California concerns the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The issue facing the court is whether the pursuit of a person whom a police officer has probable cause to believe has committed a misdemeanor categorically qualifies as an exigent circumstance sufficient to allow the officer to enter a home without a warrant.

Wolf v. Innovation Law Lab concerns the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), also known as the remain in Mexico policy, implemented by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in January 2019. The issues the court will address are:

  1. Whether the Department of Homeland Security policy known as the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) is a lawful implementation of the statutory authority conferred by 8 U.S.C. 1225(b)(2)(C)
  2. Whether MPP is consistent with any applicable and enforceable non-refoulement obligations
  3. Whether MPP is exempt from the Administrative Procedure Act requirement of notice-and-comment rulemaking
  4. Whether the district court’s universal preliminary injunction is impermissibly overbroad

Trump v. Sierra Club concerns funding for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. The issues facing the court are:

  1. Whether the Sierra Club has a cognizable cause of action to challenge the acting secretary’s transfer of funds under Section 8005
  2. Whether the acting secretary exceeded his authority under Section 8005 by transferring the funds

These three cases are among 12 total cases that have not yet been scheduled for oral argument during the court’s 2020-2021 term. SCOTUS began hearing cases for the term at the beginning of October, with 10 cases argued during its October sitting. Eight cases are scheduled for its November sitting, and 11 cases are scheduled for its December sitting.

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