The U.S. Supreme Court accepted three new cases for review during its 2021-2022 term on May 17. With the addition of these cases, the court has agreed to hear 17 cases during the term, which is scheduled to begin on October 4, 2021.
• Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization concerns the constitutionality of a Mississippi state law prohibiting abortions after the fifteenth week of pregnancy except in cases of medical emergencies or fetal abnormalities. The question before the court is: “Whether all pre-viability prohibitions on elective abortions are unconstitutional.” Dobbs originated from the United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit.
• Shinn v. Ramirez concerns the scope of evidence a federal appellate court can consider when reviewing a petition for habeas relief. The question presented to the court asks: “Does application of the equitable rule this Court announced in _Martinez v. Ryan_ render 28 U.S.C. § 2254(e)(2) inapplicable to a federal court’s merits review of a claim for habeas relief?” Shinn originated from the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.
• Badgerow v. Walters concerns the federal courts’ jurisdiction to confirm or vacate an arbitration award under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). The question presented to the court is: “Whether federal courts have subject-matter jurisdiction to confirm or vacate an arbitration award under Sections 9 and 10 of the FAA where the only basis for jurisdiction is that the underlying dispute involved a federal question.” Badgerow came from the United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit.
The Supreme Court concluded hearing oral arguments for its 2020-2021 term on May 4 with one hour of argument in Terry v. United States. No additional cases had been scheduled for oral argument during the term as of May 17. The court agreed to hear 62 cases during its 2020-2021 term and had issued opinions in 36 cases as of May 17. Seven cases were decided without argument.
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