Welcome to the Feb. 19 edition of Robe & Gavel, Ballotpedia’s newsletter about the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) and other judicial happenings around the U.S.
Happy Presidents Day, readers! Today, we honor the 45 men who have held the highest office in the land. This is a busy week for SCOTUS news, so we hope you’re ready. Let’s gavel on in!
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Grants
SCOTUS has accepted no new cases to its merits docket since our Feb. 12 issue. To date, the court has agreed to hear 61 cases for the 2023-2024 term, and two cases for the 2024-2025 term.
Arguments
The Supreme Court will hear four arguments this week. Click here to read more about SCOTUS’ current term.
Click the links below to learn more about these cases:
Feb. 20
- Corner Post, Inc. v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System concerns plaintiffs’ Administrative Procedure Act claims under 28 U.S.C. § 2401(a).
- The questions presented: “Does a plaintiffs APA claim ‘first accrue[]’ under 28 U.S.C. §2401(a) when an agency issues a rule-regardless of whether that rule injures the plaintiff on that date (as the Eighth Circuit and five other circuits have held)-or when the rule first causes a plaintiff to ‘suffer[] legal wrong’ or be ‘adversely affected or aggrieved’ (as the Sixth Circuit has held)?”
- Bissonnette v. LePage Bakeries Park St., LLC concerns the Federal Arbitration Act (9 U.S.C. § 1).
- The questions presented: “Whether § 1 applies to a business-to-business franchise agreement in which one business purchases from the other the rights to market, sell, and distribute baked goods within a defined intrastate territory.”
Feb. 21
- Ohio v. Environmental Protection Agency (consolidated with Kinder Morgan v. Environmental Protection Agency, American Forest & Paper Association v. Environmental Protection Agency, and United States Steel Corporation v. Environmental Protection Agency) concerns whether the Supreme Court should suspend the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Federal “Good Neighbor Plan” for the 2015 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards regarding reheat furnaces and boilers at iron and steel mills.
- The questions presented: “Arguing counsel should be prepared to address, among other issues related to the challenge based on the SIP disapprovals, whether the emissions controls imposed by the Rule are reasonable regardless of the number of States subject to the Rule.”
- Warner Chappell Music, Inc. v. Nealy concerns the statute of limitations for seeking damages in a civil lawsuit under the Copyright Act.
- The questions presented: “Whether, under the discovery accrual rule applied by the circuit courts and the Copyright Act’s statute of limitations for civil actions, 17 U. S. C. §507(b), a copyright plaintiff can recover damages for acts that allegedly occurred more than three years before the filing of a lawsuit.”
In its October 2022 term, SCOTUS heard arguments in 60 cases. One case was dismissed. Click here to read more about SCOTUS’ previous term.
Opinions
SCOTUS has not issued any opinions since our Feb. 12 edition. The court has issued rulings in three cases so far this term. One case was dismissed.
Upcoming SCOTUS dates
Here are the court’s upcoming dates of interest:
- Feb. 20: SCOTUS will hear arguments in two cases.
- Feb. 21: SCOTUS will hear arguments in two cases.
- Feb. 23: SCOTUS will conference. A conference is a private meeting of the justices.
Federal court action
Nominations
President Joe Biden (D) has announced no new Article III nominees since our Feb. 12 edition.
Committee action
The Senate Judiciary Committee has not reported any new nominees out of committee since our Feb. 12 edition.
Confirmations
The Senate has confirmed no nominees since our Feb. 12 issue.
Vacancies
The federal judiciary currently has 56 vacancies, 55 of which are for lifetime Article III judgeships. As of publication, there were 27 pending nominations.
According to the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts, there were 30 upcoming vacancies in the federal judiciary, where judges have announced their intention to leave active judicial status.
For more information on judicial vacancies during Biden’s term, click here.
Do you love judicial nomination, confirmation, and vacancy information? We figured you might. Our monthly Federal Vacancy Count monitors all the faces and places moving in, moving out, and moving on in the federal judiciary. Click here for our most current count.
Need a daily fix of judicial nomination, confirmation, and vacancy information? Click here for continuing updates on the status of all federal judicial nominees.
Or, keep an eye on our list for updates on federal judicial nominations.
Looking ahead
We’ll be back on Feb. 26 with a new edition of Robe & Gavel. Until then, gaveling out!
Contributions
Myj Saintyl compiled and edited this newsletter, with contributions from Sam Post, and Ellie Mikus.