After its annual “mega-conference” Monday, the Supreme Court announced it will hear six new cases and issued order in a few cases already pending before the Court, leaving some of the defining social issues of the day untouched.
The six cases from this week’s pre-term conference in preparation for the Court’s first sitting of the year (Oct. 1) involve securities fraud, whether the federal government can be sued for military personnel committing a battery, whether police can take a blood sample from an allegedly drunk driver who refuses a test, whether the United States is immune from suit for wrongful acts committed by prison guards, whether lawyers can access driving records to solicit clients, and a Medicaid payment case.
In pending cases, the justices will allow Solicitor General Don Verrilli to share in the argument time in what could be a landmark affirmative action case, Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin. The Court also summarily reversed a lower court in a congressional redistricting challenge from West Virginia.
There is no word yet on all the hot-button issues before the Court for consideration at the conference, ranging from gay marriage to campaign finance to whether the federal government can use a chemical weapons treaty to prosecute a wife who tried to poison her husband’s mistress.
Next Monday when the Court sits for its first session we’ll learn which of these cases were denied review versus which are being held over to a future conference for further consideration.
Breitbart News will be in the courtroom for Monday’s sitting and will file a report on what transpires as the Court begins its work.
Breitbart News legal contributor Ken Klukowski is a fellow at the American Civil Rights Union and on faculty at Liberty University School of Law.