Federal Judiciary

Decisions on Monday

By Akin Gump Supreme Court Practice Group

The  Supreme Court expects to issue decisions in argued cases next Monday, at 10 a.m., the Court announced Friday.  Orders resulting from today’s Conference will be released ahead of the opinions.  The Court has concluded all of the scheduled oral arguments for the current Term, which is now expected to end in late June.  From now until the Term concludes, the Court’s Conference will occur on Thursdays.  After Monday’s public session, the Court will be in recess until its Conference on May 13; the next decision day will be Monday, May 17.   After that, the Court will not take any more recesses until finishing the Term.

The Court will not be in session on the Memorial Day observance, Monday, May 31.  The scheduled session that week will be Tuesday, June 1.  As the end of the Term approaches, the Court may have decisions on days other than Monday.

Even though the Court may recess for the summer after releasing all decisions argued during the Term, the Court keeps the Term open technically until the next Term begins on Monday, Oct. 4.   Before the current Term opened last Oct. 5, the Court held a hearing in advance, on Sept. 9, in a case that was being reviewed on an expedited schedule (Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 08-205).  That case thus counted as part of the prior Term.

There is at least a chance that the Court would again hold a hearing before the next Term begins.  The new case of Republican National Committee v. FEC (09-1287, filed April 23) is, like Citizens United, a case arising under federal campaign finance law, which requires the Supreme Court to handle such cases on an expedited basis.  The RNC has asked the Court to set an expedited schedule for its new appeal.  One way to do that would be to have the filing of written briefs during the summer recess, with a hearing before the current Term technically ends.

Full post as published by SCOTUSBLOG on April 30, 2010 (boomark / email).