Federal Judiciary

Petition of the day

By Anna Christensen

Today’s first petition of the day is:

Title: Webster v. United States
Docket: 10-150
Issue(s): Whether a court of appeals has jurisdiction to review a federal prisoner?s motion based on newly discovered evidence that the prisoner is mentally retarded and therefore constitutionally ineligible for execution, even if that evidence does not negate the prisoner?s guilt.

Certiorari-Stage Documents

• Opinion below (5th Circuit)
• Petition for certiorari
• Amicus brief for Advocates for Human Rights

Today’s second petition of the day is:

Title: Sprint Spectrum L.P. v. Hesse
Docket: 10-157
Issue(s): (1) Whether a federal court may review a state court judgment approving a class settlement where the state court did not explicitly address each specific claim that a class member might release as part of the settlement; and (2) whether a federal court may nullify state court rules, requiring class members to opt out of a proposed state class settlement, by permitting the class members to maintain a subsequent federal action asserting claims released by the state class settlement from which the class members chose not to exclude themselves.

Certiorari-Stage Documents

• Opinion below (9th Circuit)
• Petition for certiorari

Today’s third petition of the day is:

Title: Baum v. AstraZeneca LP
Docket: 10-160
Issue(s): (1) Whether the lower court, when applying the Fair Labor Standards Act to the parallel Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Act, should have deferred to the Secretary of Labor?s interpretation of the Fair Labor Standards Act; and (2) whether the petitioner is covered by the administrative and outside sales exemptions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Certiorari-Stage Documents

• Opinion below (3d Circuit)
• Petition for certiorari
• Brief in opposition
• Petitioner's reply

Full post as published by SCOTUSBLOG on September 15, 2010 (boomark / email).