National Jurist - January 2008 - (Page 6) DISTURBINGTHEPEACE “It is so ordered” High Court opens term, sets agenda Court watchers had plenty to hold their attention during the October opening of the 2007 term of the Supreme Court of the United States. In addition to kicking off oral arguments, the justices added a number of cases to the docket and were the subject of a high-profile debate that centered on their personal lives and relationships, propelled by the release of Justice Thomas’ new book. Now, to the particulars… A split defined Board of Education of City of New York v. Tom F., when, ten days after oral arguments concluded, a four-to-four vote let stand a ruling that the school system must pay for privateschool costs for children with disabilities, even if the parents have not yet tried a public-school program. (Justice Kennedy did not participate in the case.) The high court did not grant cert in el-Masri v. Tenet, in which el-Masri alleges he was a mistaken victim of “extraordinary rendition,” illegal detainment and torture when he was secretly taken to Afghanistan. The United States government claimed if this case were heard it could cause the airing of “state secrets.” The cert denial was widely criticized. Medellin v. Texas so engrossed the Court that Chief Justice Roberts urged both attorneys to extend their arguments by roughly 10 to 15 minutes. It was an extraordinary moment in an institution known for enforcing strict time limits, where the Chief routinely stops attorneys mid-sentence, mid-argument. At issue was an order from President Bush that Texas courts adhere to a World Court ruling, and thus to grant a new hearing, because Medellin was not told after his arrest of his right to request assistance from the Mexican Consulate. Granting cert to a Kentucky death penalty case, Baze v. Rees, created a de-facto death penalty moratorium regarding the use of a particular drug cocktail in lethal-injection executions. The constitutionality of the death penalty is not at issue; rather, it is whether the cocktail is so painful that it violates the Eighth Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment. The Court has since granted several stays of execution, and some states placed on hold all executions by lethal injection until the Kentucky decision is By Jon Peters Student Editor announced. Another big issue to be addressed this term: If federal judges are to follow federal sentencing “guidelines,” how much can their sentences vary and yet be constitutional? The Supreme Court ruled in 2005 that the sentencing guidelines were advisory, not mandatory. Gall V. United States and Kimbrough V. United States addresses what should happen when a sentencing judge does not follow the federal sentencing guidelines. Stoneridge Investments V. Scientific-Atlanta explores whether shareholders of a company that has committed securities fraud can sue secondary firms such as law firms, banks and Read Jon Peter’s suppliers. In oral argument, the justices prodded monthly recap of the both sides with pointed, rapid-fire questions, many Supreme Court at reflecting a reluctance to open the door to endless www.NJPLonline.com litigation brought by shareholders. on the Supreme And this term returns the Court to pornography Court page — not the “I know it when I see it” test — but rather the question of overbreadth in a statute designed to deter the production and distribution of child pornography. The case is United States V. Williams, in which a lower court found Williams guilty by statute of pandering child pornography. Oral arguments hinged on whether the statute was overbroad, perhaps trapping people engaged in innocent conduct. Justice Clarence Thomas released in October My Grandfather’s Son: A Memoir, which vets his life experiences and the relentless pressures and attacks that forged his ideology. Nothing received as much coverage as the justice’s discussion of his rough-and-tumble confirmation hearing and his salvo aimed at Anita Hill. She responded in kind with an unyielding barrage of her own, including an op-ed piece in The New York Times. See www.supremecourtus.gov for more information and for complete order lists, transcripts and decisions. Jon Peters, student editor of The National Jurist, is a Phi Kappa Phi Fellow and Leadership Scholar at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law. peters.401@osu.edu www.NJPLonline.com Editorial Team Jack Crittenden Editor-in-Chief Michelle Weyenberg Associate Editor Jon Peters Student Editor Keith Carter Copy Editor Jim Dunlap Copy Editor Ursula Furi-Perry Career Editor Shannon Harrington Art Director Melissa Stottlemyer Photo Editor Zac Scuffham Web Designer Publishing Team Katina Cavagnaro Publisher Mike Wright National Accounts Manager Mindy Palmer Account Representative Elizabeth Callahan Circulation Manager Mike Burke Accountability Manager Reprints Please call FosteReprints at 1-866-879-9144 Contact Information P.O. Box 939039 San Diego, Calif. 92193-9039 Tel: 1-800-296-9656 Fax: 1-858-503-7588 Entire contents copyright © 2008 Cypress Magazines. All rights reserved. Material in this publication may not be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher. 6 THE NATIONAL JURIST January 2008 http://www.njplonline.com http://www.supremecourtus.gov http://www.njplonline.com
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