Appellate Advocacy Blog Weekly Roundup January 5, 2018

Each week, the Appellate Advocacy Blog Weekly Roundup presents a few tidbits of news and Twitter posts from the past week concerning appellate advocacy. As always, if you see something during the week that you think we should be sure to include, feel free to send Dan a quick email at DReal@Creighton.edu or a message on Twitter(@Daniel_L_Real).

Supreme Court Opinions and News:

On Tuesday, January 9, 2018, the United States Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Byrd v. United States. The issue  raised is whether an unauthorized driver of a rental car has a reasonable expectation of privacy in the rental car that is protected by the Fourth Amendment. The briefs for the case can be found HERE. The New York Times provides this overview of the case. 

The petition for writ of certiorari in Hidalgo v. Arizona asks the United States Supreme Court to finally decide that the death penalty is cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment. The Editorial Board of The New York Times has this opinion on the issue. 

Federal Appellate Court Opinions and News:

In a 2 to 1 decision, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a law banning people who have been convicted of domestic battery from owning guns. The Associated Press has this report. 

State Court News:

Adrienne Nelson was recently appointed to the Oregon Supreme Court. She will be the first African-American to ever serve on the state’s highest court. The Associated Press has this report.