Appellate Advocacy Blog Weekly Roundup Friday, November 12
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 a quick note to either (1) Dan Real at DReal@Creighton.edu or on Twitter (@Daniel_L_Real) or (2) Catharine Du Bois at DuBoisLegalWriting@gmail.com or on Twitter @CLDLegalWriting.
SCOTUS Opinions and News:
- On Monday, the Court heard oral arguments in a case asking whether the FBI ran afoul of the Constitution when carrying out an undercover operation at a mosque in California. A group of Muslim men has attempted to sue the FBI in a class action lawsuit. A lower court dismissed almost all claims on the basis of the government’s assertion that allowing the case to go forward could reveal state secrets.
- NPR case summary and argument preview: https://www.scotusblog.com/2021/11/court-to-clarify-the-right-of-death-row-inmates-to-receive-spiritual-guidance-during-execution/
- AP summary of argument: https://apnews.com/article/us-supreme-court-lawsuits-california-religion-national-security-15c617d92b81e9f8b0d14666c900902a
- On Tuesday, the Court heard oral arguments in Ramirez v. Collier, a case asking whether death row inmates are entitled to have a spiritual adviser in the execution chamber and whether the religious adviser should be allowed to touch the inmate. During the argument, the Court’s conservative Justices seemed skeptical of the inmate’s claims, suggesting that his assertions of having found religion after being convicted and requesting the presence of and physical contact from his spiritual adviser amount to attempts to “gam[e] the system” that, if approved, could flood the system with endless variations on the requests.
- SCOTUSblog argument preview: https://www.scotusblog.com/2021/11/court-to-clarify-the-right-of-death-row-inmates-to-receive-spiritual-guidance-during-execution/
- NPR summary of argument: https://www.npr.org/2021/11/09/1054028425/supreme-court-conservatives-are-skeptical-on-spiritual-advisers-in-death-chamber
- Slate summary of argument: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/11/ramirez-collier-execution-religious-liberty-kavanaugh-thomas.html
- On Tuesday, the Court heard oral arguments in United States v. Vaello-Madero, a case asking whether residents of Puerto Rico should be allowed to receive Supplemental Security Income benefits. In the case, Jose Luis Vaello-Madero, an American citizen born in Puerto Rico, became seriously ill while living in New York, began receiving SSI benefits while in New York, and then lost the benefits when he moved back to Puerto Rico to be closer to his family.
- SCOTUSblog argument preview: https://www.scotusblog.com/2021/11/in-equal-protection-challenge-court-will-review-puerto-ricos-exclusion-from-federal-safety-net-program/
- Wall Street Journal summary of argument: https://www.wsj.com/articles/supreme-court-puertorico-social-security-11636489388
State Appellate Court Opinions and News:
- On Tuesday, the Oklahoma Supreme Court reversed a ruling against Johnson & Johnson, finding that the trial judge incorrectly interpreted public nuisance laws, overturning a $465 million verdict issued in 2019 in a case asserting that J&J’s marketing, sale, and distribution of opioids constituted a public nuisance.
- Washington Post article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/11/09/oklahoma-supreme-court-opioid-ruling/
- On Wednesday, a Texas court heard arguments over Texas’ controversial abortion ban, Senate Bill 8 (the Texas Heart Beat Act).
- Courthouse News Service article: https://www.courthousenews.com/texas-judge-hears-arguments-in-cases-challenging-the-states-abortion-ban/