Today at the Court

The Court is expected to announce opinions at 10 a.m., which we will be live-blogging.  Then the Court will hear argument in the gun rights case McDonald v. City of Chicago and in Hui v. Castaneda:

~10 a.m. – At issue in McDonald v. City of Chicago (08-1521) is whether the Second Amendment’s individual right to keep and bear arms should apply (or be “incorporated” against) to state and local governments, through either the Privileges or Immunities Clause or the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.  Lyle Denniston’s extensive background post on the case is here.

~11 a.m. – In Hui v. Castaneda (08-1529; 08-1547), the Court will consider whether “Bivens actions” may be brought against doctors and nurses in federal medical facilities regarding flaws in medical care claimed to violate patients’ constitutional rights, when patients may also sue under the Federal Tort Claims Act.  Luke Appling, a student at Harvard Law School, previews the case this morning for SCOTUSblog.