Court grants seven new cases (UPDATED)
on Oct 5, 2012 at 1:22 pm
UPDATED 1:55 pm.
The Supreme Court on Friday granted review of seven new cases, with decisions to come in the current Term. Among them was a constitutional test — under the rarely interpreted “Privileges and Immunities” Clause — of a state’s power to open its public records to its own citizens, but to deny access to non-residents. The Court also agreed to consider overruling one of its own criminal law precedents — Harris v. United States, a 2002 decision allowing judges to enhance a sentence by finding that a convicted individual had brandished a gun during a crime. In addition, the Court accepted for review a major case on violation of patents on products that are capable of replicating themselves — in this case, seeds for farm crops.
These are the granted cases:
11-796 — Bowman v. Monsanto Co. — the case involving farm seeds that replicate themselves after planting and harvesting
11-1118 — Gunn v. Minton — federal court authority to rule on legal malpractice under state law in a patent case
11-1447 — Koontz v. St Johns River Water Management — “taking” of land if a government refuses to issue a use permit
11-1545 and 11-1547 — Arlington, Texas, v. FCC, and Cable, Telecom. & Tech. v. FCC — grant limited to Question 1 as stated in 11-1545, on whether Chevron deference is due for a federal agency’s ruling on its own jurisdiction; cases consolidated for one hour of argument
11-9335 — Alleyne v. U.S. — will the Court overrule Harris v. United States, under the decision in 2000 in Apprendi v. New Jersey, requiring juries — not judges — to find facts to support enhancing a criminal sentence
11-9935 — Boyer v. Louisiana — grant limited to Question 1, on whether a state’s delay in paying for counsel for an accused in a murder case should count against the state for purposes of the right to a speedy trial
12-17 — McBurney v. Young — non-resident access to state public records and the Privileges and Immunities Clause
