Petitions of the week
on Nov 20, 2018 at 4:15 pm
This week we highlight petitions pending before the Supreme Court that address, among other things, the meaning of the phrase “law-abiding, responsible citizens” in District of Columbia v. Heller when determining whether a felon is entitled to lodge an as-applied challenge to the constitutionality of a felon disarmament law, whether a state law regulating pharmacy benefit managers’ drug-reimbursement rates is pre-empted by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, the proper standard of review for a lower court’s determination that a required party is dispensable under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 19, and the effect of the commerce clause on a state’s ability to protect consumer access to prescription drugs by regulating the pricing of those drugs.
The petitions of the week are:
Issue: Whether the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit erred when it applied an “abuse of discretion” standard of review to a district court’s determination that a required party is dispensable under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 19, and, if so, which standard of review is applicable to a lower court’s determination that a required party is dispensable under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 19.
Issue: Whether the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit erred in holding that Arkansas’ statute regulating pharmacy benefit managers’ drug-reimbursement rates, which is similar to laws enacted by a substantial majority of states, is pre-empted by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, in contravention of the Supreme Court’s precedent that ERISA does not pre-empt rate regulation.
Issue: Whether the commerce clause prohibits a state from protecting consumer access to essential off-patent and generic prescription drugs by requiring manufacturers to refrain from unconscionably raising the price of those drugs sold in the state.
Issues: In determining whether a felon is entitled to lodge an as-applied challenge to the constitutionality of a felon disarmament law such as 18 U.S.C. §922(g)(1), (1) what does the phrase “law-abiding, responsible citizens” in District of Columbia v. Heller mean; and (2) what does it mean that “longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons” are “presumptively lawful regulatory measures” under Heller.
