Thin calendar for February
on Dec 18, 2006 at 11:58 am
The drop in the volume of cases accepted for review this Term shows up clearly in the Supreme Court’s calendar of hearings for February, released Monday by the Court. Five days of argument are scheduled, but on only two of those days will the normal allotment of two cases be heard, and one of those pairs of cases involves related issues on federal criminal sentencing. On each of the other three days, a single case will be heard. Here is the calendar.
Day by day, these are the cases and the issues they raise:
Monday, Feb. 19
Legal holiday, no arguments
Tuesday, Feb. 20
06-5754 — Rita v. U.S. — whether a federal sentence within the Sentencng Guideline range is presumed to be reasonable.
06-5618 — Claiborne v. U.S. — whether a federal sentence below the Guideline range is presumed to be unreasonable.
Wednesday, Feb. 21
05-1056 — Microsoft Corp. v. AT&T Corp. — does U.S. patent law forbid foreign computer manufacturers from making copies of patented software code for installation in foreign-made computers.
Monday, Feb. 26
05-1541 — EC Term of Years Trust v. U.S.. — when may a property owner sue for a federal tax refund when taxes have been wrongly levied against the property.
05-1631 — Scott v. Harris — do police act unconstiutitonally if they ram a fleeing suspect’s car during a high-speed chase, causing an accident and serious injury.
Tuesday, Feb. 27
05-983 — Winkelman v. Parma City School District — do parents who are not attorneys have a right to represent themselves or their disabled child in a federal court case over public education benefits for the child.
Wednesday, Feb. 28
06-157 — Hein v. Freedom From Religion Foundation — may taxpayers sue to challenge a White House-sponsored program of extending federal financial aid to religious groups, when that is financed out of general federal funds, not funds earmarked for the purpose by Congress.
