The biggest news from yesterday’s orders is the Court’s relist in Virginia v. Sebelius, No. 10-1014, Virginia’s challenge to the individual mandate in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. The Court also relisted for the first time in Khadr v. Obama, 10-751, the only remaining Guantanamo case on the Court’s docket this Term, on the same day it denied cert in Kiyemba v. Obama, 10-775, which it had previously relisted three times; Justice Breyer, joined by Justices Kennedy, Ginsburg, and Sotomayor, issued a statement respecting the denial of certiorari in Kiyemba. The Court granted cert. in Judulang v. Holder, 10-694, which had been relisted once, and is likely now holding Johnson v. Holder, 10-730, relisted with Judulang last week.
The Court also relisted in Bobby v. Mitts, 10-1000, having called for the record on April 15; a summary reversal may be in the works for the Sixth Circuit’s grant of habeas relief in this capital case (which involves the same jury instruction the Court upheld in last Term’s opinion in Smith v. Spisak). Finally, the Court relisted for the first time in Jones v. Keller, 10-804, and for the second in Reynolds v. Thomas, 10-7502.
Of the remaining petitions from yesterday’s order list, the Court appears to be holding Kurns v. Railroad Friction Products Corp., No. 10-879, for the arrival of the Solicitor General’s invited brief in John Crane Inc. v. Atwell, 10-272; both cases involve the preemptive effect of the federal Boiler Inspection Act. The Court also may be holding Young v. Verizon’s Bell Atlantic Cash Balance Plan, 10-765, and its cross-petition, 10-911, for CIGNA Corp. v. Amara, 09-804, which also involves a conflict between a summary plan description and an ERISA plan document. Pirelli Pneus LTDA v. Gunn, 10-1004, which involves a question of personal jurisdiction over the foreign producer of an allegedly defective motorcycle tire sold in the United States, is a likely hold for J. McIntyre Machinery, Ltd. v. Nicastro, 09-1343, and Goodyear v. Brown, 10-76. Similarly, Missouri Title Loans, Inc. v. Brewer, No. 10-1027, is a probable hold (consistent with the petitioners’ request) for AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion, 09-893. Finally, the Court is awaiting the record in the capital case Juan Smith v. Louisiana, 10-8145.
If a case has been relisted once, it generally means that the Court is paying close attention to the case, and the chances of a grant are higher than for an average case. But once a case has been relisted more than twice, it is generally no longer a likely candidate for plenary review, and is more likely to result in a summary reversal or a dissent from the denial of cert.
[PETITION]10-804[/PETITION]
[PETITION]10-751[/PETITION]
[PETITION]10-1000[/PETITION]
[PETITION]10-1014[/PETITION]
[PETITION]10-7502[/PETITION]
Title: Khadr v. Obama (Relisted after the 4/15 conference)
Docket: 10-751
Issue(s):  (1) Whether a district court considering a habeas corpus petition may give conclusive effect to the government’s assertion that the individual is unlikely to be tortured if transferred to another country? (2) Whether Section 242(a)(4) of the Immigration and Naturalization Act bars judicial review of claims under the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Forms of Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment except in appeals from final orders of deportation, and if so construed, whether Section 242(a)(4) violates the Equal Protection Clause or the Suspension Clause.
Certiorari stage documents:
Title: Reynolds v. Thomas, Warden (Relisted after the 4/1 and 4/15 conferences)
Docket: 10-7502
Issue(s): Whether, under 18 U.S.C. § 3584(a), 3585(b), and 3621(b), the Bureau of Prisons must administer the sentence of a federal prisoner in a manner that effectuates the subsequent judgment of the state judiciary that the state sentence run concurrently with the previously imposed federal term of imprisonment?
Certiorari stage documents:
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