Round-up of news on today’s orders and opinions
on Jun 17, 2013 at 12:35 pm
Here is some early coverage of today’s orders and opinions.
The Court issued opinions this morning in five argued cases: Salinas v. Texas, Federal Trade Commission v. Actavis, Alleyne v. United States, Maracich v. Spears, and Arizona v. Inter Tribal Council. In the Arizona case, the Court struck down a state law requiring would-be voters to prove that they are U. S. citizens. Early coverage comes from Greg Stohr of Bloomberg, Pete Williams and Erin McClam of NBC News, Adam Liptak of The New York Times, Jess Bravin of The Wall Street Journal, Josh Gerstein of Politico, Richard Wolf of USA Today, Jesse Holland of the Associated Press, Lawrence Hurley of Reuters, and Debra Cassens Weiss of the ABA Journal.
Greg Stohr of Bloomberg covers the decision in Actavis, in which the Court held that the government and private parties can sue pharmaceutical companies that pay would-be generic competitors to stay out of the market. Jesse Holland of the Associated Press and Richard Wolf of USA Today also have coverage.
In Salinas v. Texas, a divided Court rejected a claim by a criminal defendant who was convicted of murder that prosecutors could not use his silence in response to questioning from police before he was arrested as evidence of his guilt at trial. Coverage comes from Richard Wolf of USA Today and the Associated Press.
In Alleyne, the Court held that juries should have the final say on facts that trigger mandatory minimum sentences in criminal trials. Coverage comes from the Associated Press; Eyder Peralta of NPR also has coverage of the decision, along with coverage of Inter Tribal Council and Actavis.
The Associated Press also has coverage of today’s decision in Maracich v. Spears, holding that a “litigation exception” to the federal Drivers’ Privacy Protection Act, which prohibits the unauthorized use of a driver’s information from a state DMV, does not apply to efforts by lawyers to solicit potential clients using DMV data.
Before issuing opinions, the Court also issued orders from its June 13 Conference. It granted cert. in four new cases. Greg Stohr of Bloomberg has coverage of Mount Holly v. Mount Holly Gardens Citizens in Action, in which the Court will consider whether disparate-impact claims are available under the Fair Housing Act, as do David Savage of the Los Angeles Times and Mark Sherman of the Associated Press. Coverage of Air Wisconsin Airlines Corp. v. Hoeper, a case involving immunity under the Aviation and Transportation Security Act, comes from Greg Stohr of Bloomberg, Lawrence Hurley of Reuters, and the Associated Press. The Court also granted cert. in Ray Haluch Gravel Co. v. Central Pension Fund and Law v. Siegel.
Goldstein & Russell, P.C., whose attorneys work for or contribute to this blog in various capacities, is among the co-counsel to the petitioner in Salinas v. Texas. The firm also represented Louisiana Wholesale Drug Company et al. as an amicus in support of the petitioner in FTC v. Actavis. Additionally, attorneys from the firm are among the counsel to the respondent in Air Wisconsin v. Hoeper.
