Justices release January calendar

Today the Supreme Court released the calendar for its January sitting, which begins on January 8. The justices will kick off the new year with not one but two interstate disputes over water:Texas v. New Mexico, involving the apportionment of the waters of the Rio Grande River, andFlorida v. Georgia, involving the allocation of the waters of the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin. Tuesday, January 9, the second day of the sitting, also features a common theme: the Fourth Amendment. InByrd v. United States, the justices will consider whether a driver who is not included on a rental-car agreement has a reasonable expectation of privacy in that car, while inCollins v. Virginiathey will consider whether the automobile exception to the Fourth Amendment allows a police officer to search a car parked on private property without a warrant. And on Wednesday, January 10, the justices will round out the first week of the sitting withHusted v. APRI, a challenge to Ohios efforts to keep its voter-registration lists up to date.Hustedwas originally scheduled for oral argument last week, but the case was rescheduled after one of the attorneys who was slated to argue the case became ill.

The justices resume oral arguments on Tuesday, January 16, after observing the Martin Luther King holiday on Monday, January 15. The four cases scheduled that week are:

Hall v. Hall(January 16): Whether the rule announced inGelboim v. Bank of America that a district courts order dismissing the only claim in a case that is consolidated with other actions for pretrial proceedings in multidistrict litigation is final and appealable applies to cases consolidated in single-district litigation.

Dalmazzi v. United States(January 16; consolidated withCox v. United StatesandOrtiz v. United States): Challenges by servicemembers in the armed forces, who were charged with violating the Uniform Code of Military Justice, to the service by judges on military courts of appeals concurrently with service on the U.S. Court of Military Commission Review.

Encino Motorcars v. Navarro(January 17): Whether service advisors at car dealerships are exempt from the overtime-pay requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

McCoy v. Louisiana(January 17): Whether it is unconstitutional for defense counsel to concede an accused’s guilt over the accused’s express objection.

This post was also published at Howe on the Court.