Supreme Court

Cancer victims ask court to untangle “finality trap”

Cancer victims ask court to untangle “finality trap”

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The Petitions of the Week column highlights a selection of cert petitions recently filed in the Supreme Court. A list of all petitions we’re watching is available here.

Litigants in federal courts may unwittingly find themselves in a “finality trap,” a tricky procedural scenario in which they are unable to appeal some of their claims. This week, we highlight petitions that ask the court to consider, among other things, whether the finality trap is consistent with federal procedural … Read the rest

Supreme Court

In major immigration case, both sides look to academia to untangle three knotty questions

In major immigration case, both sides look to academia to untangle three knotty questions

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Can the Biden administration issue guidelines setting priorities in the enforcement of immigration law? Do states have standing to challenge these guidelines? And if the guidelines are unlawful, does the Administrative Procedure Act give lower courts the power to vacate them — a universal remedy that goes beyond the parties to the case? These are the three questions before the Supreme Court in United States v. Texas, set to be argued on Nov. 29. Legal scholars have addressed … Read the rest

Supreme Court

In habeas case, the liberal justices try to untangle a complex statute

In habeas case, the liberal justices try to untangle a complex statute

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On Tuesday, the court heard argument in Jones v. Hendrix, a case that exemplifies the Gordian knot that is the federal habeas corpus statute.

As I discussed in my case preview, the underlying problem the case presents is weighty: The petitioner, Marcus DeAngelo Jones, was convicted at trial of being a felon in possession of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) and sentenced to more than 27 years’ incarceration. Two decades into his prison term, … Read the rest