Saturday, October 17, 2009

Supreme Court Grants Certiorari In Four Cases - Including One From A Former Enron Executive And One A Florida Death Row Inmate

The Supreme Court granted certiorari in four cases this week [The issues are copied from the SCOTUS Blog]:

This case is brought by a former Enron executive and is discussed in the Chicago Tribune here,  the New York Times here,  the Wall Street Journal here,  and the Houston Chronicle here.  You can view the SCOTUS Wiki page here.  The SCOTUS Blog has articles hereherehere  and here.

Issue: Whether the federal “honest services” fraud statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1346, requires the government to prove that the defendant’s conduct was intended to achieve “private gain” rather than to advance the employer’s interests, and, if not, whether § 1346 is unconstitutionally vague. Whether the government must rebut the presumption of jury prejudice, which arose because of pretrial publicity and community impact of the alleged conduct, and, if so, whether the government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that no juror was actually prejudiced.

Petition for certiorari
Brief in opposition
Petitioner’s reply
Brief amicus curiae of National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

Issue: Whether the Eleventh Circuit erred in denying equitable tolling to the defendant to excuse his late filing of his habeas petition, based on the conclusion that the late filing was due to “gross negligence” of counsel, while factors beyond “gross negligence” are required for equitable tolling; whether equitable tolling is available to toll the statute of limitation under the AEDPA.

Opinion below (11th Circuit)
Petition for certiorari
Brief in opposition

UNITED STATES V. MARCUS, GLENN (08-1341)

Issue: Whether the Second Circuit departed from the Court’s interpretation of Rule 52(b) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure by adopting as the appropriate standard for plain-error review of an alleged ex post facto violation whether there is any possibility that the defendant could have been convicted based exclusively on conduct that took place before the enactment of the statutes in question.


Issue: Whether the Federal Employees Health Benefits Act, 5 U.S.C. § 8902(m)(1), preempts a state court lawsuit filed against a government contractor administering such benefits.

Opinion below (7th Circuit)
Petition for certiorari
Brief in opposition
Petitioner’s reply
 
The Supreme Court's entire order list is below:
 

October 13, 2009 Order List

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