Federal Judiciary

Petitions to Watch | Conference of 3.21.08

By Akin Gump Supreme Court Practice Group

The latest edition of “Petitions to Watch” features cases up for consideration at the Justices’ private conference of March 21. As always, the list reflects the petitions on the Court’s paid docket that Tom has deemed to have a reasonable chance of being granted. To access previous editions of Petitions to Watch, including for the upcoming conference of March 14, check the archive on SCOTUSwiki here.

Issues raised in the current list of petitions include Executive searches of Congressional offices, state law false advertising claims against drug manufacturers, and prison policies limiting transportation for off-site abortions. For the full list of petitions on our watch list, continue reading after the jump.

Conference of March 21, 2008

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Docket: 07-608
Case name: United States v. Hayes
Issue: Whether, to qualify as a ?misdemeanor crime of domestic violence? under 18 USC 922(g)(9), the offense must have as an element a domestic relationship between the offender and the victim.

• Opinion below (4th Circuit)
• Petition for certiorari
• Brief in opposition

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Docket: 07-816
Case name: United States v. Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2113, Washington, D.C. 20515
Issue: Whether the Speech and Debate Clause bars the Executive branch from executing a search warrant for non-legislative materials in the office of a member of Congress.

• Opinion below (D.C. Circuit)
• Petition for certiorari
• Brief in opposition
• Amicus brief of Scott B. Palmer (in support of the respondent)

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Docket: 07-822
Case name: Pennsylvania Employees Benefit Trust Fund, et al v. Zeneca Inc., et al.
Issue: Whether federal law preempts state law false advertising claims against marketing materials based on FDA-approved drug labels.

• Opinion below (3rd Circuit)
• Petition for certiorari
• Brief in opposition
• Petitioner?s reply

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Docket: 07-839
Case name: Arpaio v. Doe
Issue: Whether a prison policy against off-site transportation for non-therapeutic medical procedures, including non-therapeutic abortions, imposes an ?undue burden? on female inmates? right to terminate their pregnancy under Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992).

• Opinion below (Court of Appeals of Arizona)
• Petition for certiorari
• Brief in opposition
• Petitioner?s reply

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Full post as published by SCOTUSBLOG on March 06, 2008 (boomark / email).