SCOTUS Monday

It’s an uneventful Monday at the U.S. Supreme Court. The court issued an orders list but did not take up any cases for full briefing and argument. There are no summary decisions or dissents from denial of certiorari.

We are still waiting on two decisions from the present term: Jones v. Hendrix, No. 21-857, on successive collateral attacks by federal prisoners and Counterman v. Colorado, No. 22-138, on stalking laws and “true threats.”

Decisions are expected on Thursday and Friday this week.

For next term (beginning in October), there are only two criminal cases on the docket so far. Pulsifer v. United States , No. 22-340, involves the interpretation of a poorly worded statute on mandatory minimum sentences. The consolidated cases of Brown v. United States, No. 22-6389 and Jackson v. United States, No. 22-6640, involve the continuing problem of the Armed Career Criminal Act and varying definitions of crimes in different jurisdictions. The law-enforcement-related civil case of Culley v. Atty. Gen. Alabama, No. 22-585, involves due process in forfeiture cases.