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Supreme Court Case TrackerThe Court, in plain English

Argument sitting

April 2013 oral arguments

12 cases across 6 argument daysArguments begin at 10 a.m. Eastern
Six argument days, April 15 to April 24, 2013. Six of them have more than one case.

2 cases
Judges in plea negotiationsUnited States v. Anthony DavilaDid the magistrate judge's improper participation in a plea discussion warrant vacating the defendant's guilty plea?Decided 12-167Patents on human genesAssociation for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, Inc.Does §101 of the Patent Act allow patents on human genes?Decided 12-398

2 cases
Truck access to portsAmerican Trucking Associations, Inc. v. City of Los Angeles, California1. Can a municipal government limit the activities of motor carriers when it acts as a market participant, as opposed to a market regulator? 2. Can a municipal government bar federally licensed motor carriers from access to a port?Decided 11-798Native American adoption rightsAdoptive Couple v. Baby Girl, a Minor Child Under the Age of Fourteen Years1. Can a non-custodial parent invoke ICWA to block an adoption voluntarily and lawfully initiated by a non-Indian parent under state law? 2. Does ICWA define "parent" to include an unwed biological father who has not complied with state law rules to attain legal status as a parent?Decided 12-399

2 cases
Right to remain silentGenovevo Salinas v. TexasDoes the Fifth Amendment's Self-Incrimination Clause protects a defendant's refusal to answer questions asked by law enforcement before he has been arrested or read his Miranda rights?Decided 12-246Federal sex offender registrationUnited States v. Anthony James Kebodeaux1. Did the court of appeals err in conducting its constitutional analysis on the premise that Kebodeaux was not under a federal registration obligation until SORNA was enacted, when pre SORNA federal law also obligated him to register as a sex offender? 2. Did the court of appeals erred in holding that Congress lacks the Article I authority to provide for criminal penalties as applied to a person who was convicted of a sex offense under federal law and completed his criminal sentence before SORNA was enacted?Decided 12-418

2 cases
Jacqueline Hillman v. Judy A. MarettaDoes federal law preempt a Virginia state law that revokes a spouse's beneficiary designation in a Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance policy upon divorce?Decided 11-1221Federal grants and free speechAgency for International Development v. Alliance for Open Society International, Inc.Does a requirement that non-governmental organizations institute an explicit anti-prostitution policy in order to receive federal funding violate the First Amendment?Decided 12-10

2 cases
State limits on shared waterTarrant Regional Water District v. Rudolf John Herrmann1. Did Congress' approval of an interstate water compact illustrate congressional intent to allow state laws to interfere with interstate commerce in water? 2. Does the Compact preempt protectionist state laws that restrict state access to water to which they are entitled under the Compact?Decided 11-889Extortion of government recommendationsGiridhar C. Sekhar v. United StatesIs the "recommendation" of an attorney, who is a salaried employee of a governmental agency, intangible property that can be the subject of an extortion attempt under the Hobbs Act?Decided 12-357

2 cases
Proof of workplace retaliationUniversity of Texas Southwestern Medical Center v. Naiel NassarDoes the retaliation provision of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 require a plaintiff to prove that an employer would not have taken an action but for the existence of an improper motive, or does the provision require only proof that the employer had mixed motives for taking an action?Decided 12-484Retroactive defense changesLinda Metrish, Warden v. Burt Lancaster1. Was the Michigan Supreme Court's abolition of the diminished capacity defense an "unexpected and indefensible" change? 2. Did the Michigan Court of Appeals err in retroactively applying the change to Lancaster's case?Decided 12-547