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Argument sitting

October 2018 oral arguments

15 cases across 8 argument daysArguments begin at 10 a.m. Eastern
Eight argument days, October 1 to October 31, 2018. Seven of them have more than one case.

2 cases
Age discrimination by governmentsMount Lemmon Fire Dist. v. GuidoUnder the ADEA, does the same twenty-employee minimum that applies to private employers also apply to political subdivisions of a State, as the Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, and Tenth Circuits have held, or does the ADEA apply instead to all State political subdivisions of any size, as the Ninth Circuit held in this case?Decided 17-587Protected habitat on private landWeyerhaeuser Co. v. United States Fish and Wildlife Ser v.1. Whether the Endangered Species Act prohibits designation of private land as unoccupied critical habitat that is neither habitat nor essential to species conservation. 2. Whether an agency decision not to exclude an area from critical habitat because of the economic impact of designation is subject to judicial review.Decided 17-71

2 cases
Sex offender registration rulesGundy v. United States1. Whether convicted sex offenders are "required to register” under the federal Sex Offender Notification and Registration Act ("SORNA”) while in custody, regardless of how long they have until release? 2. Whether all offenders convicted of a qualifying sex offense prior to SORNA's enactment are "required to register" under SORNA no later than August 1, 2008? 3. Whether a defendant violates 18 U.S.C. § 2250(a), which requires interstate travel, where his only movement between states occurs while he is in the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons and serving a prison sentence? 4. Whether SORNA's delegation of authority to the Attorney General to issue regulations under 42 U.S.C. § 16913(d) violates the nondelegation doctrine?Decided 17-6086Mental ability to face executionMadison v. Alabama1. Consistent with the Eighth Amendment, and this Court's decisions in Ford and Panetti, may the State execute a prisoner whose mental disability leaves him without memory of his commission of the capital offense? 2. Do evolving standards of decency and the Eighth Amendment's prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment bar the execution of a prisoner whose competency has been compromised by vascular dementia and multiple strokes causing severe cognitive dysfunction and a degenerative medical condition which prevents him from remembering the crime for which he was convicted or understanding the circumstances of his scheduled execution?Decided 17-7505

1 case
When truckers can avoid arbitrationNew Prime Inc. v. Oliveira1. Whether a dispute over applicability of the FAA's Section 1 exemption is an arbitrability issue that must be resolved in arbitration pursuant to a valid delegation clause. 2. Whether the FAA's Section 1 exemption, which applies on its face only to "contracts of employment," is inapplicable to independent contractor agreements.Decided 17-340

2 cases
Robbery as a violent crimeStokeling v. United StatesWhether petitioner’s prior conviction for robbery, in violation of Fla. Stat. § 812.13 (1995), was a conviction for a “violent felony” under the Armed Career Criminal Act of 1984, 18 U.S.C. 924(e), because that offense “has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person of another, ” 18 U.S.C. 924(e)(2)(B)(i).Decided 17-5554Mobile-home burglary sentencingUnited States v. StittWhether burglary of a nonpermanent or mobile structure that is adapted or used for overnight accommodation can qualify as "burglary" under the Armed Career Criminal Act of 1984, 18 U.S.C. 924(e)(2)(B)(ii).Decided 17-765

2 cases
Delays in immigration detentionNielsen v. PreapWhether a criminal alien becomes exempt from mandatory detention under 8 U.S.C. 1226(c) if, after the alien is released from criminal custody, the Department of Homeland Security does not take him into immigration custody immediately.Decided 16-1363Asbestos warnings for added partsAir & Liquid Systems Corp. v. DeVriesCan products-liability defendants be held liable under maritime law for injuries caused by products that they did not make, sell, or distribute?Decided 17-1104

2 cases
Who decides arbitration disputesHenry Schein, Inc. v. Archer & White Sales, Inc.Whether the Federal Arbitration Act permits a court to decline to enforce an agreement?Decided 17-1272Class arbitrationLamps Plus, Inc. v. VarelaWhether the Federal Arbitration Act forecloses a state-law interpretation of an arbitration agreement that would authorize class arbitration based solely on general language commonly used in arbitration agreements.Decided 17-988

2 cases
Tribal treaty rights and fuel taxesWashington State Dept. of Licensing v. Cougar Den, Inc.Whether the Yakama Treaty of 1855 creates a right for tribal members to avoid state taxes on off-reservation commercial activities that make use of public highways.Decided 16-1498Appeal rights after plea dealsGarza v. IdahoDoes the "presumption of prejudice" recognized in Roe v. Flores-Ortega , 528 U.S. 470 (2000), apply where a criminal defendant instructs his trial counsel to file a notice of appeal but trial counsel decides not to do so because the defendant's plea agreement included an appeal waiver?Decided 17-1026

2 cases
Immunity for global organizationsJam v. International Finance Corp.1. Whether the International Organizations Immunities Act-which affords international organizations the "same immunity" from suit that foreign governments have, 22 U.S.C. § 288a (b)- confers the same immunity on such organizations as foreign governments have under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, 28 U.S.C. §§ 1602-11. 2. If not, what are the rules governing the immunity to which international organizations are entitled?Decided 17-1011Who can sue over privacyFrank v. GaosWhether, or in what circumstances, a cy pres award of class action proceeds that provides no direct relief to class members supports class certification and comports with the requirement that a settlement binding class members must be "fair, reasonable, and adequate."?Decided 17-961