Supreme Court grants cert. in 8 cases
The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari in 8 cases this morning. All of the cases will be heard next term. Several cases present questions concerning criminal law:
Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts - whether the Confrontation Clause is violated where a prosecutor offers a crime lab report as evidence in a criminal trial, instead of the live testimony of the expert who prepared the report.
Oregon v. Ice - whether it is unconstitutional for a judge to impose consecutive sentences based on facts found by the judge, not by the jury.
Waddington v. Sarausad - whether a federal court in habeas corpus may grant relief based upon the inadequacy of jury instructions about the culpability of accomplices.
Jimenez v. Quarterman - whether a certificate of appealability should issue pursuant to Slack v. McDaniel on the question of whether pursuant to 28 USC 2244(d)(1)(A) when, through no fault of the petitioner, he was unable to obtain a direct review and the highest state court grantedrelief to place him back to original position on direct review, should the 1-year limitations begin to run after he has completed that direct review, resetting the 1-year limitations period.
Civil cases include:
FCC v. Fox Television Stations - whether the Federal Communications Commission may ban a single use of a vulgar word on radio and television.
Bartlett v. Strickland - whether a federal voting rights law allows a racial minority group that has less than 50 percent of an election district's population to seek a district drawn to help assure that the group's preferred candidates get elected.
Vaden v. Discover Bank - whether a federal court has authority over a lawsuit seeking to enforce an arbitration obligation under state law, when the attempt to compel arbitration does not directly raise a federal question.
Negusie v. Mukasey - whether asylum is available to a refugee who was compelled, against his will by threats of death or torture, to assist or take part in the persecution of other persons.
With many thanks to Scotusblog. Scotusblog provides links to the opinions of the lower courts, petitions for certiorari, briefs in oppositions, reply briefs, and amicus briefs for each of these cases.