Lyle Denniston

Mar 5 2015

Marriage case hearings April 28; audio out quickly

The Supreme Court on Thursday set the hearing date for the same-sex marriage cases for Tuesday, April 28, and announced that the audiotape recording of the session will be released by no later than 2 p.m. that day.

Here is the full calendar of hearings for the April sitting — the final one of the current Court Term:

Monday, April 20:

Johnson v. U.S. — Possession of a sawed-off shotgun as a violent felony, leading to a longer prison term as a career criminal.  This case was heard on November 5 but is being reargued on a new question about potential vagueness of a part of the Armed Career Criminal Act.

Tuesday, April 21:

McFadden v. U.S. — A federal prosecutor’s duty to prove that a suspect knew that a substance was an illegal substitute for a banned drug.

Wednesday, April 22:

Horne v. U.S. Department of Agriculture — The federal government’s duty to pay raisin growers for an order requiring removal of part of a year’s crop from the market to stabilize prices.

Monday, April 27:

Kingsley v. Hendrickson — The proof needed to show police use of excessive force toward a detained person awaiting trial.

Tuesday, April 28:

Obergefell v. Hodges and three other cases — The constitutionality of state bans on same-sex marriage and state refusals to recognize existing same-sex marriages.  The cases are consolidated for two-and-a-half hours of argument.

Wednesday, April 29:

Glossip v. Gross — The constitutionality under the Eighth Amendment of using a sedative as the first drug in a death penalty protocol.   (The executions of the three Oklahoma inmates have been stayed.)

Mata v. Holder — The authority of a federal appeals court to extend the time to seek a reopening of an immigration case because of an ineffective attorney.

Lyle Denniston continues to write about the U.S. Supreme Court, although he “retired” at the end of 2019 following more than six decades on that news beat. He was there for three revolutions – civil rights, women’s rights, and gay rights – and the start of a fourth, on transgender rights. His career of following the law began at the Otoe County Courthouse in his hometown, Nebraska City, Nebraska, in the fall of 1948. His online, eight-week, college-level course – “The Supreme Court and American Politics” – is available from the University of Baltimore Law School, and it is free.

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