SCOTUS Watch: Summer Orders List #2

We saw last Friday that the Supreme Court does some stuff during their summer recess. Steve Vladeck argues that the ruling was a mess all around

It used to be officially out of session, leaving things circuit judges to handle, only coming back into session for special occasions. This policy ended around 1980. 

Now, they can still do things as a court. They have three scheduled order lists, which are used to do some housekeeping like refuse rehearings. Order lists still can have little bits of inside baseball that are somewhat interesting, at least to court watchers. 

Today's Order List followed the norm. For instance, there was a denial of something called a "certificate of appealability." Various other housekeeping orders were dropped, a list of rehearings denied (the Supreme Court basically never grants a rehearing), and some attorney discipline (the Supreme Court generally follows the lead of state disbarment actions).  

We also have the usual conservative recusing without saying why. There were developments in the Glossip case, which arose from the circuit where Justice Gorsuch once served. He is not taking part in the case. Also, a request from the family of the victim and others to have argument time was denied.  

The third and final scheduled order list will drop on September 6th. There is another execution scheduled this month, which might require a miscellaneous order. And, there are various other pending matters (see Vladeck's discussion) that also might. 

Vision

Meanwhile, I generally enjoyed Judge David Tatel's autobiography, Vision: A Memoir of Blindness and Justice. Stephen Vladeck praises him:

“For a judge who can’t see, he sees everything. Not just what is going on in the case before him, but how it matters in the future,” said Steve Vladeck, a constitutional law professor at the University of Texas and close observer of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. “It’s hard to think of a judge who is more highly respected on the federal appellate bench even by those who disagree with him.”

Tatel, a liberal Clinton appointee (replacing Ruth Bader Ginsburg), also received much praise from his conservative colleagues and others as a balanced judge, including practicing judicial restraint. His ability to be an excellent judge while also being blind is amazing. 

One major case he was involved in was the infamous Shelby v. Holder case, which was overturned by the Supreme Court, though a conservative colleague joined him in upholding the law. He took senior status (a possible Breyer replacement filled his spot) and then completely resigned from the Court of Appeals this year. His beloved guide dog is named Vixen. 

Tatel is a Roberts Court critic, including their disrespect of stare decisis. He supports statutory judicial term limits, arguing that a judge would still hold an "office" even if they no longer hold the same one. I'm getting more sympathetic to that stance in theory, at least for new appointments.