SCOTUS Watch: Still More Low Temp Stuff

The Supreme Court released three opinions on Thursday. None were too exciting. Yes, Supreme Court opinions are not really meant to be "exciting" but it's June. They have in the last few decades had some hot-button cases in June.

An insurer with financial responsibility for a bankruptcy claim is sufficiently concerned with, or affected by, the proceedings to be a “party in interest” that can raise objections to a reorganization plan. Section 1109(b) grants insurers neither a vote nor a veto; it simply provides them a voice in the proceedings. 

Justice Sotomayor wrote a unanimous bankruptcy opinion. Alito was recused. He did not say why. The general reason he recuses is that he has some financial conflict, which is made more likely since his stock portfolio opens up much more of a chance for problems than his colleagues. 

A corporation’s contractual obligation to redeem shares is not necessarily a liability that reduces a corporation’s value for purposes of the federal estate tax. 

Justice Thomas had a unanimous opinion in a case whose main interest appears to be that one of the parties is also named "Thomas." 

The question before us is whether ISDA requires IHS to pay contract support costs to support tribal programs funded by such third-party payments.

The opinions are announced in order of seniority. When Thomas announced, the next one was going to be Thomas, Roberts, or perhaps an unsigned per curiam. So, people watching the opinions show up online [there being no video, though there should be], had some reason to expect a significant opinion to finish things off. 

Not really. The case involves the allotment of federal health funding to tribes with some effect on tribal self-determination. Thus, the case is of some interest to Native Americans. The case was a win for the tribes so it is not surprising that Gorsuch went along. Kavanaugh for the other conservatives dissented. But, it is still not exactly a hot-button case.

There are three more weeks in June. The Supreme Court is going to have to do more than release three or so opinions once a week to complete their work. Next Thursday is now scheduled as an Opinion Day. There will eventually be additional days to handle the twenty-something cases left.

The policy of back-ending so many cases, especially hot-button cases, is misguided. It is a college cram style of doing things.

There is an execution scheduled for next week. An Order List will come on Monday. More flag news? Won't surprise. 

ETA: Native American case, as noted, has some interesting aspects about Native American self-government. It also covers questions of congressional intent, agency discretion, and more. "Low temp" cases can still be notable.

Insular Cases 

I also forgot to include a SCOTUS-related Justice Department statement, responding to a congressional request. 

The Justice Department strongly rejects the racist rhetoric of the Insular Cases, a series of early 20th-century cases treating new territories obtained overseas differently than old (white) territories. 

The opinions assumed the new people were unfit to be treated on equal standing with the rest of the country. The Justice Department does not say they want a full overruling because there can still be some differences between territories and the states/D.C. America Samoa, for instance, does not want to be treated completely like American citizens. 

(Comparably, Native American tribes are not treated the same as everyone else. For instance, tribes can have religious establishments. Also, partially given how small many are, jury requirements are different.)  

The line drawing there is complicated with some apparent injustices as seen in one case involving disability benefits in Puerto Rico. Overall, it is unclear what is realistically left of the Insular Cases, including the idea that the Bill of Rights need not be applied to overseas territories. 

The Insular Cases are a relic. If we do not apply an absolute "Constitution follows the flag" rule, it is time to clearly overrule them and clarify.