There was a seven-page Order List on Monday. The Court granted one case for review. SCOTUSBlog:
In Prutehi Guahan, the justices will weigh in on a dispute that arises from the U.S. Air Force’s disposal of unexploded ordnance, which it burns or blows up, on a base in Guam.
So notable concern, but based on technical issues:
Four years ago, Prutehi Guahan, an environmental group, went to federal court to challenge the Air Force’s then-pending application to renew its permit, granted to it by Guam’s Environmental Protection Agency under a federal law called the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, for its disposal of ordnance. The group contended that before the Air Force submitted its application, it should have prepared an environmental impact statement, as required by a different federal law, the National Environmental Policy Act.
Kavanaugh didn't take part in deciding a case without saying why. Jackson dissented from a refusal to a motion based on an alleged abuse of the in forma pauperis policy, following her recent practice of doing so for incarcerated persons.
Gorsuch dissents from a denial of cert. As Mark Joseph Stern (Slate) summarizes on Bluesky (noting his position received four votes in the past):
Gorsuch dissents from the Supreme Court's refusal to consider whether a judge (not a jury) can extend a person's prison sentence by finding, by a preponderance of evidence (not beyond a reasonable doubt), that he violated supervised release.
Charles Burton Doesn't Die
Charles Burton has been in prison for over thirty years for his involvement in a robbery/homicide. Burton is in his mid-70s and in a wheelchair. A final SCOTUS appeal (involving procedural issues) was pending.
“I firmly believe that the death penalty is just punishment for society’s most heinous offenders, as shown by the 25 executions I have presided over as governor,” Ivey said in a statement on Tuesday. “In order to ensure the continued viability of the death penalty, however, I also believe that a government’s most consequential action must be administered fairly and proportionately.
Alabama's strongly conservative governor commuted his sentence to life. That's the right move, except that he should really be paroled. He is ailing and was not directly involved in the actual killing. He has already served more than enough for his crime.
Burton wasn't even there when it happened. It was a particularly poor usage of the "felony murder rule." I appreciate her principled pro-capital punishment statement. Yes, I can grant that.
Alabama has not had a great run in recent years executing people, especially respecting the procedure, which led them to shift to nitrogen gas. Give credit where it's due and all that, all the same.
The victim's daughter opposed the execution. That happens, though some seem to think honoring the victims is a one-way ratchet. Still, executions are in the name of the public, not private parties.
The actual killer was sentenced to death. His sentence was overturned on appeal. The government eventually sentenced him to LWOP. He died in prison.
Burton's lawyers removed their final appeal as moot.
Cedric Ricks was sentenced to death for the May 2013 killings of 30-year-old Roxann Sanchez [girlfriend] and her son Anthony Figueroa at their apartment in Bedford, a suburb in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Sanchez’s 12-year-old son, Marcus Figueroa, was injured during the attack.
His attorneys had asked the Supreme Court to stay his execution, arguing that prosecutors violated Ricks’ constitutional rights by eliminating potential jurors on the basis of race.
Previous appeals by Ricks that alleged ineffective counsel and called for the suppression of evidence in the case have been denied.
A horrible domestic violence crime like this warrants serious punishment. It is not, in my view, the "worst of the worst" type murder that warrants the death penalty.
(Texas has executed a handful of people annually in recent years. It is a form of lottery to execute him.)
One more death will not stop the cycle of violence involved. I don't know if the due process concerns flagged tainted the conviction.
They probably are not "cert worthy" since they are most likely singular, not the special class warranting SCOTUS review. The justices should still not have denied without comment.
Justice Joe would provide a brief statement explaining my denial, noting that the taking of a life (especially given my overall constitutional concern about the death penalty) warrants a special exception to the usual "no comment" cert denial policy.
He was executed, providing an apology in his final statement. Media coverage continues to provide the public with information about such final moments.
The almost thirteen-year lag time would have been notable back in the day. It's relatively quick, FWIW, as things go now. COVID probably helped add a few more years that might not have been there otherwise.
Upcoming
I noticed that a media advisory I missed flagged that there will be limited seating for the upcoming birthright citizenship oral argument.
There is an execution scheduled on the 17th. There might be a final order to dispose of like the ones above.
The next scheduled thing is a special event honoring Justice O'Connor (next Thursday) with a livestream. Various Trump officials will take part.
The justices will officially return next Friday. They probably (there is a notice they "may") will hand down one or more opinions. They will also have a conference to consider pending matters.
Other News
Oyez did not have last term's opinion announcements.
The delay led Fix the Court to reach out and obtain them (in a raw form that is harder to access and contains other audio mixed in).
Oyez now has (some) of the opinion announcements up. They are easier to access, but not complete yet.