Supreme Court

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26 September 2006
U.S. Supreme Court To Review Wide Range of Cases

By Michelle Austein
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington – The U.S. Supreme Court, which opens its 2006-2007 term on October 2, will hear a variety of immigration, business, environmental, criminal and civil rights cases over the next several months.

The Supreme Court’s term begins the first Monday of October each year and the court typically remains in session until late June or early July. This year the first Monday, October 2, is the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, so even though the term begins, no arguments will be heard that day.

Hundreds of cases are sent to the Supreme Court each year seeking a “writ of certiorari” – or a decision by the court to hear an appeal from a lower court.  Less than 1 percent of these cases are accepted for review.  The court will hear arguments in at least 31 cases for which it already has granted review but will add more cases to its docket after reviewing cases that were sent to the court over the summer.

The outcome of two criminal cases could affect immigration laws. Both Lopez v. Gonzales and Toledo-Flores v. United States are cases in which immigrants were convicted in state courts of felony drug crimes. Immigration law allows for immigrants convicted of a felony drug crime to be deported. However, in both cases the defendants' crimes would be considered misdemeanors under federal law, and their attorneys argue that immigration officials should use this federal standard when considering deportation. The Supreme Court’s rulings on these cases could affect 7,000 similar cases nationwide.

In another criminal case, Carey v. Musladin, the court will determine whether a defendant's right to a fair trial was denied when family members of his alleged victim came to the courtroom wearing buttons with the victim’s picture.  The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in California had overturned Mathew Musladin’s murder conviction saying the buttons conveyed the message that he was guilty.

One notable business case is Phillip Morris USA v. Williams. In this case the large tobacco company was told to pay more than $820,000 in compensatory damages and more than $79 million in punitive damages to a family of a man who died of lung cancer from smoking. The court will examine how punitive damages -- designed to punish the defendant and discourage the type of conduct in which the defendant engaged -- are awarded and what amount is considered reasonable.

Two cases about diversity in public schools also will be on the court's docket. In both Community Schools v. Seattle School Dist. No. 1 and Meredith v. Jefferson County Board of Education, parents of students not admitted to schools because of a racial factor are suing the school systems.

Environmental cases on the effects of climate change are on the court's docket as well.  Among them, in Massachusetts v. E.P.A., the court will decide whether the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency should regulate greenhouse gas emissions from cars.

A complete schedule of oral arguments is available on the Supreme Court’s Web site. For additional information, see The Supreme Court of the United States: Highest Court in the Land.

For the first time, transcripts of oral arguments made before the court will be available the same day online at the Supreme Court’s Web site.

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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