ACS is pleased to provide these resources on the 2007-2008 Supreme Court Term.

Articles and Video on Individual Cases

Washington State Grange v. Washington State Republican Party (Oct. 1): In an article, Bob Bauer, partner and Chair of the Political Law Group, Perkins Coie, asks "Does Washington State's 'modified blanket primary' system violate the right of association?" An article on ACSBlog summaries the Court's decision. (Article)

Gall v. U.S. (Oct. 2): In a video, Carol Steiker, professor of law, Harvard University, previews Gall. (Video).

Kimbrough v. U.S. (Oct. 2): In an article, Mary Price, Vice President and General Counsel, Families Against Mandatory Minimums, previews Kimbrough in "Supreme Court considers crack sentencing; real change depends on Congress."

N.Y. Board of Elections v. Lopez Torres (Oct. 3): In a video, Paul Smith, partner, Jenner & Block LLP, previews Torres. (Video).

Stoneridge Investment v. Scientific-Atlanta (Oct. 9): In an article, Kent Greenfield, professor of law, Boston College, previews Stoneridge in "One of the Most Important Cases You Haven't Yet Heard About -- the Stoneridge Case and 'Scheme' Liability Under Federal Security Laws." Here is a summary of the decision, and an excerpt from Justice Stevens' dissent in which the discusses the jurisprudential principle that every wrong has a remedy.

Medellin v. Texas (Oct. 10): In an article, Martin Flaherty, Co-Director of the Crowley Program in International Human Rights, Fordham Law School, discusses how "Medellin Poses International Law and Separation of Powers Questions." In a video, Neal Katyal, professor of law, Georgetown University Law Center, discusses Medellin. (Video).

U.S. v. Williams (Oct. 30): In an article, Camille Gear Rich, assistant professor of law, University of Southern California Gould School of Law, examines "the First Amendment, Pandering, and Pornography." In a video, Paul Smith, partner, Jenner & Block LLP, previews Williams. (Video).

Federal Express v. Holowecki (Nov. 6): In an article, Helen Norton, associate professor of law, University of Colorado School of Law, explores "The Start of the Supreme Court's 2007-08 Employment Discrimination Docket."

Rowe v. New Hampshire Motor Transport Association (Nov. 28): In an article, Simon Lazarus and Harper Jean Tobin, attorneys with the National Senior Citizens Law Center, explore "a case that pits states wishing to protect public health against businesses looking to knock down regulation wherever they see it."

Sprint/United Management v. Mendelsohn (Dec. 3): In an article on the employment discrimination case, Woodley Osborne, of counsel with Mehri & Skalet, PLLC, explain that the Court "will be asked to resolve divergent views regarding the admissibility of two categories of evidence: 'other supervisor' evidence—evidence that an employer’s supervisors, other than the one who supervised the plaintiff, may also have engaged in acts of discrimination; and 'culture evidence'—evidence of a pattern and practice of discrimination."

Boumediene v. Bush and Al Odah v. U.S. (Dec. 5): In an issue brief entitled "Guantanamo is Here: The Military Commissions Act and Noncitizen Vulnerability," Muneer I. Ahmad, professor of law at American University Washington College of Law, explores the disparate legal treatment of citizens versus noncitizens. In an article entitled "Boumediene v. Bush: Avoiding a Pyrrhic Victory," Cecillia Wang, a senior staff attorney with the ACLU Immigrant's Rights Project, discusses "a scenario in which the petitions could win, but the Constitution and the rule of law would still lose."

Baze v. Rees (Jan. 7): In an article, Alison J. Nathan, visiting Assistant Professor of Law, Fordham University School of Law, discusses what is and what is not at stake in the lethal injection litigation.

Crawford v. Marion County Election Board (Jan. 9): In a video, a general discussion of voter identification laws and their impact on democracy. (Video) (Excerpts). In another video, panelists discuss the Supreme Court and the Indiana Voter ID law. (Video). In an article, Justin Levitt discusses the Supreme Court's decision that upheld the law. (Article)

Exxon Shipping Co. v. Baker (Feb. 27): In an article, Alexandra Klass, University of Minnesota Law School, and Sandra Zellmer, University of Nebraska College of Law, explore the punitive damages case arising from the merchant ship Exxon Valdez's running around in Alaska, spilling oil into Prince William Sound. (Article)

D.C. v. Heller (Mar. 18): In an series of articles, Professors Adam Winkler and Mark Tushnet discuss the Second Amendment and the District of Columbia's ban on the private ownership of handguns. (Articles)

Chamber of Commerce v. Brown (Mar. 19): In an article, Scott A. Kronland previews the arguments over a California law that prohibits employers from using state grant and
program funds "to assist, promote, or deter union organizing." (Article)

Panel Discussions

The Second Amendment and the Supreme Court
On March 13, 2008, ACS hosted a press briefing on the Supreme Court case, District of Columbia v. Heller, which concerns the constitutionality of the District of Columbia’s ban on the private possession of handguns. Experts from a variety of perspectives discussed whether the Second Amendment protects only militia-relate rights or the rights of private individuals, the appropriate standard for reviewing gun control legislation and the potential legal and policy implications of the first Court decision in this area in 68 years. The Supreme Court heared oral argument on March 18, 2008. Moderated by Dahlia Lithwick, Senior Editor, Slate, the panel included Carl Bogus, Professor of Law, Roger Williams University School of Law, Dave Kopel, Research Director, Independence Institute, and John Payton, Director-Counsel and President, NAACP Legal Defense Fund. (Video) (Video clips)

Retaliation Claims Under the Civil Rights Laws: Three Cases Reach the Supreme Court
On February 12, 2008, ACS hosted a press briefing on Crawford v. Metropolitan Gov't of Nashville, CBOCS West v. Humphries, and Gomez-Perez v. Potter. The cases address the protections workers receive under the civil rights laws against retaliation by their employers when they complain of discrimination. Moderated by Michael Gottesman, Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center, the panel included Eric Dreiband, Partner, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, Jocelyn Frye, General Counsel, National Partnership for Women & Families, Daniel Kohrman, Attorney, AARP Foundation Litigation, and William L. Taylor, Chair, Citizens' Commission on Civil Rights, and Vice Chairman, Leadership Conference on Civil Rights. (Video) (Video clips)

The Supreme Court and the Indiana Voter ID Law
On January 3, 2008, ACS hostel a panel discussion on Crawford v. Marion County Election Board, regarding the constitutionality of requiring voters to show a government-issued photo ID before voting. The panel discussion was moderated by Tova Wang, Democracy Fellow, the Century Foundation, and included Deborah Goldberg, Democracy Program Director, Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law, Bradley A. Smith, professor (and former FEC Commission), Capital University Law School, Jon Greenbaum, Director of the Voting Rights Project, the Lawyer's Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. (Video).

Preemption, Health and Safety, and the Supreme Court
On Thursday, November 1, 2007, ACS hosted a panel discussion on Riegel v. Medtronic, which deals with whether state tort claims are preempted by approval of a medical device by the Food and Drug Administration. The panel discussion was moderated by Paul T. Kim, partner, Foley Hoag LLP, and included David C. Vladeck, professor, Georgetown University Law Center, Catherine M. Sharkey, professor, New York University School of Law, David C. Frederick, partner, Kellogg, Huber, Hansen, Todd, Evans & Figel, PLLC, and Richard A. Samp, Chief Counsel, Washington Legal Foundation. (Video) (Video clips).

Voter ID Laws: Preventing Fraud or Suppressing the Vote?
On October 23, 2007, ACS hosted a panel discussion at the National Press Club, where leading experts discussed how voter photographic identification laws impact our democracy. The panel discussion was moderated by Tova Wang, Democracy Fellow, The Century Foundation, and included Julie Fernandes, Senior Policy Analyst and Special Counsel, Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, Deborah Goldberg, Democracy Program Director, Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, Robert Kelner, partner and chair of Election and Political Law Practice, Covington & Burling LLP, Spencer Overton, professor, George Washington University Law School. (Video).

Supreme Court Preview 2007-2008
On September 26, 2007, ACS previewed the upcoming Supreme Court Term. The panel discussion was moderated by Thomas C. Goldstein, partner, Akin Gump Straus Hauer & Feld, LLP, and featured Neal Katyal, John Carroll Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center, Christopher Landau, partner, Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Virginia Seitz, partner, Sidley Austin LLP, Paul M. Smith, partner, Jenner & Block LLP, and Carol Steiker, professor, Harvard Law School. (Video).

Panel of Reporters Discuss Supreme Court Trends and the Upcoming 2007-2008 Term
On Saturday, July 28, 2007, at its national convention, ACS hosted a panel of reporters to discuss Supreme Court trends and the upcoming 2007-2008 Term. The panel was moderated by Thomas C. Goldstein, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, LLP, and SCOTUSBlog.com, and included Emily Bazelon, Senior Editor, Slate, Linda Greenhouse, Supreme Court Correspondent, New York Times, Stuart Taylor, Jr., Senior Writer and Columnist, National Journal, and Pete Williams, Justice Correspondent, NBC News. (Video) (Video clips).

Argument Calendars and Questions Presented

• Week of October 1
• Week of October 8
• Week of October 29
• Week of November 5
• Week of November 26
• Week of December 3
• Week of January 7
• Week of January 14
• Week of February 18
• Week of February 25
• Week of March 17

Additional Materials

• "Supreme Court Stakes," by Douglas Kendall, founder and executive director, Community Rights Counsel.
• "The Roberts Four: Men on a Mission," released by Center for American Progress.
• "Goldstein Analyses Upcoming Court Term"
• "Tired of Kabuki? Time to Tango: The Case for Litigator-led Questioning of Supreme Court Nominees," an Issue Brief by Seth Rosenthal, partner, Venable LLP.
• "A Constitutional Vision," by Geoffrey Stone, professor, University of Chicago Law School. (part 1) (part 2) (part 3) (part 4) (part 5) (part 6)
• A round-up of the 2006-2007 Supreme Court Term, compiled by ACS.
• A summary of the Chief Justice's Annual Report on the Federal Judiciary.
• The Supreme Court Blog (SCOTUSBlog) and Supreme Court Wiki (SCOTUSWiki).
• Supreme Court 2007 Term argument calendar.