Key U.S. Supreme Court Cases on the Docket for 2012

1. Key U.S. Supreme Court Cases on the Docket for 2012 January 12, 2012 Presented by Brian Craig: Legal Program Chair GEN Online Division

2. About the Presenter Education: BA in political science, Brigham Young University (UT) Juris Doctor, University of Idaho Academic Positions: Legal Program Chair, Globe Univ., 2005-present Adjunct Faculty, Univ. of Minn. Law School, 2007-2008 Professional Experience: Attorney at Thomson-Reuters, 2002-2008 Legal editor, WoltersKluwer (legal publishing) Judicial law clerk, Idaho District Court Legislative aide, CA State Legislature Publications: Author of Cyberlaw: The Law of the Internet and Information Technology

3. About the U.S. Supreme Court Created by Article III of the U.S. Constitution - Nine Justices John G. Roberts., Jr. – Current Chief Justice (below) SCOTUS – acronym for Supreme Court of the United States

4. 2011-2012 Term Terms runs from October 2011 – June 2012 Key cases often released in July Court decides about 80-90 cases per term

5. Key Cases Decided in 2011 First Amendment: Court ruled in favor of funeral protestors, makers of violent video games, and politicians who decline public financing Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Assn First Amendment bars a state from restricting sale of violent video games to minors First Amendment requires tolerance of offensive speech First Amendment Wall at the Newseum (right) 74–foot–high marble facade

6. Cases Already Decided in Jan. 2012 Smith v. Cain - Criminal Procedure Perry v. New Hampshire - Due Process Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. EEOC – Religious Freedom

7. Criminal Procedure Smith v. Cain, No. 10–8145 (2012) Held: Accused entitled to new murder trial because the State, in violation of Brady v. Maryland, 373 U. S. 83 (1963), did not disclose that the eyewitness who identified Smith at trial stated shortly after the murders that he could not identify any of the perpetrators Government must turn over evidence favorable to a defendant Chief Justice Roberts (right) wrote the majority Opinion Justice Thomas wrote a dissenting opinion

8. Eyewitness Identification Perry v. New Hampshire, No. 10-8974 (2012) Held: The Due Process Clause does not require an inquiry into the reliability of an eyewitness identification when the identification was not procured under unnecessarily suggestive circumstances by law enforcement. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (right) wrote the majority opinion in Perry v. New Hampshire Ginsburg (age 78) is the oldest member of the Supreme Court – some have questioned whether she will retire soon

9. Religious Freedom Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. EEOC, No. 10-553 (2012) Held: By imposing an unwanted minister, the state infringes the Free Exercise Clause, which protects a religious group's right to shape its own faith and mission through its appointments Ministerial exception provides that ministers cannot sue churches for employment discrimination

10. Key Cases in 2012 ObamaCare Cases Death Row Mistake Television Indecency and the FCC Electronic Surveillance and GPS tracking devices Prison Strip Searches Life without parole for minors Arizona Immigration Bill U.S. Supreme Court chambers (right)

11. ObamaCare Cases Consolidated Cases: Florida v. Dep't of HHS (No. 11-400) National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius (No. 11-393) Oral Arguments: Mar. 28, 2012 5.5 hours of oral arguments scheduled

12. Affordable Care Act Issue: Whether Congress exceeded its authority in enacting the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act One of the biggest issues to be decided by Supreme Court in decades Likely to impact 2012 elections

13. Death Row Mistake Issue: Whether a defendant is prohibited from arguing in federal court that his death sentence is unconstitutional because his lawyer missed a filing deadline in state court Maples v. Thomas (No. 10-63) Oral arguments: October 4, 2011

14. Television Indecency Issue: Whether the Federal Communications Commission's standards for indecency on television are too vague to be constitutional FCC v. Fox (No. 10-1293) Oral arguments: January 10, 2012

15. Electronic Surveillance Issue: Whether the Constitution allows police to put a tracking device on a car without either a warrant or the owner's permission violates the Fourth Amendment United States v. Jones (No. 10-1259) Oral Arguments: Nov. 8, 2011

16. Prison Strip Searches Issues: Whether the Fourth Amendment permits a jail to conduct a suspicionless strip search whenever an individual is arrested, including for minor offenses Florence v. Board of Chosen Freeholders (No. 10-945) Oral Arguments: Oct. 12, 2011

17. Life without Parole for Minors Issue: Whether sentence of life without possibility of parole on an offender who was fourteen at the time he committed capital murder constitutes cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment Jackson v. Hobbs (and Miller v. Alabama) (No. 19-9647) Oral Arguments: Mar. 20, 2012

18. Arizona Immigration Bill Issue: Whether federal immigration laws preclude Arizona's efforts at cooperative law enforcement and impliedly preempt four provisions of S.B. 1070 on their face Arizona v. United States (No. 11-182) Oral Arguments: No Date Yet

19. Internet Resources U.S. Supreme Court: www.supremecourt.gov SCOTUS Blog: www.scotusblog.com Fantasy SCOTUS (Supreme Court Fantasy League): www.fantasyscotus.net

20. Additional Questions Brian Craig bcraig@msbcollege.edu