Summary: This week the Court issued seven opinions, heard four cases in oral arguments and granted certiorari to two new cases. We begin this week with a review of the Court’s grant of certiorari in Fisher v. University of Texas, which marks that first time in nearly a decade that the Court is returning to the topic of affirmative action in higher education. Fisher considers the admission practices of the University of Texas at Austin and reconsiders whether race may be used as a factor in public school admissions. We next consider the oral arguments this week in United States v. Alvarez which considers the first amendment value of lying and in particular the Stolen Valor Act, which makes it a crime to to falsely represent that you have been awarded any military decoration or medal authorized by Congress. Next, we consider the Court’s opinion this week in Howes v. Fields, wherein the court had to determine whether a prisoner is always in custody for Miranda purposes any time that prisoner is isolated from the general prison population and questioned about conduct occurring outside the prison. We then turn to the Court’s decision this week in PPL Montana LLC v. Montana, a case which considers who owns the riverbeds in Montana and whether Montana may charge rent to hydroelectric facilities built on the riverbeds. Finally, we review the Court’s opinion in Messerschmidt v. Millender, wherein the court determined whether police officers could be held liable for causing a search warrant to issue that lacked probable cause when it was approved by supervisors, including an attorney, and granted by a magistrate judge. OPINIONS (click to download) Kawashima v. Holder (10-577) Howes v. Fields (10-680) Wetzel v. Lambert (11-38) Marmet Health Care Center, Inc. v. Brown (11-391) Messerschmidt v. Millender (10-704) PPL Montana, LLC v. Montana (10-218) Douglas v. Independent Living Center of Southern Cal., Inc. (09-958) GRANTS OF CERTIORARI (click on case name to download lower court decision) Fisher v. University of Texas (Fifth Circuit) Lozman v. City of Riviera Beach, Florida (Eleventh Circuit) ORAL ARGUMENT TRANSCRIPTS AND AUDIO (click to download) Freeman v. Quicken Loans, Inc. (10-1042) Audio Transcript Taniguchi v. Kan Pacific Saipan, Ltd. (10-1472) Audio Transcript United States v. Alvarez (11-210) Audio Transcript Blueford v. Arkansas (10-1320) Audio Transcript
