2013-11-13

At its November 15, 2013 Conference, the Court will consider petitions seeking review of issues such as the correctness of the fraud-on-the-market theory in securities fraud cases, the right to counsel at bail determination proceedings, the standing of an objecting class member to challenge a class-certification order, and determining qualified immunity based on law at the time of the alleged wrong..

This edition of “Petitions to watch” features petitions raising issues that Tom has determined to have a reasonable chance of being granted, although we post them here without consideration of whether they present appropriate vehicles in which to decide those issues.  Our policy is to include and disclose all cases in which Goldstein & Russell, P.C., whose attorneys contribute to this blog in various capacities, represents either a party or an amicus in the case, with the exception of the rare cases in which Goldstein & Russell represents the respondent(s) but does not appear on the briefs in the case.

Halliburton Co. v. Erica P. John Fund, Inc.

13-317

Issue: (1) Whether this Court should overrule or substantially
modify the holding of Basic Inc. v. Levinson, to the extent that it recognizes a presumption
of classwide reliance derived from the fraud-on-themarket
theory; and (2) whether, in a case where the plaintiff invokes the
presumption of reliance to seek class certification, the
defendant may rebut the presumption and prevent class
certification by introducing evidence that the alleged
misrepresentations did not distort the market price of its
stock.

 

Dzurenda v. Gonzalez

13-204

Issue: Whether the Sixth Amendment guarantees the right to counsel's assistance at bail determination proceedings.

 

Relists

 

Martin v. Blessing

13-169

Issue: Whether an objecting class member – whose antitrust claims have been waived by a settlement negotiated by class counsel appointed by a racially conscious class-certification order – has standing to challenge the class-certification order and, through it, the antitrust settlement.

 

Ford Motor Company v. United States

13-113

Issue: When, if ever, may a court exercising jurisdiction pursuant to a waiver of sovereign immunity invoke the strict construction canon applicable to such waivers to construe a separate statutory provision that creates the substantive rights at issue.

 

Rapelje v. McClellan

12-1480

Issue: (1) Whether a state-court order denying a request for relief on a constitutional claim “for lack of merit in the grounds presented” constitutes a merits adjudication of that claim for purposes of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA); and
(2) whether a federal habeas court may, consistent with AEDPA, delve into the internal procedures of a state court to support its speculation that an order denying relief “for lack of merit” is not, in fact, a merits adjudication.

 

Ryan v. Hurles

12-1472

Issue: Whether, under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA), state court adjudications are per se unreasonable and not entitled to deference under 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(2) merely because the state court does not conduct an evidentiary hearing.

 

Plumhoff v. Rickard

12-1117

Issue: (1) Whether the Sixth Circuit wrongly denied qualified immunity to the petitioners by analyzing whether the force used in 2004 was distinguishable from factually similar force ruled permissible three years later in Scott v. Harris. Stated otherwise, the question presented is whether, for qualified immunity purposes, the Sixth Circuit erred in analyzing whether the force was supported by subsequent case decisions as opposed to prohibited by clearly established law at the time the force was used; and (2) whether the Sixth Circuit erred in denying qualified immunity by finding the use of force was not reasonable as a matter of law when, under the respondent's own facts, the suspect led police officers on a high-speed pursuit that began in Arkansas and ended in Tennessee, the suspect weaved through traffic on an interstate at a high rate of speed and made contact with the police vehicles twice, and the suspect used his vehicle in a final attempt to escape after he was surrounded by police officers, nearly hitting at least one police officer in the process.

 

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