Supreme Court Preview: What Is in Store for October Term 2014?

Co-Sponsored by the Faculty Division and the Practice Groups

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October 6th will mark the first day of the 2014 Supreme Court term. Thus far, the Court's docket includes major cases involving the First Amendment, separation of powers, election law, criminal law, and more.

Notable cases include Alabama Democratic Conference v. Alabama and Alabama Legislative Black Caucus v. Alabama, which concern whether Alabama's legislative redistricting plans were unconstitutional; Elonis v. U.S., which concerns when it is a federal crime to make threatening statements, including messages or postings on social networking web sites such as Facebook; Yates v. U.S., which concerns whether Mr. Yates was given fair notice that throwing undersized fish into the Gulf of Mexico would violate the "document shredding provision" of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act; and Zivotofsky v. Kerry, which concerns Congress's vs. the President's authority over passports and foreign affairs.

The Court is also likely to add other significant cases, potentially including King v. Burwell, concerning whether the IRS may extend tax-credit subsidies to offset the cost of coverage purchased through exchanges established by the federal government (rather than state-created exchanges) under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; TheEpiscopal Church v. The Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth, which concerns the resolution of church property disputes; and one or more same-sex marriage cases. In addition to these cases and others, the panelists will discuss the current composition and the future of the Court.

The Federalist Society hosted this panel discussion on September 23, 2014 at the National Press Club.

Featuring:

  • Mr. William Consovoy, Partner, Wiley Rein
  • Prof. Orin Kerr, Fred C. Stevenson Research Professor of Law, George Washington University Law School
  • Ms. Virginia Seitz, Partner, Sidley Austin
  • Ms. Carrie Severino, Chief Counsel and Policy Director, Judicial Crisis Network
  • Mr. Adam White, Counsel, Boyden Gray & Associates
  • Moderator: Mr. Adam Liptak, Supreme Court Correspondent, New York Times