Appellate Advocacy Blog Weekly Roundup Friday, November 20, 2020

Each week, the Appellate Advocacy Blog Weekly Roundup presents a few tidbits of news and Twitter posts from the past week concerning appellate advocacy. As always, if you see something during the week that you think we should be sure to include, feel free to send a quick note to either (1) Dan Real at [email protected] or on Twitter @Daniel_L_Real or (2) Catharine Du Bois at [email protected] or on Twitter @CLDLegalWriting.

US Supreme Court Opinions and News

• The Supreme Court rejected a request to intervene in a case seeking to impose heightened Covid-19 precautions at a Texas prison. The Fifth Circuit stayed a trial court’s order that required increased safety steps at the prison that houses geriatric and vulnerable prisoners and where at least 25 inmates have already died from Covid-19. Oral argument in the Fifth Circuit to determine whether to uphold the trial court order is set for December 3.  See the order and dissents and reports from USA Today and Bloomberg.

• The Supreme Court granted certiorari in a labor rights case, Cedar Point Nursery v. Hasid, that will look at labor rights in relation to property rights. Relying on  Loretto v. Teleprompter Manhattan CATV Corp., the property owners claim a California regulation that grants union organizers access to workers on private property is a taking because it is "permanent physical occupation of [the] owner's property." Michael Dorf summarizes the issues in the case here. 

• A report available this week looks at the Supreme Court’s amicus docket and reviews the last decade’s findings. (Subscription required)

Federal Appellate Court Opinions and News

• The various attempts to challenge the 2020 presidential election dominate court news still this week. For those interested, a few sources have compiled a description of where things stand: The Guardian, The Washington Post, AP News, and The BBC.  

• The Eleventh Circuit found unconstitutional two Florida laws that banned conversion therapy for children, finding the laws violated the therapists’ right to free speech. The ruling opines that the First Amendment “does not allow communities to determine how their neighbors may be counseled about matters of sexual orientation or gender.” The dissent recognized the compelling interest in protecting children from a “harmful therapeutic practice.” See order and report from Reuters.

• As Covid-19 cases surge across the country, courts are shutting their doors again and are cancelling juries.  See report from Bloomberg.