And this year, it really is full speed ahead. In a typical term, the Supremes here two oral arguments a day when they hear arguments. This year, though, the court will be hearing three per day in an attempt to get more cases done early and not pile up most of the good stuff for the last few weeks of June, as has been the case historically. This past June, for instance, we got blockbuster cases on the Second Amendment, terrorist rights, the death penalty, and more, all in a very short time span.
This week, the big cases have included a big environmental one involving the Navy and whales, and another featuring some nifty Title VII arguments. The Fourth Amendment was also at issue in two separate cases.
The Navy case is basically about whether the armed forces have to comply with environmental laws when they are actually working. As Justice Souter said, ''Does the military need to file an Environmental Impact Statement every time they make a bombing run?'' This particular case involves the Navy and whether their sonar hurts whales. In short, the environmentalists are trying to force the Navy to never use sonar, while the Navy is basically saying that sonar is necessary to keep the country safe from attack.
The Fourth Amendment cases have focused on search and seizure and the exclusionary rule. The Title VII case involves a retaliation issue.
There is a new Solicitor General for the United States as well, Gregory G. Garre. He is replacing Paul D. Clement, who left in June. Garre himself will likely be replaced if Senator Obama is elected president.
One case that may rise quickly to the top of the court's docket is the case of the seventeen Uighar detainees being held at Guantanamo. A district court has ordered that the men, whom the government has detained for seven years on terrorism charges, be released into the US in the Washington, DC, area. Furthermore, the court ordered that the immigration service not interfere. This case will likely go to the Supreme Court very rapidly.
In any case, welcome back, Justices!
