No. 08–992, Beard, Secretary, Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, et al. v. Kindler

Argued November 2, 2009

            Ronald Eisenberg argued the cause for petitioners.  With him on the briefs were Thomas W. Dolgenos and Lynne Abraham.

            Matthew C. Lawry argued the cause for respondent.  With him on the brief were Leigh Skipper, Jennifer L. Givens, and Billy H. Nolas.

            Briefs of amici curiae urging reversal were filed for the State of California et al. by Edmund G. Brown, Jr., Attorney General of California, Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney General, and Donald E. de Nicola, Deputy State Solicitor General, by Kevin T. Kane, Chief State’s Attorney of Connecticut, by Richard S. Gebelein, Chief Deputy Attorney General of Delaware, by Orville B. Fitch II, Deputy Attorney General of New Hampshire, and by the Attorneys General for their respective States as follows: Terry Goddard of Arizona, John W. Suthers of Colorado, Bill McCollum of Florida, Lawrence G. Wasden of Idaho, Gregory F. Zoeller of Indiana, James D. “Buddy” Caldwell of Louisiana, Lori Swanson of Minnesota, Jim Hood of Mississippi, Chris Koster of Missouri, Jon Bruning of Nebraska, Gary K. King of New Mexico, Richard Cordray of Ohio, W. A. Drew Edmondson of Oklahoma, John R. Kroger of Oregon, Thomas W. Corbett, Jr., of Pennsylvania, Henry D. McMaster of South Carolina, Robert E. Cooper, Jr., of Tennessee, Mark L. Shurtleff of Utah, William C. Mims of Virginia, Robert M. McKenna of Washington, Darrell V. McGraw, Jr., of West Virginia, and J. B. Van Hollen of Wisconsin; and for the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation by Kent S. Scheidegger.

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No. 08–604, Union Pacific Railroad Co. v. Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen General Committee of Adjustment, Central Region

Argued October 7, 2009

            J. Scott Ballenger argued the cause for petitioner.  With him on the briefs were Maureen E. Mahoney, Melissa B. Arbus, James C. Knapp, Jr., J. Michael Hemmer, Patricia O. Kiscoan, and Donald J. Munro.

            Thomas H. Geoghegan argued the cause and filed a brief for respondent.

            Peter Buscemi, Harry A. Rissetto, Jonathan C. Fritts, and Joanna L. Moorhead filed a brief for the National Railway Labor Conference et al. as amici curiae urging reversal.

            Briefs of amici curiae urging affirmance were filed for the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations by Jonathan P. Hiatt, James B. Coppess, and Laurence Gold; and for the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, National Division, by Harold A. Ross.

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No. 08–351, Alvarez, Cook County State’s Attorney v. Smith et al.

Argued October 14, 2009

            Paul A. Castiglione argued the cause for petitioner.  With him on the briefs were Anita Alvarez, pro se, Patrick T. Driscoll, Jr., and Alan J. Spellberg.

            William M. Jay argued the cause for the United States as amicus curiae in support of petitioner.  With him on the brief were Solicitor General Kagan, Assistant Attorneys General Breuer and West, Deputy Solicitor General Katyal, Harry Harbin, Michael S. Raab, David A. Martin, and Alfonso Robles.

            Thomas Peters argued the cause for respondents.  With him on the brief were Craig B. Futterman and Richard Epstein.

 Briefs of amici curiae urging reversal were filed for the State of Illinois et al. by Lisa Madigan, Attorney General of Illinois, Michael A. Scodro, Solicitor General, Jane Elinor Notz, Deputy Solicitor General, Eldad Malamuth, Assistant Attorney General, and by the Attorneys General for their respective States as follows: Troy King of Alabama, Terry Goddard of Arizona, John W. Suthers of Colorado, Thurbert E. Baker of Georgia, Mark J. Bennett of Hawaii, Lawrence G. Wasden of Idaho, Gregory F. Zoeller of Indiana, Thomas J. Miller of Iowa, Martha Coakley of Massachusetts, Michael A. Cox of Michigan, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, Richard Cordray of Ohio, Thomas W. Corbett, Jr., of Pennsylvania, Henry McMaster of South Carolina, Greg Abbott of Texas, Mark L. Shurtleff of Utah, Robert M. McKenna of Washington, J. B. Van Hollen of Wisconsin, and Bruce A. Salzburg of Wyoming; and for the National Association of Counties et al. by Richard Ruda.

            Briefs of amici curiae urging affirmance were filed for the American Civil Liberties Union et al. by Graham Boyd, Scott Michelman, Steven R. Shapiro, and Harvey Grossman; for the Cato Institute et al. by David B. Smith, Clint Bolick, Nicholas C. Dranias, Ilya Shapiro, and Manuel S. Klausner; for the Institute for Justice by William H. Mellor, Scott G. Bullock, and Robert P. Frommer; for the Legal Aid Society by Thomas M. O’Brien; for the National Police Accountability Project by Andrew B. Reid; and for the Women’s Criminal Defense Bar Association by Harold J. Krent.

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No. 08–678, Mohawk Industries, Inc. v. Carpenter

Argued October 5, 2009

            Randall L. Allen argued the cause for petitioner.  With him on the briefs was Daniel F. Diffley.

            Judith Resnik argued the cause for respondent.  With her on the brief were J. Craig Smith, Dennis E. Curtis, Thomas J. Munger, Alan B. Morrison, Deepak Gupta, Brian Wolfman, and Sean K. McElligott.

            Deputy Solicitor General Kneedler argued the cause for the United States as amicus curiae in support of respondent.  With him on the brief were Solicitor General Kagan, Assistant Attorney General West, Pratik A. Shah, and Michael S. Raab.
Briefs of amici curiae urging reversal were filed for the American Bar Association by H. Thomas Wells, Jr., and Paul Mogin; for the Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America by Paul D. Clement, Jeffrey S. Bucholtz, Robin S. Conrad, and Amar D. Sarwal; and for DRI–The Voice of the Defense Bar by Constantine L. Trela, Jr., and Quin M. Sorenson.

            Stephen I. Vladeck, Charles S. Sims, Mark D. Harris, and Anna G. Kaminska filed a brief for Former Article III Judges et al. as amici curiae urging affirmance.

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No. 08–724, Smith, Warden v. Spisak

Argued October 13, 2009

            Richard Cordray, Attorney General of Ohio, argued the cause for petitioner.  With him on the briefs were Benjamin C. Mizer, Solicitor General, Alexandra T. Schimmer, Chief Deputy Solicitor General, and Kimberly A. Olson and David M. Lieberman, Deputy Solicitors.

            Michael J. Benza, by appointment of the Court, 557 U. S. ___, argued the cause for respondent.  With him on the brief was Alan Rossman.

            A brief of amici curiae urging reversal was filed for the State of Pennsylvania et al. by Thomas W. Corbett, Jr., Attorney General of Pennsylvania, and Amy Zapp, Chief Deputy Attorney General, by Richard S. Gebelein, Chief Deputy Attorney General of Delaware, and by the Attorneys General for their respective States as follows: Troy King of Alabama, Terry Goddard of Arizona, Edmund G. Brown, Jr., of California, John Suthers of Colorado, Lawrence G. Wasden of Idaho, Lisa Madigan of Illinois, Steve Six of Kansas, Jack Conway of Kentucky, Steve Bullock of Montana, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, W. A. Drew Edmondson of Oklahoma, Henry D. McMaster of South Carolina, Lawrence E. Long of South Dakota, Greg Abbott of Texas, Mark L. Shurtleff of Utah, William C. Mims of Virginia, and Bruce A. Salzburg of Wyoming.

            Roy T. Englert, Jr., filed a brief for Steven Lubet et al. as amici curiae.

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No. 08–674, NRG Power Marketing, LLC, et al. v. Maine Public Utilities Commission et al.

Argued November 3, 2009

            Jeffrey A. Lamken argued the cause for petitioners.  With him on the briefs were John N. Estes III, Robert K. Kry, Michael R. Bramnick, and Christopher C. O’Hara.

            Eric D. Miller argued the cause for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission urging reversal.  With him on the briefs were Solicitor General Kagan, Deputy Solicitor General Kneedler, Cynthia A. Marlette, Robert H. Solomon, and Lona T. Perry.

            Richard Blumenthal, Attorney General of Connecticut, argued the cause for respondents.  With him on the brief were John S. Wright and Michael C. Wertheimer, Assistant Attorneys General, Jesse S. Reyes, Assistant Attorney General of Massachusetts, Mary E. Grover, Lisa Fink, and Stephen L. Teichler.

            Briefs of amici curiae urging reversal were filed for the Electric Power Supply Association et al. by Paul D. Clement, Ashley C. Parrish, David G. Tewksbury, David B. Johnson, Barry Russell, Timm Abendroth, Peter W. Brown, and Daniel W. Douglass; for Morgan Stanley Capital Group, Inc., et al. by Walter Dellinger, Sri Srinivasan, and Kathryn E. Tarbert; and for Colin C. Blaydon et al. by Richard P. Bress, Michael J. Gergen, and Stephanie S. Lim.

            Briefs of amici curiae urging affirmance were filed for the American Public Power Association et al. by Scott H. Strauss, Susan N. Kelly, Wallace F. Tillman, and Richard Meyer; for Public Citizen, Inc., et al. by Scott L. Nelson, Lynn Hargis, and Barbara Jones; and for the California Public Utilities Commission by Kevin K. Russell, Frank R. Lindh, Elizabeth M. McQuillan, and Karen P. Paull.