With all the holidays over the next couple of months, the U.S. Supreme Court is going to be in and out of session on a very irregular schedule. Some weeks will only have a few oral arguments, many weeks will have none. And next week? Next week’s oral arguments at the Court are some of the most interesting you’ll see before the New Year.

There’s national security versus a whistleblower. There’s sawed-off shotties, destroyed fish, presidential power versus passports, a Truth in Lending Act case, and a case about securities that few beyond the actual parties to the case will actually be paying attention to.

Here are three cases we’re excited about, and three that … well … every record has a B-side, right?

Three to Watch

  1. Zivotofsky v. Kerry (Monday, November 3): The Jerusalem passport case.

The United States refuses to recognize Jerusalem as a part of Israel, Palestine, or any other nation. Congress passed a law in 2002 that allows Jerusalem-born U.S. citizens to specify Israel as their birthplace.

Recognizing Jerusalem as part of Israel, or part of Palestine, or part of anything would make a lot of people angry. Both Bush and Obama have argued that the law is a constitutional overreach and the D.C. Circuit agreed with the executives’ position. The Supreme Court will now decide “whether the provision impermissibly infringes on the President’s exercise of the recognition power reposing exclusively in him.”

  1. Johnson v. United States (Wednesday, November 5):

Three to Read About Later

  1. Omnicare v. Laborers District Council (Monday, November 3):

The question is, does that one remaining claim, filed under Section 11 of the Securities Act of 1933, require pleading scienter of wrongdoing on part of the defendant?

  1. Jesinoski v. Countrywide Home Loans (Tuesday, November 4):

  2. Yates v. United States (Wednesday, November 5):

So why is case not on the must-watch list? We just figured ACCA gun violations were more common than red grouper cases.

Halloween Bonus

This has nothing to do with anything, but:

Which of these upcoming Supreme Court cases are you most excited about? Tell us on Twitter @FindLawLP.

Related Resources:

  • SCOTUS Stays Execution of Mo. Inmate Abandoned by Counsel (FindLaw’s U.S. Supreme Court Blog)
  • 11 Bits of SCOTUS Trivia From the Yale Trio’s Trip to Campus (FindLaw’s U.S. Supreme Court Blog)
  • #RealAnimalsFakePaws: Our Favorite SCOTUS Dog Re-Enactment Videos (FindLaw’s U.S. Supreme Court Blog)

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