United States Supreme Court Certiorari Granted

Opinions Filed in May 2020

Dept. of Justice v. House Comm. on Judiciary

Whether an impeachment trial before a legislative body is a “judicial proceeding” under Rule 6(e)(3)(E)(i) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.

Area(s) of Law:
  • Constitutional Law

Federal Republic of Germany v. Philipp

(1) Whether the “expropriation exception” of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, (“FSIA”) 28 U.S.C. § 1605(a)(3), which abrogates foreign sovereign immunity when “rights in property taken in violation of international law are in issue,” provides jurisdiction over claims that a foreign sovereign has violated international human-rights law when taking property from its own national within its own borders, even though such claims do not implicate the established international law governing states’ responsibility for takings of property. (2) Whether the doctrine of international comity is unavailable in cases against foreign sovereigns, even in cases of considerable historical and political significance to the foreign sovereign, and even where the foreign nation has a domestic framework for addressing the claims.

Area(s) of Law:
  • Sovereign Immunity

Republic of Hungary v. Simon

Petition granted limited to the following question: May the district court abstain from exercising jurisdiction under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act for reasons of international comity, where former Hungarian nationals have sued the nation of Hungary to recover the value of property lost in Hungary during World War II, and where the plaintiffs made no attempt to exhaust local Hungarian remedies?

Area(s) of Law:
  • Sovereign Immunity

CIC Servs., LLC v. IRS

Whether the Anti-Injunction Act’s bar on lawsuits for the purpose of restraining the assessment or collection of taxes also bars challenges to unlawful regulatory mandates issued by administrative agencies that are not taxes.

Area(s) of Law:
  • Administrative Law

Edwards v. Vannoy

Petition granted limited to the following question: Whether the Supreme Court's decision in Ramos v. Louisiana, 590 U.S. ___ (2020), applies retroactively to cases on federal collateral review.

Area(s) of Law:
  • Constitutional Law

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