In addition to the importance of many of the cases being considered, the Supreme Court’s October 2016 Term has been marked by events of unique historic significance, including the Senate’s refusal to consider President Obama’s nomination of Judge Merrick Garland and its exercise of the “nuclear option” to confirm Justice Neil Gorsuch to fill the seat left empty for more than one year after the passing of Justice Antonin Scalia. At this program – always one of the City Bar’s most interesting and well attended – a prominent panel comprised of Supreme Court litigators, scholars, and a federal judge will review and discuss the leading Supreme Court decisions of the Term and their future impact. The panel will also explore the impact of Justice Scalia’s death and the Senate’s confirmation of Justice Gorsuch, as well as the impact of changes in Executive Branch policies by the new administration on cases this Term and in the pipeline up to the Court. The speakers represent diverse points of view and perspectives, and will provide their unique insights concerning the Court’s decisions.
The panel will specifically address the most important and factually interesting decisions of the Supreme Court’s Term, which include cases touching on a number of areas of law:
• First Amendment, Freedom of Speech, Trademark (Expressions Hair Design v. Schneiderman, Matal v. Tam)
• First Amendment, Free Exercise, Equal Protection (Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia v. Pauley, Gloucester County School Board v. G.G.)
• Copyright and Patent Law (Star Athletica, LLC v. Varsity Brands, Impression Products v. Lexmark Int'l, TC Heartland LLC v. Kraft Foods Group Brands LLC)
• Criminal Law and Procedure, Qualified Immunity (Moore v. Texas, Hernandez v. Mesa, Buck v. Davis, Davila v. Davis, Pena-Rodriguez v. Colorado, Hasty v. Abbasi, Ziglar v. Abbasi, Ashcroft v. Abbasi)
• Civil Procedure (BNSF Railway Co. v. Tyrrell, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company v. Superior Court of California, Microsoft Corp. v. Baker)
• Voting Rights (Bethune-Hill v. Virginia State Board of Elections, Cooper v. Harris, North Carolina v. North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP)
• Immigration (Sessions v. Morales-Santana, Esquivel-Quintana v. Sessions, Jennings v. Rodriguez)
Program Panelists: Beth S. Brinkmann, Covington & Burling; Caitlin J. Halligan, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher; Pamela S. Karlan, Stanford Law School; Deanne E. Maynard, Morrison Foerster; and Hon. Barbara D. Underwood, Solicitor General of the State of New York
Program Moderator: Hon. Paul A. Engelmayer, United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York
Program Chair: William R. Weinstein | Law Offices of William R. Weinstein Sponsoring Association Committee: Federal Courts, Laura Grossfield Birger, Chair