The Supreme Court today announced it would hear arguments in only three cases next month. That continues a string of lighter than usual calendars. There haven’t been more than five arguments in a month since the court heard seven cases last June.
If Patricia Guerrero’s appointment to the court is confirmed next week, as expected, and if she is promptly sworn in (see here), April’s will be the first calendar with a full complement of permanent justices in seven months.
Like all calendars since April 2020, the April 2022 calendar will be remote and based in San Francisco. (See here, here, here, here, and here.) The arguments will be live streamed, as all arguments have been since May 2016.
On April 5, the court will hear the following cases (with the issue presented as summarized by court staff or limited by the court itself):
Grande v. Eisenhower Medical Center: When it granted review in May 2020, the court limited the issue to: “May a class of workers bring a wage and hour class action against a staffing agency, settle that lawsuit with a stipulated judgment that releases all of the staffing agency’s agents, and then bring a second class action premised on the same alleged wage and hour violations against the staffing agency’s client?”
People v. Poore: This is an automatic direct appeal from a February 2002 judgment of death. The court’s website does not list issues for death penalty appeals. Counsel was first appointed in September 2007, but new counsel was appointed in July 2012 and, after the opening brief was filed, another new attorney was appointed in January 2019. Briefing was completed in September 2021.
People v. Pineda: This is an automatic direct appeal from a February 2007 judgment of death. The court’s website does not list issues for death penalty appeals. Counsel was appointed in December 2010. Briefing was completed in August 2016.