Orders and arguments ahead

SCOTUSblog’s October 13 preview looks ahead to the Court’s next round of orders and arguments. Orders from the justices’ Friday conference were expected Tuesday morning, October 14, at 9:30 a.m. Eastern. The preview is a schedule of pending court business, not an announcement that the Court has decided these cases.

On Tuesday, the justices are scheduled to hear Beaird v. United States. The case asks how much deference courts should give to the Sentencing Commission’s commentary when interpreting the federal sentencing guidelines. The answer could affect how sentencing rules are applied in later cases.

Wednesday’s argument in Salazar v. Paramount Global concerns the 1988 Video Privacy Protection Act and whether its protections apply to online services. Congress enacted the law after a newspaper disclosed that Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork had rented particular films. The Court is being asked to apply that older privacy statute to modern internet viewing.

The preview also says Trump v. Kingdom is fully briefed and could be decided at any time. The case challenges a Bureau of Prisons policy on care for transgender people in federal custody. The update describes the case’s status; it does not predict how the justices will rule.

Finally, the FCC and two Republican organizations are asking the Court to block an appeals-court ruling requiring the FCC to act quickly on a challenge to its notice about favorable political-advertising rates. That dispute is also fully briefed. The linked SCOTUSblog report has the filings and any later scheduling or orders.