First Monday in October: Preview of the New Supreme Court Term

While most news outlets focus on whether Judge Brett Kavanaugh will be confirmed as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court, the Court has quietly kicked off a new Term. What criminal law cases does the Court have in store? It's important to remember that the Court will accept more cases as the Term progresses. But for now, the principal criminal law cases on the docket are as listed below. Links are to SCOTUSblog's coverage of each case. Quoted language reflects the Questions Presented in each case. Gundy v. United States: "Whether the federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act’s delegation of authority to the attorney general to issue regulations . . . violates the nondelegation doctrine." Madison v. Alabama: In part, "Whether, consistent with the Eighth Amendment . . . a state may execute a prisoner whose mental disability leaves him with no memory of his commission of the capital offense." Stokeling v. United States: "Whether a state robbery offense that includes 'as an element' the common law requirement of overcoming 'victim resistance' is categorically a 'violent felony' under the Armed Career Criminal Act . . . when the offense has been specifically interpreted by state appellate courts to require only slight force to overcome resistance." Garza v. Idaho: "Whether the 'presumption of prejudice' recognized in Roe v. Flores-Ortega applies when a criminal defendant instructs his trial counsel to file a notice of appeal but trial counsel decides not to do so because the defendant’s plea agreement included an appeal waiver." Bucklew v. [...]