Today is the last day of the Supreme Court’s 2004-2005 term, and as always, several really big cases will be announced. The ones that will probably get the most attention, and yet will have only minimal impact on the everyday lives of most Americans, are the two Ten Commandments cases. I’ve posted before on these cases, along with a prediction that I will now repeat: in the Texas case (Van Orden), the public display of the Ten Commandments will be upheld, by a vote of 6-3 or 7-2 (Stevens, Ginsburg, and maybe Souter dissenting), and in the Kentucky case (McCreary County), the public display of the Ten Commandments will be struck down by a vote of 6-3 (Rehnquist, Scalia, and Thomas dissenting).
The other really big case is called (amusingly enough) "Grokster." It’s about internet file-sharing, specifically, whether the manufacturer of technology that is widely used to pirate music and movies online can be sued for copyright violations (the manufacturer does not participate in the theft, but is aware that its product is mostly used for illegal purposes). I am not an intellectual property lawyer, but a lot of people in that world are very excited about this case. The rest of the cases are less earth-shattering; a brief roundup is here.
Of course, the REALLY big question is whether Chief Justice Rehnquist, or any other Justice, will announce his or her retirement today. That news (or lack of it) is unlikely to be known before later this afternoon; it will probably not be announced at the 10 a.m. public session at the Court, but rather will take the form of an announcement by the Court’s public information office once the President has been officially informed.
The opinions will be public knowledge within the hour, although it will take a little while for them to become available online. The best source I know of to stay up to date on what happened, what didn’t happen, and what it all means, is SCOTUSblog.
News is in: No 10 Commandments in courthouses.