Shorthanded High Court Risks Deadlock on Google, Delaware Cases

The Supreme Court’s new term is two weeks away and Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death means the justices will start out shorthanded with Obamacare and a blockbuster copyright case involving Google coming in early argument sessions. The possibility of evenly split decisions could potentially further delay cases already postponed due to the pandemic. The justices traditionally rehear 4-4 decisions in bigger cases once a new justice is in place, and an evenly split decision in other cases affirms the lower court ruling without setting nationwide precedent.

First Test: The first test for the justices will come Sept. 29 when they sit remotely for what’s called the long conference. That’s when they sift through cases that have piled up since wrapping up the last term in July, and decide which to add to the 2020 docket. Kimberly Strawbridge Robinson reports.

Election Challenges: Then there’s the election. The nation’s highest court has already been asked to rule on voting in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, and it is all but certain to face more legal questions as lower court rulings are appealed and new cases filed after the election. It could be called upon to decide election questions that help determine who won the presidency on Nov. 3.

President Donald Trump and Republican allies are pushing for a swift nomination and confirmation hearings to replace the liberal jurist who died Friday. But it’s unclear whether they would be able to seat a new justice before Election Day. Ryan Teague Beckwith reports.

Frontrunners: A trio of appeals court judges have emerged as front-runners as President Donald Trump prepares to nominate his third justice to the Supreme Court: Amy Coney Barrett, Barbara Lagoa, and Amul Thapar, according to people familiar with the process.

Barrett was initially seen as the most likely pick but by Saturday the stock of Lagoa, a Cuban-American from Florida, was rising in the White House, said people familiar with the fast-moving process. Thapar, who now hails from Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s state of Kentucky, rounds out the shortlist. The three have something in common: They’re young, with the prospect of serving on the top U.S. court for decades. Josh Wingrove and David Yaffe-Bellamy report.

Drastic Measures: Republicans’ insistence on filling the seat immediately has pulled the U.S. Supreme Court deep into the nation’s bitter political wars, threatening lasting damage to the reputation of a governmental branch that has struggled to remain above the partisan fray. Outraged Democrats are now talking about drastic measures should they gain control of the Senate and the White House in November, with some even musing openly about an historic upheaval to the court’s makeup -- adding seats to the nine-member bench to dilute the conservative majority. Greg Stohr reports.

DAILY BRIEF

Law Firms

Seyfarth Shaw, Littler Mendelson Latest To Roll Back Pay Cuts
Seyfarth Shaw and Littler Mendelson are rolling back pay cuts announced months ago because of business uncertainties stemming from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Business of Law

Nationwide Judiciary Phone Outage Disrupts Some Proceedings
A nationwide phone outage that struck federal courts has impacted some case proceedings, according to judges and the agency that oversees operations.

In House

Mortgage Giant Restocks General Counsel Role During Pandemic
Guaranteed Rate Inc., one of the largest retail mortgage lenders in the U.S., hired Sidley Austin partner Frank Favia Jr. as general counsel.

Ethics

Texas Judge Who Used Campaign Funds on Prada Bag Pleads Guilty
A suspended Texas judge who was indicted last year on wire fraud charges for spending more than $20,000 in campaign funds on personal expenses pleaded guilty on Thursday to one count of wire fraud.

Follow Bloomberg Law’s global coverage of the coronavirus pandemic on our Coronavirus Outbreak channel.

WAKE-UP CALL

Kirkland’s Pass on Covid Bonuses Ignites Associate Ire
In today’s column, homages poured in over the weekend for Ruth Bader Ginsburg after her death Friday, even as a bitter battle loomed over who will name her successor; law firms pay big money to former Supreme Court clerks for the same reasons they shell out cash for influential lobbyists: to get inside information and influence, a report says; nine Big Law firms dominate a U.K-based charity’s latest listing of what it calls the top LGBTQ employers in the world; black employees at the U.S. Mint accused the agency’s legal department of covering up complaints of racism.

PRACTITIONER INSIGHTS

INSIGHT: Business Liability in a Pandemic—Carefully Drafted Waivers Help
Businesses operating in states that don’t provide Covid-19 liability immunity should consider drafting liability waivers for patrons to sign, Akerman LLP attorneys say. They suggest careful waiver language and warn that it will only protect a business from its own negligence and not from gross negligence, reckless conduct, willful/wanton conduct, or intentional acts.

INSIGHT: Covid-19 Credit Concessions Rely on Give-and-Take
Lenders have been willing to make certain concessions on loans in an out-of-court context due to pandemic-related distresses, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP attorneys says. The loan market has seen its fair share of amendment and restructuring activity, and there’s every reason to believe the pace of this activity will continue and even increase this year.

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