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James Courtney, et al. v. David Danner, et al.

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, No. 19-35100 · judgment April 15, 2020

Certiorari denied · January 11, 2021
Pre-decision estimate: 3% cert probability

Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.

Questions presented

  1. Is the “right to use the navigable waters of the United States,” which was recognized by this Court in the Slaughter-House Cases, 83 U.S. (16 Wall.) 36, 79 (1873), limited solely to uses involving interstate or foreign commerce?

  2. Does the Privileges or Immunities Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment generally bar claims against the power of State governments over the rights of their own citizens, even when the claim involves abridgement of a recognized right of United States citizenship?

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Michael Eugene Bindas
Institute for Justice

For respondent
Noah Guzzo Purcell
Office of the Attorney General

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 2 conferences

Amicus briefs
3 cert-stage

Proceedings

  1. Jan 11 2021
    Petition DENIED.
  2. Dec 23 2020
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/8/2021.
  3. Dec 18 2020
    Reply of petitioners James Courtney, et al. filed. (Distributed)
  4. Dec 04 2020
    Brief of respondents Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission in opposition filed.
  5. Nov 02 2020
    Brief amicus curiae of Americans for Prosperity Foundation filed.
  6. Nov 02 2020
    Brief amici curiae of Law Professors Richard Aynes, James Ely, Richard Epstein, Christopher Green, Michael Lawrence, and Rebecca Zietlow filed.
  7. Nov 02 2020
    Brief amici curiae of Professors Michael A. Schoeppner, Melvin Patrick Ely, and W. Jeffrey Bolster filed.
  8. Oct 13 2020
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including December 4, 2020.
  9. Oct 12 2020
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from November 2, 2020 to December 4, 2020, submitted to The Clerk.
  10. Oct 02 2020
    Response Requested. (Due November 2, 2020)
  11. Sep 30 2020
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 10/16/2020.
  12. Sep 23 2020
    Waiver of right of respondent David Danner, et al. to respond filed.
  13. Sep 14 2020
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due October 19, 2020)