Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
Daniel Cameron, Attorney General of Kentucky v. EMW Women's Surgical Center, P.S.C., et al.
Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, No. 19-5516 · judgment June 24, 2020
Before the decision, about 2.7× the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for a state or local-government petitioner, a circuit split argued in the petition, and a dissent in the court below (flagged in the petition).
Question presented
Granted limited to question 1 presented by the petition. Through more than two years of litigation, the Secretary of Kentucky’s Cabinet for Health and Family Services led the Commonwealth’s legal defense of its law prohibiting abortions in which an unborn child is dismembered while still alive. While this matter was pending before the Sixth Circuit, the Secretary retained lawyers from the Kentucky Attorney General’s office to represent him. After the Sixth Circuit upheld the permanent injunction against Kentucky’s law by a divided vote, the Secretary decided not to appeal further. As allowed by Kentucky law, Attorney General Daniel Cameron promptly filed a motion to intervene to pick up the defense of Kentucky’s law where the Secretary had left off. Over a dissent, the Sixth Circuit refused to allow the Attorney General to defend Kentucky law. The Attorney General, the majority held, should have moved to intervene earlier, even though his office had been representing the Secretary. Five days later, this Court decided June Medical Services, L.L.C. v. Russo, 140 S. Ct. 2103 (2020). The Attorney General raised June Medical in a timely petition for rehearing, arguing that it undercuts the panel’s decision to invalidate Kentucky’s law. Again over a dissent, the majority refused to allow the Attorney General’s petition even to be filed. The questions presented are: Whether a state attorney general vested with the power to defend state law should be permitted to intervene after a federal court of appeals invalidates a state statute when no other state actor will defend the law. And if so, whether the Court should vacate the judgment below and remand for further consideration in light of June Medical.
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Matthew Franklin Kuhn
Office of Attorney General of Kentucky
For respondent
Alexa Kolbi-Molinas
American Civil Liberties Union Federation
Case
Conference history
Distributed for 2 conferences
Amicus briefs
1 cert-stage · 4 merits
(3 supporting pet./neither, 1 respondent)
Argument & decision
Argued October 12, 2021 — Matthew F. Kuhn · Alexa Kolbi-Molinas. Audio and transcript
Decided March 3, 2022. Opinion by Alito.
Proceedings
- Apr 04 2022JUDGMENT ISSUED.
- Mar 03 2022Judgment REVERSED and case REMANDED. Alito, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Roberts, C. J., and Thomas, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett, JJ., joined. Thomas, J., filed a concurring opinion. Kagan, J., filed an opinion concurring in the judgment, in which Breyer, J., joined. Sotomayor, J., filed a dissenting opinion.
- Oct 12 2021Argued. For petitioner: Matthew F. Kuhn, Principal Deputy Solicitor General, Frankfort, Ky. For respondents: Alexa Kolbi-Molinas, New York, N. Y.
- Sep 13 2021Reply of petitioner Daniel Cameron, Attorney General of Kentucky filed. (Distributed)
- Aug 20 2021Brief amici curiae of Federal Courts Scholars filed. (Distributed)
- Aug 13 2021Brief of respondents EMW Women's Surgical Center, P.S.C., et al. filed. (Distributed)
- Aug 03 2021CIRCULATED
- Jul 28 2021Record requested from the U.S.C.A. 6th Circuit.
- Jul 28 2021Record received from the U.S.C.A. 6th Circuit has been electronically filed.
- Jul 13 2021ARGUMENT SET FOR Tuesday, October 12, 2021.
- Jun 21 2021Brief amici curiae of Philip E. Berger, President Pro Tempore of the North Carolina Senate, et al. filed.
- Jun 21 2021Brief amici curiae of Arizona, et al. filed.
- Jun 21 2021Brief amicus curiae of Eagle Forum Education & Legal Defense Fund filed.
- Jun 14 2021Brief of petitioner Daniel Cameron, Attorney General of Kentucky filed.
- Jun 14 2021Joint appendix filed. (Statement of cost filed)
- Apr 27 2021Motion to extend the time to file the briefs on the merits granted. The time to file the joint appendix and petitioner's brief on the merits is extended to and including June 14, 2021. The time to file respondents' brief on the merits is extended to and including August 13, 2021.
- Apr 06 2021Motion for an extension of time to file the briefs on the merits filed.
- Mar 29 2021Petition GRANTED limited to Question 1 presented by the petition.
- Mar 22 2021DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 3/26/2021.
- Feb 24 2021DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 3/19/2021.
- Feb 19 2021Reply of petitioner Daniel Cameron, Attorney General of Kentucky filed. (Distributed)
- Feb 05 2021Brief of respondents EMW Women's Surgical Center, P.S.C., et al. in opposition filed.
- Dec 07 2020Brief amici curiae of The States of Arizona, et al. filed.
- Nov 13 2020Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including February 5, 2021.
- Nov 12 2020Motion to extend the time to file a response from December 7, 2020 to February 5, 2021, submitted to The Clerk.
- Oct 30 2020Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due December 7, 2020)