Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
Douglas B. Moylan, Attorney General of Guam v. Lourdes Leon Guerrero, Governor of Guam, et al.
Paid petition · Supreme Court of Guam, No. CRQ23-001 · judgment October 31, 2023
Before the decision, about 2.3× the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for counsel who has won certiorari before, a state or local-government petitioner, and a dissent in the court below (flagged in the petition), and down for a state or local-government respondent.
Question presented
“It is quite clear that the oldest and most consistent thread in the federal law of justiciability is that the federal courts will not give advisory opinions.” Flast v. Cohen, 392 U.S. 83, 96 (1968) (cleaned up). Yet the Supreme Court of Guam—an Article IV court that Congress created and vested with just one power: the “judicial authority,” 48 U.S.C. §1424(a)(1)—still granted the Governor of Guam’s request for an advisory opinion on the status of a Guam law. That opinion expressly “determined the lack of an injury in fact is not fatal to our ability to adjudicate this matter.” App.17. The question presented is whether the Supreme Court of Guam’s advisory opinion constitutes a permissible exercise of the “judicial authority” that Congress has vested in that court under 48 U.S.C. §1424(a)(1).
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Tyler Green
Consovoy McCarthy PLLC
For respondent
Michael F. Phillips
Phillips & Bordallo, P.C.
Case
Conference history
Distributed for 2 conferences
Proceedings
- Oct 07 2024Petition DENIED.
- Aug 07 2024DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 9/30/2024.
- Aug 07 2024Reply of petitioner Douglas B. Moylan, Attorney General of Guam filed. (Distributed)
- Jul 23 2024Brief of respondent Lourdes A. Leon Guerrero, Governor of Guam in opposition filed.
- Jul 23 2024Brief of respondent The Thirty-Seventh Guam Legislature in opposition filed.
- Jul 03 2024Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including July 23, 2024, for all respondents.
- Jul 02 2024Motion of The Thirty-Seventh Guam Legislature to extend the time to file a response from July 8, 2024 to July 23, 2024, submitted to The Clerk.
- May 14 2024Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including July 8, 2024, for all respondents.
- May 13 2024Motion of Lourdes Aflague Leon Guerrero to extend the time to file a response from June 6, 2024 to July 8, 2024, submitted to The Clerk.
- May 07 2024Response Requested. (Due June 6, 2024)
- Apr 30 2024DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 5/16/2024.
- Apr 19 2024Waiver of right of respondent The Thirty-Seventh Guam Legislature to respond filed.
- Mar 18 2024Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted in part and the time is extended to and including May 13, 2024.
- Mar 13 2024Motion of The Thirty-Seventh Guam Legislature to extend the time to file a response from April 3, 2024 to June 3, 2024, submitted to The Clerk.
- Feb 23 2024Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including April 3, 2024.
- Feb 23 2024Waiver of right of respondent Lourdes A. Leon Guerrero, Governor of Guam to respond filed.
- Feb 13 2024Motion to extend the time to file a response from March 4, 2024 to April 3, 2024, submitted to The Clerk.
- Jan 29 2024Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due March 4, 2024)