Pardon this interruption to the viewing of tonight’s speeches from President Obama and Senator Harris, but the United States Supreme Court has, in its unintentional way, given us a reminder about what this election is about.

Today, the United States Supreme Court announced its November argument session.  That session begins on November 2, the day before the election, and continues until November 10.   (While the argument session usually has six argument days, the last day would fall on Veteran’s Day; so there will only be five argument days.)

While the United States Supreme Court normally tries to avoid doing anything overtly political on election day, this year’s docket brings political issues to the center more than some on the Court would probably like.  While one of the two cases being heard on election day is a typical federal criminal law statutory dispute of the type that puts non-lawyers to sleep, the other case (Jones vs. Mississippi) is a continuation of the Supreme Court’s examination of what sentences are appropriate for juveniles tried as an adult. Continue Reading...