First Circuit holds Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional. Commonwealth of Mass. v. U.S. Dept. H.H.S.

Gov. Chafee and Jason Pleau have applied to Justice Breyer for a stay of the First Circuit's mandate. Here's a link to the SCOTUS Docket for the application. Justice Breyer might act on the application himself, or he might refer it to the Justices' Conference. Here's a link to the stay application, courtesy of scotusblog.

The ProJo is reporting that Gov. Chafee has nominated AUSA Luis Matos to the Superior Court.

The ProJo reports that Judicial Nominating Commission will interview seven candidates for the opening created by Judge Darigan's retirement

Gov. Chafee will seek SCOTUS review of Pleau, the ProJo reports.

Is the Pleau case cert-worthy? Predicting cert. decisions is perilous, but SCOTUS' rules describe some of the considerations that govern cert. What seems most applicable here is Rule 10(c), which suggests that cert. might be granted in a case where "a United States court of appeals has decided an important question of federal law that has not been, but should be, settled by this Court . . ." No doubt application of the Interstate Agreement on Detainers (IAD) is an important question, but is this issue likely to occur again? Perhaps not with sufficient frequency that SCOTUS needs to get involved. On the other hand, this case arises in an atmosphere of tension in federal-state relations manifested in the Obamacare cases and the Arizona immigration case. Of course, the Department of Justice could moot the entire controversy by backing off on its threat to seek Jason Pleau's execution. Stay tuned!

In an opinion by Chief Justice Suttell, the Rhode Island Supreme Court affirmed a grant of summary judgment resolving this "dueling coverages" case. Empire Fire & Marine v. Citizens Insurance, (R.I. May 7, 2012)

In an opinion by Chief Justice Suttell, the Rhode Island Supreme Court affirmed the denial of post-conviction relief in Sifuentes v. State (R.I. May 7, 2012).

The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, sitting en banc, has rejected Gov. Chafee's authority to refuse to deliver Jason Pleau to federal authorities for trial. United States v. Jason Pleau (1st Cir. May 7, 2012). Gov. Chafee has argued that his refusal (based on Rhode Island's opposition to the death penalty)was within his power under the Interstate Agreement on Detainers. The First Circuit rejected his argument -- reversing the panel that originally heard the matter -- albeit over the strong dissent of Judges Torruella and Thompson (who constituted the original majority). Any one for cert?