A Few Quick Notes

I'm going to skip some of these opinions since they are not that interesting, because there are so many issued at the end of the term, and because some even overlap. Below are some quick notes.

Rompilla v. Beard - A case about ineffective assistance of council. Only interesting in regards to the application of Strickland v. Washington, in which case it would be better just to read it. Otherwise its just about the aggregate evidence that proves that the defense lawyers didn't do their job.

Graham County Soil & Water Conservation Dist. v. United States ex rel. Wilson - Whatever interesting discussion there is to be had about this case can be found in Dodd v. United States, which refers to this case anyway. The only difference is that the language here is found to be ambiguous which gives the Court more leeway in its interpretation.

Exxon Mobil Corp. v. Allapattah Services, Inc. - This one is over my head. I can understand that it is about original vs. supplemental jurisdiction, and I understand why supplemental jurisdiction should be allowed for "diversity cases" where only one plaintiff meets the "minimum amount in controversy" requirement, but the opinion gets into the differences between Rule 19 and Rule 20 plaintiffs, and comparing Section 1332 and 1337, and its all just too much.

UPDATE 09/04/06: This is the second case that has come up in my law classes. It is disappointing that both of the first two have been ones that I decided to skip, but since I actually have to read this case now, and understand what it's talking about, I guess I'll actually put something up about it.

Mayle v. Felix - I just can't do another habeas case. Here the defendant amended his original filing, which was made in accordance with the AEDPA's one year time limit, but the Court holds that because his amendment asserts a new ground for relief that "differ[s]in both time and type from [the] original pleading" it does not escape the one year limitation.

Bell v. Thompson - Entirely procedural in terms of appeals, rehearings, and habeas corpus. Sometimes I think I should just skip any habeas case.