Justice Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar will not retire from the Supreme Court for over five weeks, but the court is already moving into its shorthanded mode. It announced that Justice Cuéllar will not hear any of the five cases to be argued in 13 days. He will be replaced by Court of Appeal justices sitting pro tem.
This is a sign that, before Justice Cuéllar’s last day at the end of October, the court will likely file its opinions in the three cases that were argued in September with Cuéllar on the bench (remotely). Those somewhat-faster-than-usual filings would avoid the need to have Cuéllar himself sit pro tem on those cases after he leaves the court. It would also avoid the alternative: if any of the cases were to remain undecided after October 31 without Cuéllar sitting by assignment, the court would have to issue opinions by just six justices or, if the justices were evenly divided, the cases would probably be re-argued.
The assignment of pro tems for the October calendar also indicates that the permanent justices other than Cuéllar are not now evenly divided on any October case. The court normally delays scheduling arguments in cases where the permanent justices are tentatively split. Those delays are appropriate to avoid 4-3 opinions with a pro tem in the majority, opinions which have a cloud hanging over them.
The October pro tems — assigned on a mostly alphabetical basis — are:
Hill RHF Housing Partners, L.P. v. City of Los Angeles: Fourth District, Division One, Justice Judith Haller.
Presbyterian Camp and Conference Centers, Inc. v. Superior Court: Third District Justice Louis Mauro.
People v. Johnson: Second District, Division Three, Justice Luis Lavin.
In re Mohammad: Fifth District Justice Herbert Levy.
People v. Wright: Second District, Division Two, Presiding Justice Elwood Lui.
Related:
Justice Cuéllar leaving the Supreme Court in six weeks
Justice Cuéllar’s participation in September and October cases is still to be worked out