The Supreme Court of the United States granted review in five cases this morning, two of which were ordered consolidated:
Southern Union Company v. United States, No. 11-94: Where petitioner was convicted under a statute that authorizes “a fine of not more than $50,000 for each day of violation,” does the Sixth Amendment require that the jury rather than the trial court determine the number of “day[s] of violation” before the court could impose a fine greater than $50,000?
Vasquez v. United States, No. 11-199: Whether the court of appeals applied the correct test for harmless error in concluding that the district court’s erroneous admission of certain hearsay was harmless, and whether the application of harmless-error analysis violated petitioner’s Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial.
Christopher v. SmithKline Beecham Corp., No. 11-204: Whether deference is owed to the Secretary of Labor’s interpretation of the Fair Labor Standards Act’s outside sales exemption and related regulations, and whether that exemption applies to pharmaceutical sales representatives.
Dorsey v. United States, No. 11-5683 and Hill v. United States, No. 11-5721 (consolidated): Whether the Fair Sentencing Act should apply to any defendant sentenced after its enactment, even if the underlying crime was committed before.
