This week, the Court met for a long conference after its summer break. Yet the Court released a relatively quiet order list. A very short list of petition and rehearing denials, no opinions, no new grants, and no calendar settings for future oral arguments. It looks as if the Court was saving its pending petitions for a later conference, instead spending this week discussing and finalizing opinions.

Next week is the last chance for decisions to be issued this fiscal year (which is the calendar used by the Office of Court Administration to track court efficiency). It will be a surprise if the Court doesn’t issue a significant number of opinions.

I’ll have a post or two next week about some of the Court’s longest-pending cases.