On Tuesday, the Texas Supreme Court issued an orders list in the afternoon, choosing three new cases for oral argument. The unusual timing is explained by the argument date chosen: February 10th. By issuing this mid-week order, the Court gives the parties the minimum 21 days notice that the rules expect for oral arguments.
now begins some idle speculation about the calendar…
The Court’s calendar shows the next private conference of the Justices is on February 16-17, 2016. And it shows the next argument sitting as March 8-10, 2016, with no cases yet assigned to those dates. Doing a little math… we might expect some grants to be announced on February 16th, to be argued on March 9th or March 10th.
Of course, the Court can adjust its calendar as it sees fit. But those counsel whose fully-briefed petitions are up for conference in February might want to keep some flexibility in their March calendars.