Cert Petition To Watch

From the SCOTUS [Supreme Court of the United States] Blog's list of cases that have a reasonable change of being granted certiorari at the conference of the Supreme Court Justices on October 31. Granting a writ of certiorari (or cert for short) means that the Supreme Court agrees to hear the case.

Docket: 07-1468
Title: Manning v. Astrue

Issue: Whether attorney’s fees awarded under the Equal Access to Justice Act must be paid to the plaintiff directly, where it may be attached by the government for outstanding debts, or to the plaintiff’s attorney.

• Opinion below (10th Circuit)
• Petition for certiorari
• Brief in opposition

Timothy White of Tulsa, OK is the attorney for the appellant.

A new Solicitor General, who represents the federal government before the Supreme Court, will be appointed by the next President. The new Solicitor General could have a different position on this issue than President Bush's Solicitor General, particularly if the next President is Barack Obama.