[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website] granted certiorari [order list, PDF] in two cases. In Rosemond v. United States [docket; cert. petition, PDF] the court will decide whether the offense of aiding and abetting the use of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence or drug trafficking crime, in violation of 18 USC §§ 924(c)(1)(A) and 2 [text], requires proof of intentional facilitation or encouragement of the use of the firearm, or simple knowledge that the principal used a firearm during a crime of violence or drug trafficking crime in which the defendant also participated. There has been a circuit split on the issue. In this case, the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit held [opinion] that the offense requires proof only of knowledge, upholding Justus Rosemond’s conviction for using a firearm during a federal drug-trafficking offense.

In Mississippi ex rel. Hood v. AU Optronics Corp. [docket; cert. petition, PDF] the court will consider whether a state’s parens patriae action is removable as a “mass action” under the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA) [text, PDF] when the state is the sole plaintiff, the claims arise under state law, and the state attorney general possesses statutory and common-law authority to assert all claims in the complaint. Appellants, manufacturers and distributors of liquid crystal display (LCD) panels, jointly removed this case to federal district court on the grounds that the action was a “class action” or a “mass action” under the CAFA. The state of Mississippi then moved to remand the case to state court, and the district court granted the motion. The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held [opinion] that the suit qualifies as a mass action under the CAFA, finding removal to be proper and reversing the district court’s remand order.