The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments in two cases Monday.

In United States v. Sanchez-Gomez [SCOTUSblog materials] the Supreme Court is determining whether the Ninth Circuit had jurisdiction to hear a pre-trial challenge by defendants about a policy that forces defendants to wear shackles prior to the decision. The government argues [transcript, PDF] that the defendants’ challenge was interlocutory and not within the Ninth Circuit’s jurisdiction while the trial below was pending. The case also challenges the Ninth Circuit’s decision to hear the interlocutory challenge despite what the government says is the defendant’s acknowledgment that the challenge was moot.

In China Agritech v. Resh [SCOTUSblog materials] the court must decide if the statute of limitations tolls in a class action suit. Resh is seeking [transcript, PDF] to keep a class action suit against China Agritech alive, despite filing his suit after the applicable statute of limitations, based on the American Pipe court’s determination that the filing of a defective class action suit stops the clock. Here, two prior defective suits of which Resh was not a member were filed within the statute of limitations period. The Ninth Circuit allowed the suit to continue [opinion, PDF] despite the expiration of the limitations period based on the reasoning in American Pipe.