[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website; JURIST news archive] on Monday granted certiorari [order list, PDF] in three cases. In Morrison v. National Australia Bank [docket; cert. petition, PDF], the Court will consider whether foreign investors are entitled to bring fraud-on-the-market claims under Section 10(b) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 [text, PDF] when the stock purchased was that of a foreign company on a foreign securities exchange. The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed [opinion, PDF] the decision of the district court to dismiss the claims for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. It found that actions outside of the US were more responsible for the fraud than anything that occurred within the US.

The Court also agreed to hear Renico v. Lett [docket; cert. petition, PDF]. The Court will consider whether double jeopardy is violated by a new trial after a state trial court declared a mistrial due to the jury's inability to reach a verdict. The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed [opinion, PDF] the decision of the district court that the second trial violated the rights of the petitioner. The decision overturned a decision by the Michigan Supreme Court, which found that the second trial did not violate the double jeopardy bar.

In Barber v. Thomas [docket; cert. petition, PDF], the Court will determine whether the Sentencing Reform Act [18 USC § 3624(b), text] requires the federal prison system to calculate good timed served credits based on the sentence imposed. The federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) [official website] has been interrupting "term of imprisonment" to mean time served, rather than sentence imposed, as it is interpreted throughout federal sentencing statutes. The BOP's interpretation has resulted in fewer days of available credit each year of the sentence. Lower courts remain split on the question.