[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website] on Monday granted certiorari [order list, PDF] in three cases slated for argument during the October 2014 term. In Zivotofsky v. Kerry [SCOTUSblog backgrounder], the court will address the constitutionality of a federal statute requiring the Secretary of State, on request, to endorse US passports and Consular Reports of Birth Abroad of US citizens born in Jerusalem with “Israel” as the place of birth. The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit [official website] found the statute unconstitutional on grounds that it “impermissibly infringe[d] on the [p]resident’s exercise of the recognition power.”

In Heien v. North Carolina [SCOTUSblog backgrounder], the court will address whether a police officer’s mistake of law can provide the individualized suspicion that the Fourth Amendment requires to justify a traffic stop. The North Carolina Supreme Court [official website] found that an officer’s mistaken but understandable view of the law can form the basis for reasonable suspicion

In Johnson v. United States [SCOTUSblog backgrounder], the court will address whether mere possession of a short-barreled shotgun should be treated as a “violent felony” under the Armed Career Criminal Act. The US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit [official website] held that such possession is “violent” for purposes of the statute.