January 10, 2011 09:59
by J. Wylie Donald
It does not get much more anti-climactic. The Supreme Court today rejected the Comer v. Murphy Oil plaintiffs' request for a writ of mandamus. It took only a short seven words to relegate the petition (as well as others) to the dustbin: "The petitions for writs of mandamus are denied." So ends a saga that was initiated with Hurrican Katrina, expressed in a complaint, dismissed under the political question doctrine, reversed by the Fifth Circuit, accepted for en banc review, reinstated as dismissed when the Fifth Circuit's quorum dissolved, and ultimately ended up on the...