Who will write McDonald v. Chicago?

June 14th, 2010

McDonald v. Chicago was argued during the February sitting. Generally , the Court divides arguments up equally among the Justices during one sitting. Taking a look at the SCOTUSBlog Stat Pack, here is the breakdown for the February sitting.

Cases still outstanding from the February sitting are Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project, Skilling v. United States, and of course, McDonald v. City of Chicago.

Based on the assignments, it looks like Chief Justice Roberts will keep the assignment for himself. There is a possibility Justice Alito will take McDonald, but my money is still on the chief.  With Justice Thomas writing today in Astrue, there is little if any chance he will write the majority. But I still think there is a strong chance he will author a concurring opinion relying on the Privileges or Immunities Clause.  In all likelihood, Justice Scalia will handle Skilling/Black. I have no clue who will get HLP.