Rubashkin Case Not on Supreme Court List ..So Far

An order list released this morning by the Supreme Court detailing which cases would be heard during its upcoming term did not include the Rubashkin case, leaving many wondering what that omission might mean.

“Nothing can be determined at this point in time,” Rubashkin’s lawyer, attorney Nathan Lewin told VIN News. “The court practice is that the judges come back from the summer, have a secret conference, and they list the cases they agree to hear. They will come back on Monday and only then will we find out what this means for our case.”

The fact that the Rubashkin case did not appear on today’s order list does not mean the case was denied. A list of all cases that have been denied will be posted by the Supreme Court on Monday.

According to Lewin, if the case was not denied, there are two other potential outcomes.

“There are cases that the Supreme Court sets aside in order for further study,” explained Lewin. “It could be that the case is being looked into more closely or that the judges want to hear more details. In that case, a determination could be made on Monday or at some future point in the future.”

A list of cases being considered for further review will be made available on Monday.

Alternately, the Supreme Court may decide not to hear the case, deciding instead to write a short opinion indicating that the court of appeals needs to revisit the issue of Judge Linda Reade’s involvement with prosecutors, a question that to date, the court of appeals has categorically refused to consider.

“That is our main procedural question,” said Lewin. “The only issue that can be raised after a trial based on newly discovered evidence is whether or not a defendant is innocent, not whether or not the judge in a case was unfair. The Supreme Court may not want to take the case because of the obvious mistake that was made here.”