This afternoon the justices issued an initial set of orders from their private conference today. They added just one new case, involving maritime law, to their merits docket for the term; they did not act on any of the higher-profile cases that they considered this morning, involving issues ranging from partisan gerrymandering to the death penalty and prayer by a high-school football coach.

The Jones Act – a federal law regulating seaborne commerce in the United States – provides a remedy for seamen who are injured or killed at work because of their employer’s negligence. In The Dutra Group v. Batterton, the justices agreed to consider whether punitive damages may be awarded to a seaman who brings a personal-injury lawsuit alleging that his employer has breached the general maritime duty to provide a seaworthy vessel.

The Supreme Court is expected to release more orders on Monday, December 10, at 9:30 a.m. After that, the justices’ next conference is not scheduled until January 4, 2019.

This post was also published on SCOTUSblog.