Today was a conference day at the U.S. Supreme Court. No orders list emerged today, so we can expect it Monday.

Criminal cases on SCOTUSblog's "reasonable chance" list include Patrick v. Smith, No. 06-523, yet another Ninth Circuit nullification of the deference standard of AEPDA, and Beard v. Michael, No. 06-710, on whether a mentally competent death penalty "volunteer" can be thwarted by his former attorneys. Berger v. Arizona, No. 06-349, on a sentence of effective LWOP for possession of kiddie porn, previously noted here and here, was relisted from the week before. At the opposite end from the "reasonable chance" cases is the pro se rehearing petition of Lonnie Burton, of Burton v. Stewart infame.