SCOTUSblog reports that the Supreme Court has granted certiorari in the case of Watson v. United States, No. 06-571. Watson was convicted of "use of a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime." He "used" the gun by trading drugs for it. The Fifth Circuit's brief unpublished opinion affirmed on the basis of circuit precedent, United States v. Zuniga, 18 F.3d 1254 (CA5 1994), but acknowledged that other circuits had reached a different conclusion.
Of the cases mentioned in Friday's post, certiorari was denied in Beard v. Michael and Berger v. Arizona, and Burton's rehearing petition was also denied. Patrick v. Smith is not mentioned in the list, probably meaning it is "relisted" for consideration again in a future conference.
Update: Orders list here; AP story here. Correction made on Bailey.
The certiorari petition in Watson is available here via SCOTUSblog. Petitioner seeks to distinguish Bailey v. United States, 516 U.S. 137 (1995) on the ground that he traded drugs for the gun rather than the gun for drugs. That seems like a thin distinction, but if a majority of the present Court believes that Bailey was wrongly decided, that could be enough for them to distinguish the case and refuse to extend it any further. Only two of the Bailey majority are still on the Court, while all three of the dissenters are.
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