The case heard Monday concerns low-calorie sweeteners made by TC Heartland, which is based in Indiana.
The question in the case heard Wednesday, Missouri v. McNeely, No. 11-1425, whetherther the dissipation of blood alcohol by itself justifies taking blood without a warrant when there are no additional factors complicating matters.
Although there have been shifts in court personnel since then, his apparent disqualification raises the possibility of a 4-to-4 tie in the case heard Wednesday, Stop the Beach Renourishment v.
During the closely watched arguments, he questioned the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act but expressed skepticism that the court should issue a broad ruling in the separate California case heard Tuesday that would be the vehicle for finding a national right to same-sex marriage.
The case heard Monday is seen as a key test of international human rights law.
The effect of that change was even more apparent in a second case heard Thursday challenging the Affordable Care Act.
By contrast, the case heard Wednesday began when police learned that Timothy Carpenter was the leader of a robbery ring in Detroit.
The case, heard Wednesday before a full panel of 7th Circuit Court judges, revolves around a South Bend, Ind., math teacher who contends she was repeatedly denied promotions and fired from the Indiana community college where she worked because she is a lesbian.
In the case heard Monday in Washington, the plaintiffs argue that the IRS exceeded its legal authority because the text of the law calls for subsidies to be provided only "through an exchange established by the state".
In the case heard Tuesday, two Texas Republicans who live in rural districts say they are denied the "equal protection of the laws" because the state's election districts undercount the votes of U.S. citizens and overcount those who live in districts with large numbers of immigrants.
The cases heard Tuesday were Dorsey v. United States, No. 11-5683, and Hill v. United States, No. 11-5721.
