Wait continues for two SCOTUS sentencing cases as OT 24 winds down

In what will be among its last few opinion days of October Term 2024, the US Supreme Court this morning released five opinions.  The only criminal justice related case decided today involved a procedural issue for a prisoner’s suit, as noted here.  But, yet again, another SCOTUS decision day came and went without opinions in either of the two sentencing cases that have now been pending for quite some time since oral argument before the Justices.  

I believe Hewitt v. US, No. 23-1002, which was argued way back on January 13, 2025, is now the longest pending case since oral argument (though there are other cases from the Court’s January sitting also still pending).  Esteras v. US, No. 23-7483, which was argued February 25, 2025, is also taking quite some time.  I am now wondering if we might be getting not only a divided Court in these cases, but perhaps a significant number of extended opinions (as we saw in Erlinger ruling last year).

This Friday is the next announced SCOTUS decision day, and I think there is a decent chance that is when we will finally get both of these opinions.  But I was expecting them to come out today, so who knows.