Sotomayor to oversee 10th circuit; McConnell and McCain get time in campaign finance fight

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor was assigned one of her first official duties as a member of the high court on Monday, ordered to oversee initial appeals in the Tenth Circuit of courts in the U.S.

The justices announced the allotment of circuits they’ll oversee in miscellaneous orders on Monday, with its newest member taking responsibility for cases in the Tenth Circuit, which includes appeals stemming from Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, and three districts of Oklahoma.

Sotomayor will handle that single circuit, while Chief Justice John Roberts will handle three. Justices John Paul Stevens and Samuel Alito will each handle two circuits, while the remainder of the justices will oversee only one.

In a related story, the Court also announced extended allotments for oral arguments in a challenge to campaign finance laws put in place earlier this decade.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), a longtime opponent of the 2002 McCain-Feingold law, will get 10 minutes in oral arguments, pitting him against Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who also received 10 minutes.

The parties to the case, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (FEC), will each get 30 minutes to make their case before the court.