I’m interrupting my travel just for a moment to report that the Supreme Court has relisted Water Splash v. Menon, the case we’ve been following on the interpretation of Article 10(a) of the Hague Service Convention, for its conference of December 2. I hope SCOTUSBlog will not frown on my use of the term “relist watch!” We can’t tell from the docket what the relist means, but here are some possibilities, courtesy of SCOTUSBlog’s FAQ:

A relist can mean several things, including the fairly straightforward prospect that one or more Justices wants to take a closer look at the case; that one or more Justices is trying to pick up enough votes to grant review (four are needed); that the Justices are writing a summary reversal (that is, a decision that the lower court opinion was so wrong that the Court can decide the case on the merits without briefing or oral argument); or that one or more Justices are writing a dissent from the decision to deny review.

I really do hope the Court takes this case. Oftentimes the Court faces constitutional questions of immense importance. This is not one of those cases; but it is an opportunity for the Court to solve a real problem faced by real practicing lawyers, one that cannot really be solved in any other way, as it involves a true circuit split and as Congress cannot (I think) legislate, and the Court itself cannot promulgate rules, to solve the problem.