1.   Mr Lloyd is taking legal advice after charges of theft against him were dropped without reaching court.

2.   Another case on that issue reached the court several months ago, and the justices have yet to decide whether to hear it.

3.   As it happened, appeals in both the federal and state cases reached the court simultaneously on Thanksgiving eve.

4.   Bills passed that year and signed into law by President Bill Clinton have spawned a great deal of litigation, with several cases reaching the court this term.

5.   A case reaching the court at this time of year would ordinarily not be heard for months.

6.   Allegations of police abuse usually reach court through private civil rights actions filed in federal court.

7.   But he ruled that Congress wrote election laws to ensure that the Federal Election Commission handled such disputes before they reached the courts.

8.   But several lawyers pointed out Friday that given the ferment over the issue, other cases are bound to reach the court soon.

9.   But no challenge to those laws ever reached the court, so there was no particular lesson to draw from that recent history, Souter said.

10.   But these are so scarce that most prisoners see them only when their case eventually reaches court.