Four Supreme Court Justices Sit Out Decision Preventing Quorum

Four justices recused themselves from a copyright dispute on Monday, according to an order list released by the Supreme Court. Those recusals mean the case does not have a quorum for a decision.

The justices stepping aside from the case are Sonia Sotomayor, Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett and Ketanji Brown Jackson.

"Because the Court lacks a quorum, 28 U. S. C. §1, and since the qualified Justices are of the opinion that the case cannot be heard and determined at the next Term of the Court, the judgment is affirmed under 28 U. S. C. §2109, which provides that under these circumstances "the court shall enter its order affirming the judgment of the court from which the case was brought for review with the same effect as upon affirmance by an equally divided court," the Monday order said of the copyright case.

Without enough participating justices to hear the case, the decision will revert to its lower-court ruling.

The case in question was BMG Rights Management v. Vetter, a copyright dispute between BMG Rights Management and songwriter Cyril E. Vetter. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision in January allowing Vetter to reclaim worldwide rights to his 1960s hit "Double Shot (Of My Baby's Love)."

This is a breaking news story, and it will be updated with more information as it becomes available.