Supreme Court justices appeared skeptical of allowing prisoners to sue government officials for damages in their personal capacities on Monday.

The Supreme Court will hear oral argument on Wednesday, Nov. 12, in two back-to-back cases posing basic questions about the breadth of the compassionate-release statute, 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)(i),

The justices heard oral arguments in Landor v. Louisiana where they are asked to decide if a man can sue prison guards after his religious rights were violated.

The U.S. Supreme Court will review a case challenging Mississippi's law that allows mail-in ballots to be counted up to five days after Election Day. The Republican National Committee argues that only Congress, not states, can set rules for federal elections, such as ballot deadlines.

The court battle comes as federal lawmakers indicate progress has been made on a deal to end the government shutdown.

Before his service in state government, Parker served a one-year term as law clerk for the Judge Ed Carnes of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. This position followed his 2006 graduation from The University of Alabama School of Law, where he graduated magna cum laude, the release said.

The Supreme Court will decide whether federal law prohibits states from counting mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day.