Davis v. Adams, 400 U.S. 1203 (decided August 5, 1969): Black upholds stay of Florida statute requiring holders of state office to resign before running for federal office; Black notes that there is not enough time before election for full Court to rule but believes that it would hold that a state cannot add restrictions to candidacy for federal office (the Court never ruled on the question, but the “resign to run” statute is still in force, with an exception for federal offi

Truong Dinh Hung v. United States, 439 U.S. 1326 (decided August 4, 1978): Brennan, reversing Circuit Court, allows bail pending appeal of espionage conviction (passing along government secrets, theft of government property, acting as unregistered foreign agent) (this was in connection with Carter’s negotiations with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on normalization of relations, return of prisoners, etc.); defendant, Vietnamese citizen, did not have permanent residence in U

Breswick & Co. v. United States, 75 S.Ct. 912 (decided August 3, 1955): The Interstate Commerce Commission had approved a merged railroad’s application to be considered a common carrier, but ran into objections of prior shareholders (who will suffer a loss) and into a turf war with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Harlan grants a stay by fashioning a bond which will protect shareholders; decision is notable because Harlan says he is relying on the opinion of the Clerk

Levy v. Parker, 396 U.S. 1204 (decided August 2, 1969): Douglas grants bail to army doctor convicted under Military Code provision (“disorder and neglect to the prejudice of discipline of the armed forces”) which the Court had just suggested might be impermissibly vague (O’Callahan v. Parker) (Brennan had already denied bail, but Court Rule 22.4 allows a second try to another Justice); doctor had publicly urged black soldiers to refuse to fight in Vietnam; suit dragged on int

Holtzman v. Schlesinger, 414 U.S. 1304 (decided August 1, 1973): Marshall denies stay, in effect allowing continued military operations in Cambodia; suit brought by Congresswoman Elizabeth Holtzman on the basis of a Congressional prohibition of such operations; Marshall’s opinion instructively reviews standards for granting a stay and how they might apply to this unique situation; he decides that the question should be decided by the full Court. (Three days later another app

Ex Parte Quirin, 317 U.S. 1 (decided July 31, 1942): allows Nazi saboteurs to argue their habeas petition before the Court, but upholds Presidential order that they be tried by special military tribunal; admits that federal courts are functioning normally but defers to Presidential authority in time of “grave public danger” and holds that the tribunal had power to try anyone regardless of citizenship or military status (eight Germans were deposited by submarines off Florida a

Perez v. United States, 1970 WL 105758 (decided July 30, 1970): Harlan affirms the Second Circuit’s denial of bail; defendant had been convicted under statute which had just been struck down by the Court in another case on due process grounds (Leary v. United States, 395 U.S. 6); issue of retroactivity should be examined by full Court and it will come up next term (it ended up holding against retroactivity in several cases, most relevantly Williams v. United States, 401 U.S.

Times-Picayune Publishing Corp. v. Schulingkamp, 419 U.S. 1301 (decided July 29, 1974): Powell stays trial judge’s prior restraint order prohibiting publication of pretrial testimony; order was to stay in effect until the end of the trial, the purpose being to prevent jury being swayed by what they read in the papers. Powell’s opinion briefly reviews Court decisions on the right to a public trial (First and Sixth Amendments) versus the right to an impartial jury (Sixth). De

Fare v. Michael C., 439 U.S. 1310 (decided July 28, 1978): Rehnquist grants stay of California Supreme Court’s order as to a minor being questioned as to a murder who asked for his probation officer (the California court had held that any questioning past that point was a violation of Miranda); federal issue was involved and the criminal case could not continue unless it was resolved (the Court ended up reversing the California holding, 442 U.S. 707, 1979)

Mahan v. Howell, 404 U.S. 1201 (decided July 27, 1971): Black refuses to stay District Court order changing reapportionment done by Virginia legislature so that there was lesser disparity in population (7.2% vs. 16.4%); due to time pressures, and issues were complicated and the lower court judges were unanimous, Black did not believe that cert would be granted; in fact it was -- Black and Harlan soon retired (and quickly died), replaced by Powell and Rehnquist, and Court reve

July 26 DeBoer by Darrow v. DeBoer, 509 U.S. 1301 (decided July 26, 1993): Stevens denies (on grounds of lack of a federal issue) couple’s petition to stay Michigan Supreme Court’s order to hand over to biological parents the baby girl they had cared for for two years, due to papers signed by biological mother were defective and did not have required 72-hour waiting period. (Years ago when I ran a crisis center I allowed it to serve as the site for giving up children, or for

Wasmuth v. Allen, 85 S.Ct. 5 (decided July 25, 1964): Harlan refuses to stay enforcement of a New York statute requiring chiropractors to pass exams in various medical topics before licensure; chiropractors were bent out of joint (sorry) by this allegedly arbitrary exercise of legislative power (14 N.Y.2d 391), but Harlan says a public health measure should not be stayed except in “demanding circumstances” and no federal issue anyway warranting granting certiorari. No furthe

United States v. Nixon, 418 U.S. 683 (decided July 24, 1974): Court denies President Nixon’s motion to quash the Special Prosecutor’s subpoena; rules that he has to hand over “the tapes” which included the June 23, 1972 “smoking gun” tape which depicted what everyone in those days (including Nixon, a well-read lawyer) understood to be obstruction of justice: he had agreed with his Chief of Staff Haldeman’s suggestion that the CIA be told to lean on the FBI to stop the Waterga

In re Discipline of Quinn, 567 U.S. 955 (decided July 23, 2012): Brian S. Quinn suspended from the Supreme Court bar; he later consented to be stricken from the rolls; Pennsylvania Supreme Court disciplinary decision recounts drug convictions and related malpractices; he became advocate for overcoming addiction (and does presentations on the topic for the same CLE outfit I did presentations for)

King v. Greene, 524 U.S. 965 (decided July 22, 1998): denying stay of execution and also cert.; Stevens and Ginsburg would have granted stay (i.e., they didn’t want this guy ever to be executed); King had kicked, choked and stabbed a woman to death; the Fourth Circuit had rejected arguments that he wasn’t properly “Mirandized” (judges hate when lawyers use that term) and wasn’t provided with a lawyer when he asked Socialist Workers Party v. Rockefeller, 400 U.S. 1201 (decided

NCAA v. Board of Regents of University of Oklahoma, 463 U.S. 1311 (decided July 21, 1983): White (a former NCAA star himself) stays decision against NCAA because certiorari would probably be granted (lower courts had held that arrangement banning televising of teams not selected by networks was illegal price-fixing under antitrust laws); cert was granted but White got tackled (i.e., the Court affirmed) Delo v. Blair, 509 U.S. 823 (decided July 21, 1993): stay of execution den

July 20 Califano v. McRae, 434 U.S. 1301 (decided July 20, 1977): Marshall turns down request to stay Court’s previous order allowing Medicaid abortion ban to go into effect; movants were in effect rearguing two recent Court decisions allowing states to have their own bans on public funding for abortions (Marshall dissented in those cases) Hedrick v. Kelly, 548 U.S. 928 (decided July 20, 2006): Denying stay of execution (Stevens and Ginsburg would grant the stay); Fourth Circ

Rostker v. Goldberg, 448 U.S. 1306 (decided July 19, 1980): Does the draft (applicable to males only) discriminate? The District Court said yes and enjoined enforcement. Here, Brennan grants a stay of that order (as to males born in 1960 and 1961), noting likelihood of cert. As it turned out, cert was granted and Court upheld males-only draft, with Rehnquist’s opining that males and females were not “similarly situated”, 453 U.S. 57 (1981). (For years it was obvious that

Hamblen v. Dugger, 492 U.S. 929 (decided July 18, 1989): Staying execution pending decision on certiorari, with the stay to dissolve if cert was denied. Cert was denied on 6/28/90, 497 U.S. 1031, with Brennan and Marshall as usual dissenting, “adhering to our views that the death penalty is in all circumstances cruel and unusual punishment prohibited by the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments”. For some reason execution did not happen then; it happened the day after another ap

Rubin v. United States, 524 U.S. 1301 (decided July 17, 1998): Rehnquist denies motion to stay subpoenas for testimony of Secret Service officers as to what they overheard Clinton say in regard to the matters Kenneth Starr was investigating; Rehnquist concedes that “confidentiality” and “the physical safety of the President” are implicated, and assumes for the purpose of the motion that cert would be granted, but then denies the application on the grounds that the Circuit Cou