Gideon v. Wainwright , 372 U.S. 335 (decided March 18, 1963): “If you can’t afford a lawyer, one will be appointed for you.”  (In high school I saw a movie re-enactment of this case with Mr. Gideon playing himself.  Gutsy guy.  I recommend “Gideon’s Trumpet”, by Anthony Lewis.) The Antelope , 23 U.S. 66 (decided March 18, 1825): Marshall: slave trade is o.k. except when specifically prohibited; here, allows return of Spanish slaves but not those captured on American vessel (w

Patton v. Brady , 184 U.S. 608 (decided March 17, 1902): upholding extra tax on already taxed goods (on manufactured tobacco under War Revenue Act of 1898, Spanish-American War) United States v. Florida , 420 U.S. 531 (decided March 17, 1975): Submerged Lands Act of 1953 supersedes Florida’s 1868 State Constitution insofar as setting seaward boundaries First Nat’l Bank of Columbus, O. v. Louisiana Highway Comm’n , 264 U.S. 308 (decided March 17, 1924): jurisdictional minimum

Fletcher v. Peck , 10 U.S. 87 (decided March 16, 1810): awarding land to purchaser in good faith, unaware that seller had obtained it by fraud Shaughnessy v. Mezei , 345 U.S. 206 (decided March 16, 1953): not a denial of due process to detain “bad security risk” alien at Ellis Island without hearing where no other country would receive him (the story given of this man’s meanderings and unexplained rejection by every country he visited, including Communist ones, is remarkable

Bakery Sales Drivers Local Union No. 33 v. Wagshal , 333 U.S. 437 (decided March 15, 1948): A deli changed bakeries because its drivers would deliver only at noon.  (Understandable.  I grew up in a deli, and later delivered to delis, and this is a b-a-d time for deliveries, with the lunch crowd waiting for their sandwiches.  Bakery goods, such as rolls and bagels, are customarily delivered in early morning, for obvious reasons.)  The bakery drivers’ union stopped all deliveri

Sicurella v. United States , 348 U.S. 385 (decided March 14, 1955): Jehovah’s Witness can be awarded conscientious objector status even though willing to fight if Jesus commands him in “theological war” which does not involve “weapons of warfare”; refusal to participate in “shooting wars” suffices Handly’s Lessee v. Anthony , 18 U.S. 374 (decided March 14, 1820): island in Ohio River is part of Kentucky; Indiana, recently a state, only owned land up to low-water mark on its s

Klopfer v. North Carolina , 386 U.S. 213 (decided March 13, 1967): prosecutor can’t say “nolle prosequi” (decide not to go forward) and yet keep the defendant on a long leash; North Carolina nolle prosequi procedure, under which defendant could go where he wants but can’t move to dismiss and is subject to trial at prosecutor’s discretion, violates Sixth Amendment speedy trial right Clyatt v. United States , 197 U.S. 207 (decided March 13, 1905): conviction for peonage (abduct

Hale v. Henkel , 201 U.S. 43 (decided March 12, 1906): rejecting witness’s claim of Fifth Amendment privilege in federal grand jury proceeding because enjoyed federal immunity even though state prosecution possible (overruled by Murphy v. Waterfront Comm’n of New York Harbor , 1964, which held that grant of immunity in state grand jury proceedings also extended to possible federal prosecution) Davis v. Wood , 14 U.S. 6 (decided March 12, 1816): another case, like Queen v. Hep

Walker v. Wainwright , 390 U.S. 335 (decided March 11, 1968): defendant can seek habeas relief as to conviction as to one charge (here, murder, allegedly coerced confession) even though due to not appealing other charge (aggravated assault) he would still be in prison if relief granted Lee v. Washington , 390 U.S. 333 (decided March 11, 1968): striking down on Fourteenth Amendment grounds Alabama statute requiring racial segregation in prisons Oetjen v. Central Leather Co. ,

Gregory v. City of Chicago , 394 U.S. 111 (decided March 10, 1969): police cannot order a demonstration dispersed if it’s the onlookers who are getting violent, not the demonstrators (this was comedian and activist Dick Gregory, fondly remembered at least by me, leading a police-escorted antisegregation demonstration from City Hall to the mayor’s residence, the not-so-fondly remembered Richard J. Daley) Frohwerk v. United States , 249 U.S. 204 (decided March 10, 1919): uphold

New York Times v. Sullivan , 376 U.S. 254 (decided March 9, 1964): The foundation of current law on freedom of speech in the media. A public figure can’t sue for libel unless “actual malice”, i.e., knowledge of falsity.  Here, an ad in the New York Times from civil rights leaders protesting police brutality provoked Alabama official Sullivan (who was referred to only obliquely) to sue for libel.  $500,000 verdict vacated. INS v. Cardoza-Fonseca , 480 U.S. 421 (decided March 9

Griggs v. Duke Power Co. , 401 U.S. 424 (decided March 8, 1971): the first case holding that facially neutral policies which had a “disparate impact” were racially discriminatory under Civil Rights Act of 1964 (here, requiring intelligence tests which those with high school diplomas were far more likely to pass, where whites were more likely to be high school graduates and tests were not related to job ability) Choctaw Nation of Indians v. United States , 318 U.S. 423 (decide

Briscoe v. LaHue , 460 U.S. 325 (decided March 7, 1983): testimony in court is not “acting under color of law” so no §1983 liability for police officers whose perjury resulted in plaintiffs’ conviction Baldwin v. Franks , 120 U.S. 678 (decided March 7, 1887): federal statute, not treaty with China guaranteeing safety of Chinese nationals, governed charges of beating and driving out of Chinese nationals from town of Nicolaus, California, and outside reach of Congress because i

Dred Scott v. Sandford , 60 U.S. 393 (decided March 6, 1857): once-free slave had no claim to freedom in slave state because he was black (probably history’s most-abrogated case, by the Civil War, the Thirteenth, Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments, and more) (Chief Justice Taney for some reason did not like the “hands-off” affirmance on procedural grounds drafted by Nelson and took quill in hand to write a sweeping holding that he imagined would settle the slavery issue once

Nebbia v. New York , 291 U.S. 502 (decided March 5, 1934): a pre-“switch” case where Roberts, writing the opinion, sides against the “Four Horsemen”, upholding the New York Milk Board’s setting of maximum and minimum prices, being that milk prices were important to public welfare, no violation of Due Process (maybe OT, but look up the bio of Bronx native Jimmy Savo, a mime popular with Italian Americans of my grandparents’ generation; his family was too poor to afford Grade B

United States v. Tsarnaev , 595 U.S. 302 (decided March 4, 2022): upholding conviction of 2013 Boston Marathon bomber; trial judge had discretion at jury selection to ask only general questions about media exposure, and to exclude at sentencing mention of brother’s triple homicide to show that defendant was not the ringleader of bombing (as of this writing, still appealing other issues, see 96 F.4 th 441) (opportunities for agreement with Tsarnaev are limited, but he was rig

Schenck v. United States , 249 U.S. 47 (decided March 3, 1919): upholding Espionage Act conviction; mailing young men leaflets encouraging them to protest the draft (during World War I) was “clear and present danger” (famous for Holmes’s comment, “The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man in falsely shouting fire in a theatre and causing a panic”) The Ku-Klux Cases , 110 U.S. 651 (decided March 3, 1884): upholding conviction of men who beat up black

Gibbons v. Ogden , 22 U.S. 1 (decided March 2, 1824): power of Congress to regulate interstate commerce also includes navigation (this holding became huge as technology advanced; it later was applied to trains, automobiles, radio, etc. -- to my mind the 19th century, more than the 20th or any other century, was the most transformative -- trains, cars, electricity, flight) Snyder v. Phelps , 562 U.S. 443 (decided March 2, 2011): odious acts of Westboro Baptist Church (holding

Strauder v. West Virginia , 100 U.S. 303 (decided March 1, 1880): Fourteenth Amendment violated by state statute restricting jury duty to whites; the Court’s dictum as to some restrictions being permissible was overruled by Taylor v. Louisiana , 1975, insofar as restricting it to males Swint v. Chambers Co. Comm’n , 514 U.S. 35 (decided March 1, 1995): The Court here takes on the persistent issue of discretionary “pendent appellate jurisdiction”, i.e., appealing a normally no

Johnson v. M’Intosh , 21 U.S. 543 (decided February 28, 1823): Why do law professors like to play with the heads of 1L’s?  In Property Law, instead of starting the course with some simple cases illustrating basic principles, they confuse new law students with this mishmash involving purchase of land from an Indian tribe, the granting of a federal land patent to someone else, the “doctrine of discovery”, “aboriginal title” . . . and almost all the opinion is dicta where they’r

Washington v. Harper , 494 U.S. 210 (decided February 27, 1990): mentally ill prisoner could be treated with psychotropic drugs against his will; finding that he was danger to himself and others by panel of correction officials and medical professionals was adequate due process Madison v. Alabama , 586 U.S. 265 (decided February 27, 2019): Eighth Amendment prohibits executing prisoner who no longer knows why he is being executed; here, Court remands for finding as to whether