April
in Supreme Court History
April 1
FCC v. Prometheus Radio Project, 592 U.S. — (decided April 1, 2021): In 2017 the Trump-led FCC reversed long-standing policy, affirmed in 2016, and permitted, in the same market, cross-ownership of radio, television and newspapers, and cross-ownership of several stations. Plaintiffs alleged this would hinder female and minority ownership and local viewpoints. Reversing the Circuit Court (which had ordered the FCC to develop a better record), the Court holds that in the internet era the FCC’s decision was not “arbitrary and capricious” and dismisses the suit.
The St. John, 154 U.S. 586 (decided April 1, 1872): affirming verdict for upstream-heading vessel, where downstream-heading vessel, having blown its whistle twice, should have gone to the right (without blowing whistles she should have gone to the left — such were the rules of the road on the river); instead she meandered somewhat to the left and hit the upstream-heading vessel
Brinkmeier v. Missouri Pacific Ry. Co., 224 U.S. 268 (decided April 1, 1912): trainman injured by faulty coupling can’t sue under federal Safety Appliance Act because the train was on a siding (not interstate commerce)
Greenwald v. Wisconsin, 390 U.S. 519 (decided April 1, 1968): burglary suspect with a ninth-grade education and hypertension denied the crime, kept without food or medication overnight, asked for lawyer, not given Miranda statement, could not sleep on the wooden plank they led him to, next morning finally confessed; not surprisingly, confession inadmissible
Florida v. Georgia, 592 U.S. — (decided April 1, 2021): ruling against Florida in its contention that Georgia was sucking up so much upstream water that it was ruining its “oyster fisheries”; I suppose the Court can make up its own rules in original jurisdiction cases and assumes that plaintiff’s proof must be “clear and convincing” (not the usual “preponderance” of evidence)
Entergy Corp. v. Riverkeeper, Inc., 556 U.S. 208 (decided April 1, 2009): Clean Water Act, which requires power plants to use “best technology to minimize environmental impact”, allows EPA to use cost-benefit analysis; upholds EPA regulations as to extracting water from rivers and lakes for cooling
14 Penn Plaza LLC v. Pyett, 556 U.S. 247 (decided April 1, 2009): night watchmen who were demoted due to age (allegedly) are bound by arbitration clause in collective bargaining agreement; case dismissed (5 - 4 decision; Souter in dissent points out that the Court previously ruled that the right to sue given by civil rights statutes such as the Age Discrimination in Employment Act supersedes arbitration clauses in collective bargaining agreements, Alexander v. Gardner-Denver Co., 1974)
Honig v. Students of California School for the Blind, 471 U.S. 148 (decided April 1, 1985): dismissing appeal of preliminary injunction (which ordered school for the blind to do testing to ensure that it complied with seismic safety standards) because testing already completed (not sure why the school kept the appeal alive)
Village of Belle Terre v. Boraas, 416 U.S. 1 (decided April 1, 1974): upholding city ordinance limiting house occupancy to “traditional families” because keeping families together is a state interest; opinion by Douglas (that dedicated family man); Brennan and Marshall dissent (suit was brought by college students sharing a house)
United States v. Oregon, 295 U.S. 1 (decided April 1, 1935): affirming Special Master’s finding for the United States as to ownership of various ponds and surrounding areas (what is now Lake Malheur National Wildlife Refuge; I fantasized about camping there and, one morning over “cowboy coffee”, doing an unhurried reading of this long decision with its many references to local features); introduced me to the term “meander line”, an informal line made by surveyors marking water boundary
April 2
Environmental Defense v. Duke Energy Corp., 549 U.S. 561 (decided April 2, 2007): “modification” can mean different things in different (complicated) environmental statutes; the upshot was that coal-fired plant should have gotten a permit before upgrading
Florence v. Board of Chosen Freeholders of City of Burlington, 566 U.S. 318 (decided April 2, 2012): strip search upon incarceration is not unreasonable under Fourth Amendment
Encino Motorcars v. Navarro, 584 U.S. — (decided April 2, 2018): the guy at the auto dealership who tells you about service contract options doesn’t have to be paid overtime — he’s one of those people “servicing” autos who is exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act
Kisela v. Hughes, 584 U.S. — (decided April 2, 2018): shooting plaintiff who was holding a knife over another woman and wouldn’t drop it does not violate “clearly established law” and therefore qualified immunity; §1983 allegation of excessive force dismissed
McCutcheon v. Federal Election Comm’n, 572 U.S. 185 (decided April 2, 2014): statutory limit on total amount one person can donate to political candidates/committees violates First Amendment; 5 - 4 decision
Northwest, Inc. v. Ginsberg, 572 U.S. 273 (decided April 2, 2014): extra-contractual claim against airline which revoked frequent flyer status (misrepresentation, breach of good faith and fair dealing) preempted by Airline Deregulation Act
De La Rama v. De La Rama, 201 U.S. 303 (decided April 2, 1906): upholding Philippine divorce verdict; wife established adultery by proof that husband abandoned her and shacked up with three women, getting them all pregnant (I would say the wife made out her case)
Rehberg v. Paulk, 566 U.S. 356 (decided April 2, 2012): grand jury witness who allegedly fabricated evidence can’t be sued for damages under §1983; enjoyed same immunity as trial witness (can’t blame him for suing; grand jury had returned three indictments, all of them dismissed for insufficiency of evidence)
Texas v. Cobb, 532 U.S. 162 (decided April 2, 2001): no deprivation of right to counsel when defendant charged with one crime (burglary) confesses to separate uncharged crime (murder of the occupants); 5 - 4 decision
United States v. Caceres, 440 U.S. 741 (decided April 2, 1979): conversation with IRS agent admissible in bribery trial even though recorded in violation of IRS protocols
April 3
Smith v. Allwright, 321 U.S. 649 (decided April 3, 1944): political party (here, Texas Democratic Party) is a “state actor” and liable under the Fifteenth Amendment and §1983 (actually its predecessor statute) for refusing to let black man vote in primary election
United States v. “Old Settlers”, 148 U.S. 427 (decided April 3, 1893): 1889 Act of Congress revived Cherokee claim under 1846 Treaty for reimbursement for taking their land; Court affirms calculation of amount
Holloway v. Arkansas, 435 U.S. 475 (decided April 3, 1978): trial judge improperly refused request by attorney for three rape defendants for separate counsel due to conflict of interest between defendants; convictions vacated
Stanley v. Illinois, 405 U.S. 645 (decided April 3, 1972): unwed father of three children entitled to hearing as to his suitability as a parent after mother died; statute automatically making children wards of the state violated Equal Protection
Chapman v. United States, 365 U.S. 610 (decided April 3, 1961): consent of owner (who smelled mash) in tenant’s absence was not sufficient for warrantless search for illegal still (police found 1300 gallons of mash)
Oklahoma Tax Comm’n v. Jefferson Lines, Inc., 514 U.S. 175 (decided April 3, 1995): state sales tax on bus ticket to out of state did not violate Dormant Commerce Clause
Darr v. Burford, 339 U.S. 200 (decided April 3, 1950): must exhaust state court remedies before applying for habeas corpus (overruled by Fay v. Noia, 1963, which itself was overruled by Wainwright v. Sykes, 1977)
Collector v. Day, 78 U.S. 113 (decided April 3, 1871): federal government can’t tax income of state officials (here, a
state judge) (overruled by Graves v. New York, 1939; state can tax federal official)
Vilas v. City of Manila, 220 U.S. 345 (decided April 3, 1911): City of Manila is liable for debts incurred during Spanish colonial era
City of Dallas v. Stanglin, 490 U.S. 19 (decided April 3, 1989): “teen disco” (limited to kids ages 14 - 18) did not violate teenagers’ right to associate (what? you mean I can’t bring in my 37-year-old boyfriend to meet my best buds??)
April 4
Thompson v. Clark, 596 U.S. — (decided April 4, 2022): To sue under §1983 in relation to a criminal proceeding (here, malicious prosecution), you first have to show that the case against you ended with a “favorable termination”. The Court here holds that this simply means no conviction, and not some affirmative evidence of innocence (such as an acquittal) (here, the charges had been dismissed before trial without explanation).
O’Neil v. Vermont, 144 U.S. 323 (decided April 4, 1892): dismisses appeal because no federal issue; dissent presses argument (not presented in state court) that Eighth Amendment applies to the states via the Fourteenth Amendment and 55 years hard labor for illegally selling liquor for three years is “cruel and unusual punishment”
Logan v. United States, 144 U.S. 263 (decided April 4, 1892): can exclude in capital case jurors who have “scruples” about death penalty (even if not totally opposed) (overruled by Witherspoon v. Illinois, 1977)
Federal Labor Relations Authority v. Aberdeen Proving Ground, Dept. of the Army, 485 U.S. 409 (decided April 4, 1988): dismissing federal employees’ failure to bargain suit because agency which issued regulation they wanted to bargain over had not responded (yet) that there was “no compelling need” for the regulation (issue was forced annual leave at Aberdeen Proving Ground for the days after Thanksgiving)
Kush v. Rutledge, 460 U.S. 719 (decided April 4, 1983): statute allowing suit for conspiracy to obstruct justice (42 U.S.C. §1985(2)) did not require showing of racial animus (white football player alleging players were intimidated against testifying for him in his suit alleging mistreatment and bad faith dealing after injury)
DeGregory v. New Hampshire, 383 U.S. 825 (decided April 4, 1966): First Amendment protected right to not answer questions in state investigation as to long-ago Communist Party activities (no Fifth Amendment privilege claimed)
United States v. Bramblett, 348 U.S. 503 (decided April 4, 1955): 18 U.S.C. §1001 (criminalizing false statements to the Government) not restricted to statements to executive branch employees (Congressman made false statement to House Disbursing Office about his girlfriend being on the payroll) (overruled by Hubbard v. United States, 1995)
The Blue Jacket, 144 U.S. 371 (decided April 4, 1892): another vessel collision case, in Puget Sound, where the two vessels saw the collision coming two and a half minutes before it happened and could not avoid it; Court holds that absence of lookout not relevant where a lookout wouldn’t have made any difference
Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization v. Winn, 563 U.S. 125 (decided April 4, 2011): taxpayers had no standing to contest tax credit for contributions to organizations providing scholarships to religious schools; unlike in Flast v. Cohen, where taxes paid were at issue, here the parents were free to spend their own money on the organizations (seems like a distinction without a difference to me; 5 – 4 decision; Kagan in dissent notes $350 million diverted thereby from state coffers)
Evenwel v. Abbott, 578 U.S. 54 (decided April 4, 2016): not a denial of Equal Protection to draw districts on basis of total population instead of voter-eligible population
April 5
Google LLC v. Oracle America, Inc., 593 U.S. — (decided April 5, 2021): Google wins copyright lawsuit; its partial copying of Java SE to operate Android platform was “fair use” (and not only that, the “fair use” defense was not “at law”, so no Seventh Amendment right to jury trial) (Google had tried to purchase the full copyright but owner insisted on open source interoperability — horrors! that’s not how you make money in the software world!!)
Rogers v. Bellei, 401 U.S. 815 (decided April 5, 1971): upholding statute under which someone born outside the United States loses citizenship if doesn’t reside in the United States for 5 years between the ages of 14 and 28 (statute has since been changed)
Conn v. Gabbert, 526 U.S. 286 (decided April 5, 1999): Just when client is about to testify before a grand jury, police served warrant on attorney for personal search of letter written by the defendant (one of the “Menendez brothers”). Attorney went to private room and produced the letter, missing the chance to represent his client. His §1983 action against prosecutor (violation of Fourteenth Amendment right to practice his profession) dismissed because attorney didn’t ask judge to postpone testimony and client did not have right to attorney in front of grand jury anyway.
Murphy Bros. v. Michetti Pipe Stringing, Inc., 526 U.S. 344 (decided April 5, 1999): Can’t use fax to serve process! (this was from the days of the slick’n’slimy fax paper). 30-day removal period began not with faxing Complaint but by formal service (here, by certified mail per local law). (But what if there’s more than one defendant? Does the removal time run from the first served defendant or the last served? Still a split of authority!)
United States v. Texas, 507 U.S. 529 (decided April 5, 1993): Texas has to reimburse the federal government for food stamps stolen by United States Postal Service workers?? Apparently. To add insult to injury, the Court here holds that even though the Debt Collection Act does not allow prejudgment interest, the U.S. has a common law right to pursue it (so does the $ collected go to the people who should have gotten the food stamps?).
Mills v. Habluetzel, 456 U.S. 91 (decided April 5, 1982): denial of Equal Protection to hold mothers of “illegitimate” children to standard one-year deadline to bring paternity suits due to problems of assembling proof
Evans v. Bennett, 440 U.S. 1301 (decided April 5, 1979): granting stay of execution pending hearing on mother’s habeas corpus petition even though son desires execution
Kitchens v. Smith, 401 U.S. 847 (decided April 5, 1971): defendant should have had an attorney appointed for him even though he didn’t specifically request one; simply saying “I don’t have any money” and “I don’t have a lawyer” was enough
Pointer v. Texas, 380 U.S. 400 (decided April 5, 1965): Sixth Amendment Confrontation Clause applies to state prosecutions
Reinman v. City of Little Rock, 237 U.S. 171 (decided April 5, 1915): not a denial of Equal Protection for city to prohibit livery stables in densely populated area to prevent spread of disease; Court will not disturb state supreme court’s ruling that it was within the city’s powers do to this (I suppose this decision validates zoning regulations in general)
April 6
Ashe v. Swenson, 397 U.S. 436 (decided April 6, 1970): double jeopardy bars trial as to break-in and robbery of second poker player when acquittal as to robbery of first was based on failure to identify defendant as the robber
United States v. Barnett, 376 U.S. 681 (decided April 6, 1964): contemnors (Governor and Lt.Gov. of Mississippi who flouted court order to admit black student to state university) not entitled to jury trial; four liberal Justices dissented (i.e., principled behavior on both sides)
Kansas v. Glover, 589 U.S. — (decided April 6, 2020): reasonable cause for stop because plates showed car belonged to driver with revoked license (and it turned out to be him; arrested for habitually driving without a license)
Corley v. United States, 556 U.S. 303 (decided April 6, 2009): 18 U.S.C. §3501, making confessions admissible if within six hours of arrest and found to be voluntary, did not replace McNabb - Mallory rule that confessions are inadmissible after “unreasonable delay” in arraignment
Jacobson v. United States, 503 U.S. 540 (decided April 6, 1992): Government kept mailing child pornography to defendant, then convicted him of possessing child pornography; conviction overturned because no showing he was “predisposed” to possess it (did they count how many days he had it before he threw it in the trash?)
Universities Research Ass’n v. Coutu, 450 U.S. 754 (decided April 6, 1981): no private right of action for back wages for federal contractor employees paid below “prevailing wage” as required by the Davis-Bacon Act because contract did not contain prevailing wage stipulations (then what’s the purpose of the Act anyway?)
Arnold v. North Carolina, 376 U.S. 773 (decided April 6, 1964): vacating murder conviction of black men because records showed that in 24 years only one black person had been selected for grand jury service
United States v. First Nat’l Bank & Trust Co. of Lexington, 376 U.S. 665 (decided April 6, 1964): merger of two major competing banks is per se violation of Sherman Act (resulting bank would be larger than all other banks in Fayette County combined)
New Jersey v. New York, 345 U.S. 369 (decided April 6, 1953): City of Philadelphia can’t intervene in interstate dispute (New Jersey and Pennsylvania objecting to New York’s diversion of Delaware River tributaries) because Pennsylvania is already a party (odd because New York City was already in the suit, as a defendant)
Pennzoil Co. v. Texaco, Inc., 481 U.S. 1 (decided April 6, 1987): When I was in law school the $11 billion found against Texaco — the largest verdict ever — was much discussed. I said, “Can you imagine being the law firm that lost that case?” Since then, I’ve learned that “losing big” actually helps you because it makes you look like a “big player”. Anyway, the Court here exercises the Younger abstention and refuses to interfere with state enforcement proceedings, dismissing suit raising due process and Equal Protection issues which were not brought up in state suit
April 7
Stanley v. Georgia, 394 U.S. 557 (decided April 7, 1969): First and Fourteenth Amendments prohibit criminalizing simple possession of obscene material (8mm films of “nude men and women engaging in intercourse and sodomy”) (police were searching home for evidence of criminal bookmaking) (note: according to the statutory definitions, lesbians could not possibly do anything “obscene” because no penis is being put anywhere)
Wilson v. Snow, 228 U.S. 217 (decided April 7, 1913): upholding old deed where property was properly sold by executrix and “worked” as requested in the Will (which included taking care of the slaves — this was a really old Will)
Virginia v. Black, 538 U.S. 343 (decided April 7, 2003): This is the case where during oral argument the normally silent Thomas abruptly called cross-burning uniquely designed to cause fear and terrorize a population. Here O’Connor, writing the opinion, holds that Virginia statute criminalizing cross-burning with intent to intimidate does not violate First Amendment, but jury should not have been instructed that the mere fact of cross-burning was prima facie evidence of intimidation. (My only witness to cross-burning, a prank in front of an all-female dorm, had no racial dimension nor was meant to intimidate, and was objected to only by campus born-again Christians.) Thomas dissents.
State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Campbell, 538 U.S. 408 (decided April 7, 2003): $145 million in punitive damages after only $1 million in compensatory (suit against insurer for bad faith refusal to settle) violated Due Process; Court suggests that normally no more than 10:1 ratio is acceptable (shortly after this case came down I tried a case that went to a punitive damages trial and plaintiff’s attorney was careful to suggest an amount exactly ten times the compensatory award)
Delaware v. Van Arsdall, 475 U.S. 673 (decided April 7, 1986): Delaware Supreme Court vacated murder verdict because trial judge would not allow witness to be cross-examined as to agreement with prosecutor to testify in exchange for dropping drunk driving charge (which would show bias); Court agrees this was a violation of the Confrontation Clause but holds that “harmless error” analysis should have been applied instead of simple vacatur; case remanded (Delaware court held that violation was not harmless error, 524 A.2d 3)
Wells v. Rockefeller, 394 U.S. 542 (decided April 7, 1969): violation of Equal Protection to apportion state partly by population and partly by county (this was New York, where 31 districts were apportioned in the thickly populated downstate by population, and the remaining 10 by grouping together upstate counties)
Stroble v. California, 343 U.S. 181 (decided April 7, 1952): confession to murder was admissible when after arrest defendant kept confessing to anyone who would listen, both before and after retaining counsel
Kaufman v. Societe Internationale et al., 343 U.S. 156 (decided April 7, 1952): shareholders in Swiss company which fell under German control in World War II had standing to sue to recover assets which had been seized by the United States under the Trading with the Enemy Act (related litigation went on for years; in 1965 relatives of property expropriated by the Nazis were opposing restitution to the company, https://www.nytimes.com/1965/03/17/archives/two-relatives-of-nazi-victims-fight-payments-to-interhandel.html)
Donnelly v. United States, 228 U.S. 243 (decided April 7, 1913): White man tried for murder of Native American on Klamath River. Written confession to the murder by another man, deceased, properly excluded as hearsay. The Court cites with approval Queen v. Hepburn, where hearsay proving a slave’s free status was excluded. In dissent, Holmes points out wryly that the confession “would have a very strong tendency to make anyone outside of a court of justice believe that Donnelly did not commit the crime”.
PacifiCare Health Systems v. Book, 538 U.S. 401 (decided April 7, 2003): dismissing RICO suit by physicians seeking reimbursement from HMO; bound by arbitration clause even though it limited damages recoverable
April 8
Edwards v. Pacific Fruit Express Co., 390 U.S. 538 (decided April 8, 1968): owner and supplier of railroad refrigerator cars was not a “common carrier by railroad” so as to allow suit under Federal Employers Liability Act (statute included other kinds of rail cars but not refrigerator cars; plaintiff was injured while servicing a refrigerator car at a maintenance plant)
Permoli v. Municipality No. 1 of City of New Orleans, 44 U.S. 589 (decided April 8, 1845): Constitution does not prohibit states from outlawing certain religious practices (Louisiana ordinance against bringing corpses into churches for funerals) (abrogated by the Fourteenth Amendment)
United States v. Johnson, 390 U.S. 563 (decided April 8, 1968): “outside hoodlums” who attacked blacks after they ate at whites-only restaurant properly convicted under 18 U.S.C. §241 (the criminal equivalent of 42 U.S.C. §1983); 5 - 3 decision; in dissent Stewart, joined by Black and Harlan, point to legislative history and 42 U.S.C. §2000a-6(b) which states that Title 42 is the exclusive remedy for civil rights violations
United States v. Jackson, 390 U.S. 570 (decided April 8, 1968): death penalty provision of Federal Kidnapping Act (applicable only after jury verdict finding that abductee was harmed) impermissibly burdens right to jury trial but can be stricken without invalidating entire Act
Crozier v. Fried. Krupp Aktiengesellschaft, 224 U.S. 290 (decided April 8, 1912): United States can exercise eminent domain over patents (Army officer incorporated patented gun and gun carriage designs); patentee can’t sue for infringement but is entitled to just compensation, 28 U.S.C. §1498
Fontaine v. California, 390 U.S. 593 (decided April 8, 1968): conviction for marijuana sale vacated because prosecutor and judge commented on defendant’s failure to testify (informant witness was not available and they pointed out that defendant himself was the only one who could clear up whether he knew it was marijuana and chose not to do so)
Highland v. Russell Car & Snowplow Co., 279 U.S. 253 (decided April 8, 1929): upholding wartime Lever Act of 1917 fixing coal prices even though operators lost money thereby (dismissing suit for lost profits)
Sinclair v. United States, 279 U.S. 263 (decided April 8, 1929): upholding conviction for contempt of Congress; questions as to defendant’s company’s oil contract to supply naval vessels were not “personal” and were pertinent to inquiry (overruled by United States v. Gaudin, 1995, which held that pertinency is for jury to decide)
Helson v. Kentucky, 279 U.S. 245 (decided April 8, 1929): Kentucky tax on gasoline sold to ferries plying the Ohio River between Kentucky and Illinois violates Dormant Commerce Clause
Texas & Pacific Ry. Co. v. Humble, 181 U.S. 57 (decided April 8, 1901): can’t dismiss married woman’s personal injury suit under law of Louisiana where they lived (and which did not allow married woman to bring suit alone) where injury occurred in Arkansas (which permitted her to sue on her own behalf) and where she sued in that state’s court; irrelevant that suit was removed to federal court
April 9
Adkins v. Children’s Hospital, 261 U.S. 525 (decided April 9, 1923): striking down District of Columbia minimum wage law for women as interfering with freedom of contract (a right which, BTW, the Constitution does not protect against federal interference) (overruled by, among other cases, West Coast Hotel Co. v. Parrish, 1937)
NLRB v. Walton Mfg. Co., 369 U.S. 404 (decided April 9, 1962): Court of Appeals cannot apply stricter “substantial evidence” standard of review for NLRB reinstatement-and-back-pay decisions despite financial effect on employer; must apply same deferential standard as in cease-and-desist decisions
Schulz v. Pennsylvnia R.R. Co., 350 U.S. 523 (decided April 9, 1956): trial judge should not have directed verdict for defendant in Jones Act case; jury could have connected negligence (forcing husband tug operator to work on icy, cold night) with injury (finding his body in water with flashlight in his hand, even though he might have fallen for some other reason than slipping on ice)
Shepherd v. Florida, 341 U.S. 50 (decided April 9, 1951): reversing conviction of four black men for raping 17-year-old white girl, citing Cassell v. Texas, which held that exclusion of blacks from grand jury violated Due Process; Jackson, with Frankfurter concurring in judgment, noted that jurors had read press accounts that falsely stated men had confessed, unrecorrected by sheriff (reading their opinion, one sees that this was not the half of it); “these defendants were prejudged as guilty and the trial was but a legal gesture to register a verdict already dictated by the press and the public opinion which it generated”
Moser v. United States, 341 U.S. 41 (decided April 9, 1951): applying for exemption from military service during World War II (on the basis that he was a citizen of a neutral country, Switzerland) does not bar him from later applying for naturalization
Comm’r of Internal Revenue v. Smith, 324 U.S. 695 (decided April 9, 1945): for capital gains tax purposes stock of another corporation per stock option agreement with employer is valued at time stock is actually received and not when option exercised
Phipps v. Cleveland Refining Co., 261 U.S. 449 (decided April 9, 1923): fees for state inspection of petroleum products which provided revenue to the state far in excess of the cost to it of inspection burdened interstate commerce and violated Dormant Commerce Clause
Yale Lock Mfg. Co. v. James, 125 U.S. 447 (decided April 9, 1888): patent suit involving design of post office boxes; patentee loses because defendant’s design did not have key patent feature (boxes being connected such that breaking into one destroys the overall woodwork)
Sarlls v. United States, 152 U.S. 570 (decided April 9, 1894): beer is not “spiritous liquor or wine” under statute criminalizing bringing such into “Indian Country”
United States v. Alcea Band of Tillamooks, 341 U.S. 48 (decided April 9, 1951): taking of Indian lands is not “taking” under Fifth Amendment and therefore usual rule of no interest allowed on claims against United States applies
April 10
Totten v. United States, 92 U.S. 105 (decided April 10, 1876): secret agent can’t sue United States for payment for services, due to publicity and exposure of government secrets; must make claim on contingency fund of agency which hired him
Pollock v. Williams, 322 U.S. 4 (decided April 10, 1944): invalidating statute providing that failure to perform paid-for work was prima facie evidence of fraud (i.e., no defenses allowed), which had been re-enacted by Florida legislature despite the Court invalidating similar statutes; prima facie presumption provision could not be severed from the rest of the statute, because its presence coerced guilty pleas (as it did in this case; defendant was “an illiterate Negro”)
Morford v. United States, 339 U.S. 258 (decided April 10, 1950): Conviction for failing to produce “subversive” organization materials to House Un-American Activities Committee. Somehow at jury selection federal employees were not excused for cause. Court holds that refusal to allow voir dire on whether their “Loyalty Oath” might influence their partiality was reversible error.
Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Ry. Co. v. United States, 322 U.S. 1 (decided April 10, 1944): ICC can grant new railroad service to intermediate points not specifically applied for
Franks Bros. v. NLRB, 321 U.S. 702 (decided April 10, 1944): NLRB properly ordered company to bargain with union after unlawful refusal to bargain resulted in union losing its majority membership of workers
White Oak Transportation Co. v. Boston, Cape Cod & New York Canal Co., 258 U.S. 341 (decided April 10, 1922): cargo owner (2,393 tons of coal) can get full recovery from vessel owner even though damage partly caused by canal owner; vessel owner can seek contribution from canal owner later
Honda v. Clark, 386 U.S. 484 (decided April 10, 1967): claims by Japanese nationals whose accounts with American banks were seized after Pearl Harbor not bound by 60-day Trading with the Enemy Act deadline where they were not listed on schedule mailed out to proposed recipients
State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. v. Tashire, 386 U.S. 523 (decided April 10, 1967): federal interpleader brought by trucker’s liability insurer did not resolve underlying claims against insured, just the claims on the insurance proceeds (as insurers’ defense counsel I brought a federal interpleader action against some 20 claimants, but I was ethically bound to make sure they all agreed to discontinue their individual suits before I put the $ on the table)
Walling v. Reuter, 321 U.S. 671 (decided April 10, 1944): restoring district court order (which the circuit court had reversed) restraining corporation and related individuals from violating Fair Labor Standards Act, where corporation had dissolved after cert had been granted; order (which held that employees packing fruit for wholesaler were involved in interstate commerce and had to be paid mininum wage) still good against individuals and any successor entities
Ferry v. Spokane, Portland & Seattle Ry. Co., 258 U.S. 314 (decided April 10, 1922): dower (there’s an old word!) is not a “privilege or immunity” subject to Equal Protection of Fourteenth Amendment; state can limit widow’s dower if she lives out of state
April 11
Pierson v. Ray, 386 U.S. 547 (decided April 11, 1967): state judges are immune from §1983 liability for judicial acts (here, an allegedly racist sentencing decision against plaintiffs who were trying to integrate a whites-only bus station)
New York Indians v. United States, 170 U.S. 1 (decided April 11, 1898): need another treaty (or Congressional authorization) to throw Indian lands open to settlement after tribe did not move onto land within time required by treaty
Specht v. Patterson, 386 U.S. 605 (decided April 11, 1967): can’t sentence someone for something he wasn’t convicted for even though related to offense for which he was convicted (convicted for “indecent liberties” carrying maximum 10 year sentence but then sentenced for indeterminate term under state Sex Offenders Act)
Granville-Smith v. Granville-Smith, 349 U.S. 1 (decided April 11, 1955): striking down Virgin Islands statute requiring six weeks residency before filing for divorce because V.I. could only legislate on local matters and statute was designed to apply to those outside
The Linseed King, 285 U.S. 502 (decided April 11, 1932): admiralty law applied to suit arising from ferry sinking after hitting ice in lower Hudson River (between Edgewater, N.J. and 96th Street, Manhattan)
United States v. Lefkowitz, 285 U.S. 452 (decided April 11, 1932): need warrant for “general exploratory search” of residence incident to arrest for violation of liquor laws (more or less overruled, see discussion in Arizona v. Gant, 2009)
The Northern Belle, 154 U.S. 571 (decided April 11, 1870): affirming damages arising from breaking apart of barge on sand bar; barge had rotten timbers and though wind was violent, if properly repaired would not have foundered
Joseph Schlitz Brewing Co. v. United States, 181 U.S. 584 (decided April 11, 1901): bottles and corks are not “ingredients” of beer and therefore brewer not entitled to refund of tariffs on “imports” such as the hops and barley; brewer had argued that bottled beer is in the nature of an ingredient because the beer has to be in the bottle for heating to prevent second fermentation (I think I’ll order just from the tap from now on)
Hale v. Kentucky, 303 U.S. 613 (decided April 11, 1938): conviction of black man vacated upon showing that blacks had been excluded from grand jury service
Smiley v. Holm, 285 U.S. 355 (decided April 11, 1932): where state (Ohio) must be redistricted, but proposed redistricting was vetoed by governor, there are no districts and Representatives have to be elected at large
April 12
NLRB v. Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp., 301 U.S. 1 (decided April 12, 1937): in an early demonstration of the “switch” of 1937, upholding Constitutionality of National Labor Relations Act (and actions of NLRB) (forcing major steel producer to bargain with union)
Texas v. White, 74 U.S. 700 (decided April 12, 1869): holding, mostly, that Texas is a state over which the Supreme Court has jurisdiction, and secondarily, that it had jurisdiction over suit against Texas for recovery of bonds issued pre-Civil War (limited to its facts in Morgan v. U.S., 1885)
Gerende v. Board of Supervisors of Elections of Baltimore City, 341 U.S. 56 (decided April 12, 1951): upholding state statute requiring candidates for public office to declare they are not subversives
Evansville & Bowling Green Packet Co. v. Chero Cola Bottling Co., 271 U.S. 19 (decided April 12, 1926): wharfboat (always tied to wharf, used as office, warehouse, etc., connected to city’s water, electric and telephone systems, never transports cargo) was not “vessel” within meaning of traditional rule limiting owner’s liability to value of ship plus cargo; therefore no admiralty jurisdiction for limitation of liability where plaintiff’s merchandise lost when wharfboat sank
Liberato v. Royer, 270 U.S. 535 (decided April 12, 1926): Italian parents could not recover compensation due deceased son upon whom they were dependent because Pennsylvania no-fault scheme expressly disqualified foreign parents from recovery; treaty with Italy extended only to right to bring suits alleging fault
People v. Wilson, 318 U.S. 688 (decided April 12, 1943): habeas remanded to state trial court because state’s highest court had changed the law in the meantime (issue was whether conviction could be vacated where guilty plea had been obtained fraudulently, Lyons v. Goldstein, 290 N.Y. 19)
Associated Press v. NLRB, 301 U.S. 103 (decided April 12, 1937): another early “switch” case, this one holding that news gathering organization was involved in “interstate commerce” and subject to NLRB jurisdiction
Texas & Pacific Ry. Co. v. Marcus, 213 U.S. 288 (decided April 12, 1909): plaintiff’s case (fell when train jerked while she was crossing between trains via their vestibules; allegation was train should have given her notice that it was about to move) should not have gone to jury
Greenleaf-Johnson Lumber Co. v. Garrison, 237 U.S. 251 (decided April 12, 1915): no “taking” when Congress established new harbor line for expanded Navy yard which destroyed wharves of private owners
Massachusetts v. New York, 271 U.S. 65 (decided April 12, 1926): Massachusetts, incredibly, claimed land in western New York, citing a pre-Revolutionary War grant (you know, like the one that gave Connecticut part of what is now California, https://mieummedia.com/2019/04/10/that-time-connecticuts-borders-extended-to-the-pacific-ocean-explained/); it supposedly had sold it in 1786 to Nathaniel Gorham, at the time the “president” of the Articles of Confederation Congress, who the next year chaired the formative Committee of the Whole weeks of the Constitutional Convention)
April 13
Valentine v. Chrestensen, 316 U.S. 52 (decided April 13, 1942): city could ban public distribution of handbills which argued political issue as a pretext but really were advertising (exhibiting submarine for profit) (overruled by Virginia State Board of Pharmacy v. Virginia Citizens Consumer Council, 1976)
Smith v. Springdale Amusement Park, 283 U.S. 121 (decided April 13, 1931): mechanical arm running along dog track with lure was not patentable (pretty obvious, I think — any dog will chase any arm holding what it thinks is food — in fact a lot of humans are like that, with money)
Kansas City Southern Ry. Co. v. Anderson, 233 U.S. 325 (decided April 13, 1914): not a denial of Equal Protection to make railroads doubly liable, with attorney’s fees, for killing livestock if they refuse to pay for loss
Doullut & Williams Co. v. United States, 268 U.S. 33 (decided April 13, 1925): damage to pilings on lower Mississippi caused by vessel is within admiralty jurisdiction
Hart v. Virginia, 298 U.S. 34 (decided April 13, 1936): no federal issue and therefore no habeas jurisdiction where state law self-defense defense to murder charge had been rejected by jury
Herron v. Southern Pacific Co., 283 U.S. 91 (decided April 13, 1931): in case brought by man whose car collided with a train, federal court can ignore state constitution provision that contributory negligence is always a question for the jury and direct verdict for defendant (I don’t think his holding survives Erie Railroad v. Tompkins, particularly when you read the Court’s rationale, which calls contributory negligence a rule of procedure)
Gibson v. Mississippi, 162 U.S. 565 (decided April 13, 1896): can’t contest de facto exclusion of blacks from state grand juries if it’s not de jure (obviously this is no longer good law)
Montgomery v. United States, 162 U.S. 410 (decided April 13, 1896): conviction of postal clerk for stealing money from mails affirmed; not entitled to entrapment defense (letters containing money had been sent by inspectors to fictitious address with the hope that defendant would steal the money inside)
Amy v. Shelby County Taxing District, 114 U.S. 387 (decided April 13, 1885): state’s decision to allow back taxes to be set off by other obligations did not impair its contracts with bond holders
Wilson v. Everett, 139 U.S. 616 (decided April 13, 1891): appeal pursued only for the purposes of delay (this was before the era of certiorari and the Court was required to hear most appeals), i.e., appellant knew Court had no power to review facts, would be met with sanctions
April 14
Slaughter-House Cases, 83 U.S. 36 (decided April 14, 1873): Fourteenth Amendment (states can’t abridge “privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States”) doesn’t prevent states from abridging state rights, only federal rights (which the Court refuses to give examples of) (upholding state’s police power to centralize butcher operations for public safety reasons) (in lecturing on this case my Con Law professor, who like many law professors was unaware of how he came off, kept spitting out the phrase “the BUTCH-ers of New OR-leans!” like they were mass murderers; as the son of a butcher I resent how people use the verb “butcher” to describe shoddy or violent mishandling)
​
Axon Enterprise, Inc. v. Federal Trade Comm’n, 598 U.S. 175 (decided April 14, 2023): challenges to Constitutionality of FTC and SEC ALJ’s can be brought in federal district court (instead of the usual process of agency determination and then appealing to Court of Appeals) (claim was that ALJ’s were not accountable to President mixing of prosecutorial and adjudicatory powers; if this question gets litigated to a determination the implications are vast)
Butler v. Whiteman, 356 U.S. 271 (decided April 14, 1958): jury in Jones Act case should have been allowed to decide whether decedent killed while cleaning tug boiler at wharf was in aid of navigation, was a seaman and whether defendant’s negligence was a factor (overruled by McDermontt Int’l v. Wilander, 1991, to the extent that non-seamen can sue under the Jones Act) (sometime after 1991 I defended a Jones Act case where plaintiff was injured when his truck tipped over while loading pallets onto a ship)
United States v. Adams, 281 U.S. 202 (decided April 14, 1930): double jeopardy to prosecute making false entry in bank book where already acquitted as to making false entry as to same transaction in another book
Miller v. McLaughlin, 281 U.S. 261 (decided April 14, 1930): Nebraska can regulate fishing on its side of the Missouri River; does not interfere with interstate commerce with Iowa
Walling v. Halliburton Oil Well Cementing Co., 331 U.S. 17 (decided April 14, 1947): Fair Labor Standards Act not violated by arrangement where employees (servicers of oil wells) sometimes have to work more than 84 hours a week to get overtime due to wildly varying hours worked weekly (often less than 20, but also often more than 100 hours/week!) (this decision provoked Congress into amending the overtime statute, 29 U.S.C. §207)
Crane v. Comm’r of Internal Revenue, 331 U.S. 1 (decided April 14, 1947): homeowner’s taxable gain or loss as to property is measured by its fair market value at the time of acquisition without subtracting for mortgage
United States v. Resler, 313 U.S. 57 (decided April 14, 1941): local ordinance requiring license for storing coal did not violate Dormant Commerce Clause even though coal destined for interstate sale; no “continuity of transit”
Wisconsin v. Illinois, 281 U.S. 179 (decided April 14, 1930): orders Illinois to quit stalling and stop diverting Lake Michigan water from Wisconsin as previously ordered (“If its Constitution stands in the way of prompt action it must amend it or yield to an authority that is paramount to the State”)
Kentucky v. Indiana, 281 U.S. 163 (decided April 14, 1930): fact that state (Indiana) is being sued by its own citizens in dispute over contract with another state (Kentucky) to build bridge (over Ohio River) is no defense to original jurisdiction suit (by Kentucky) for breach of contract
Matters v. Ryan, 249 U.S. 375 (decided April 14, 1919): Two women (one English and one American) claimed to be the mother of the same baby, who was brought in from Canada by the American woman. Instead of threatening to cut the baby in two, the Court holds that any federal question presented by the allegation that immigration laws were violated by a minor being brought into the United States by a non-parent is “frivolous”. (unknown what happened after this)
April 15
Chandler v. Miller, 520 U.S. 305 (decided April 15, 1997): statute requiring candidates for state office to submit to drug test was unreasonable search under Fourth Amendment
Roberts v. United States, 445 U.S. 552 (decided April 15, 1980): defendant’s refusal to cooperate in investigation of related crime can be aggravating factor in sentencing for heroin sale
Vella v. Ford Motor Co., 421 U.S. 1 (decided April 15, 1975): A shipowner owes the duty of “maintenance and cure” to a seaman even if illness/injury due to his own negligence. Here the Court holds that this duty continues after he leaves the ship, until such time as a medical diagnosis is made that the incident caused a permanent (and hence no longer “curable”) injury.
Dixilyn Drilling Corp. v. Crescent Towing & Salvage Co., 372 U.S. 697 (decided April 15, 1963): in admiralty, can’t get indemnified for one’s own negligence (as stipulated in contract between barge owner and tower after bridge damaged by barge and bridge owner sued)
Berger v. United States, 295 U.S. 78 (decided April 15, 1935): counterfeiting conviction remanded for new trial where prosecutor’s cross-examination was abusive and judge did not stop it (the footnote giving part of the transcript contains an almost comical instance of the prosecutor twisting an answer into a threat against the prosecutor himself) (why a new trial? wouldn’t that be double jeopardy?)
St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Ry. Co. v. Wynne, 224 U.S. 354 (decided April 15, 1912): no Due Process violation where statute allowed double damages and attorney’s fees if a railroad refuses to reimburse within 30 days for killing livestock even though amount demanded turns out to be more than true value
United States v. Clintwood Elkhorn Mining Co., 553 U.S. 1 (decided April 15, 2008): one seeking reimbursement for taxes under the Tucker Act (relating to government contracts) is bound by usual requirement and deadline as to making a pre-suit administrative claim to the IRS even though Tucker Act has separate statute of limitations provision with no pre-suit claim requirement
Payton v. New York, 445 U.S. 573 (decided April 15, 1980): can’t enter a house to make an arrest without a warrant (as the Court admits, it hadn’t yet decided this issue, which is odd)
McLucas v. DeChamplain, 421 U.S. 21 (decided April 15, 1975): allowing retrial of Air Force officer to go forward despite refusal of prosecution to hand over its complete file from first trial (ironic because charge was copying classified documents and giving them to Communist contacts in Thailand)
Basham v. Pennsylvania R.R. Co., 372 U.S. 699 (decided April 15, 1963): reinstating New York state court verdict under federal Employers Liability Act for trainman who dropped large spring (amputating finger) when platform moved; jury credited testimony of witness who saw platform moving against testimony of railroad that platform was immovable; in dissent Harlan calls this is a run-of-the-mill case and the Court should have saved time by leaving the state appellate process alone
April 16
Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition, 535 U.S. 234 (decided April 16, 2002): striking down on First Amendment and overbreadth grounds Child Pornography Prevention Act of 1996 banning virtual pornography (despite fact that it’s difficult for law enforcement to discern virtual from real children) because it extends beyond “obscenity” (which is bannable) and limits free speech
Allen v. McVeigh, 107 U.S. 433 (decided April 16, 1883): no federal question presented by dispute over promissory note where promisor, resident in Alexandria, Virginia, had fled to Confederate territory to join his family after Union troops overran Alexandria and left his “notice of protest” there (probably because it wasn’t an international or even interstate issue — the “Confederacy” was not recognized as a nation and it was the individual states who were at most “in rebellion” — at least that’s my reading of this)
Genesis Healthcare v. Symczyk, 569 U.S. 66 (decided April 16, 2013): offer of judgment under Rule 68 does not make a case moot if the plaintiff rejects it (seems pretty obvious but this was a “collective” action under the Fair Labor Standards Act and with her accepting the offer there would be no plaintiffs left) (the offer was for full restitution); 5 - 4 decision
Burgess v. United States, 553 U.S. 124 (decided April 16, 2008): state penal offense punishable by more than one year is “felony drug offense” so as to invoke aggravated penalties of Controlled Substances Act even though state statute calls it a misdemeanor
Baze v. Rees, 553 U.S. 35 (decided April 16, 2008): three-drug lethal injection method was not “cruel and unusual punishment” despite increased risk of improper administration causing pain
Cooper v. Oklahoma, 517 U.S. 348 (decided April 16, 1996): state statute requiring that incompetence to stand trial be proved by clear and convincing evidence violates due process; preponderance of evidence is enough
Kay v. Ehrler, 499 U.S. 432 (decided April 16, 1991): successful pro se plaintiff in §1983 action who happens to be a lawyer is not entitled to attorney’s fees (what a jerk)
Kerr-McGee Corp. v. Navajo Tribe of Indians, 471 U.S. 195 (decided April 16, 1985): tribe can impose taxes on sale and lease of lands without approval of Secretary of the Interior
Rawlins v. Georgia, 201 U.S. 638 (decided April 16, 1906): due process not violated by statute excluding lawyers, ministers, doctors, dentists, and railway engineers and firemen from grand and trial juries (I imagine this statute is no longer in force — but what was the impetus for it?)
Super Tire Engineering Co. v. McCorkle, 416 U.S. 115 (decided April 16, 1974): contention that state law making striking workers eligible for welfare interfered with right to bargain was still justiciable due to continuing existence of law despite settlement of strike; remanded to Third Circuit (which upheld the statute, 550 F.2d 903, cert. then denied)
April 17
Lochner v. New York, 198 U.S. 45 (decided April 17, 1905): striking down New York statute setting maximum work hours for bakery employees as violating freedom of contract and not within police power; in Holmes’s much-overrated dissent he says, “This case is decided upon an economic theory which a large part of the country does not entertain” (?? I don’t see any mention of economic theory in the Court’s decision); the dissent by Harlan (along with White and Day) is the more prescient one, arguing that the statute was indeed within the police power (this case was pretty much overruled by cases beginning with West Coast Hotel Co. v. Parrish, 1937)
Wilson v. Sellers, 584 U.S. — (decided April 17, 2018): federal court can consult lower state court decision as to why habeas was denied, where higher state courts did not explain why they were affirming (here, an ineffective assistance of counsel claim after a murder conviction)
United States v. Moreland, 258 U.S. 433 (decided April 17, 1922): “Workhouses” still existed post-Dickens! Here, people convicted of failure to pay a debt were required to work there and their “earnings” given to the person owed. Defendant here was sentenced to six months for flouting child support order, with mother the beneficiary. The Court here holds that because defendant could have been sentenced to a year, this was an “infamous” crime under the Fifth Amendment so grand jury indictment required. (The grand jury provision of the Bill of Rights has never been applied to the states via the Fourteenth Amendment, but this was D.C. where the Fifth Amendment applied directly.)
Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co., 569 U.S. 108 (decided April 17, 2013): The Alien Tort Statute Act floats over the United States like a many-tentacled squid, suctioning certain claims into U.S. courts. Who knows what it means? Here, the Court holds that at least it doesn’t encompass claims made by foreigners against foreign entities concerning something that happened overseas (Nigerian nationals suing British, Dutch and Nigerian corporations over atrocities in Nigeria).
Sessions v. Dimaya, 584 U.S. — (decided April 17, 2018): Is burglary a “crime of violence” so as to allow deportation? Court holds that the statutory phrase is too vague for Due Process purposes and vacates removal order.
Missouri v. McNeely, 569 U.S. 141 (decided April 17, 2013): fact that alcohol metabolizes as the minutes pass can’t serve as excuse for emergency warrantless blood test in every circumstance; case-by-case basis (here, there was time to get a warrant where trucker was apparently drunk and police officer took him to hospital for test)
Pabst Brewing Co. v. Crenshaw, 198 U.S. 17 (decided April 17, 1905): upholding Missouri’s fee on inspection of incoming beer; did not violate Dormant Commerce Clause because Congress had specifically allowed states to impose such fees (i.e., it can regulate interstate commerce by giving some power over it to the states)
Electric Storage Battery Co. v. Shimadzu, 307 U.S. 5 (decided April 17, 1939): Japanese patentee (here, of lead powder used in making batteries) can invoke patent protection by showing date of actual invention, not just date of application for patent in this country; issue of fact as to whether patent was abandoned (by allowing others to use and sell it)
Bond v. United States, 529 U.S. 334 (decided April 17, 2000): bus passengers have reasonable expectation of privacy as to their bags on open overhead racks (Border Control officer squeezed overhead bag and felt hard surface which was a “brick” of meth; evidence suppressed because no warrant)
Eastern Airlines, Inc. v. Floyd, 499 U.S. 530 (decided April 17, 1991): Warsaw Convention (allowing suits against international air carriers) does not provide for mental distress claim absent physical injury (plaintiff frightened when plane headed for Bahamas almost crashed due to power loss and turned back to Miami)
April 18
Dusky v. United States, 362 U.S. 402 (decided April 18, 1960): record of competency hearing too sparse to evaluate; conviction (for kidnaping girl and transporting her across state lines) vacated and new competency hearing ordered prior to new trial (no Double Jeopardy, apparently) (the psychiatric report, in 271 F.2d 385, seems complete to me and opines that he doesn’t understand the nature of the proceedings)
Block v. Hirsh, 256 U.S. 135 (decided April 18, 1921): statute restricting conditions for eviction was exercise of police power and not a “taking” requiring compensation due to wartime housing shortage as declared by Congress (“a declaration by a legislature concerning public conditions that by necessity and duty it must know, is entitled at least to great respect”)
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. v. Haeger, 581 U.S. 101 (decided April 18, 2017): trial court’s sanctions against party for bad-faith litigation conduct is limited to award of legal costs; lawsuit was not “permeated” by refusal to produce test results re: allegedly defective tire
Mohamad v. Palestinian Authority, 566 U.S. 449 (decided April 18, 2012): only individuals, not nations or organizations, can be held liable under the Torture Victim Prevention Act (dismissing suit against Palestinian Authority, Israel, and the PLO for torture and murder of family members)
Kappos v. Hyatt, 566 U.S. 431 (decided April 18, 2012): Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and Federal Rules of Evidence apply to patent suits; federal court can be presented with evidence not presented before Board of Patent Appeals (the applicant, who was trying to patent his “Improved Memory Architecture” software, had forgotten to submit it to the Board -- ha!)
Easley v. Cromartie, 532 U.S. 234 (decided April 18, 2001): issue of fact whether redistricting was due to race (not o.k.) or political gerrymandering (o.k.)
Heintz v. Jenkins, 514 U.S. 291 (decided April 18, 1995): liability under Fair Debt Collection Act extends to collection lawyers, even after they bring suit (here, the infraction seems minor; in notifying defaulting car buyer of amount owed lawyer cited wrong cost of insurance bank had to obtain)
New York v. New Jersey, 598 U.S. 218 (decided April 18, 2023): New Jersey can secede (my term!) from compact with New York; compact is a contract and with no terms dealing with termination or withdrawal, usual at-will rule applies (this is the Waterfront Commission Compact, formed in 1951 to deal with corruption, but by now almost all the waterfront activity is on the New Jersey side)
Plaut v. Spendthrift Farm, Inc., 514 U.S. 211 (decided April 18, 1995): violation of separation of powers for Congress to require courts to reopen (actually one should just say “open”) final judgments (here, as to securities fraud suits dismissed under prior version of §10(b))
Elfbrandt v. Russell, 384 U.S. 11 (decided April 18, 1966): striking down loyalty oath on Free Association grounds because one can belong to a subversive organization for non-subversive reasons (e.g., membership in Soviet scientific society)
Brookhart v. Janis, 384 U.S. 1 (decided April 18, 1966): right to trial violated when counsel (not the defendant himself) agreed to guilty verdict if “prima facie” case made out by prosecution and no objection to damaging hearsay
April 19
Nelson v. Colorado, 581 U.S. 128 (decided April 19, 2017): striking down on Due Process grounds Colorado statute requiring acquitted defendants who seek recoupment of the restitution, fees, etc. they have been required to pay to prove their innocence by clear and convincing evidence (being found not guilty was by itself enough proof)
Missouri v. Holland, 252 U.S. 416 (decided April 19, 1920): Missouri can’t prevent federal game warden from enforcing Migratory Bird Treaty Act (which was based on 1916 treaty with Britain as to protecting birds in Canada and the U.S. and which declared that birds were the property of the respective national governments)
McDaniel v. Paty, 435 U.S. 618 (decided April 19, 1978): Free Exercise clause violated by statute forbidding clergy from serving as delegates to state constitutional convention
Virginia Office for Protection and Advocacy v. Stewart, 563 U.S. 247 (decided April 19, 2011): Ex parte Young exception to state Eleventh Amendment immunity (a legal fiction that a state official who acts illegally has “stripped himself” of his authority and can be sued individually) applies to suit by independent state watchdog (advocating for the intellectually disabled) against state hospital official unlawfully refusing access to records
Dura Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Broudo, 544 U.S. 336 (decided April 19, 2005): investors of corporation which allegedly gave false impression as to FDA approval of new drug resulting in artificial inflation of stock price could allege fraud but not economic loss because no showing of loss due to stock later falling
Stone v. INS, 514 U.S. 386 (decided April 19, 1995): moving for reconsideration of deportation order doesn’t toll 90-day deadline for filing appeal (as might be implied by Administrative Procedure Act)
Rubin v. Coors Brewing Co., 514 U.S. 476 (decided April 19, 1995): prohibiting showing alcohol content on beer labels violates First Amendment right to free speech (belch!) (brewers wanted to get into “strength wars”)
J.E.B. v. Alabama, 511 U.S. 127 (decided April 19, 1994): Equal Protection violation for state to exclude men from juries in paternity suits (yeah, I would say so!)
United States v. Lara, 541 U.S. 193 (decided April 19, 2004): no Double Jeopardy when defendant convicted in tribal court for assaulting non-Indian policeman was charged in federal court for assaulting (same) federal officer; Congress had allowed tribe to be its own sovereign
Ingraham v. Wright, 430 U.S. 651 (decided April 19, 1977): corporal punishment in public school is not “cruel and unusual punishment” and does not require a hearing
April 20
Ramos v. Louisiana, 590 U.S. — (decided April 20, 2020): guilty verdict for serious crime must be unanimous (overruling 1972 cases saying 10 - 2 was okay)
United States v. Stevens, 559 U.S. 460 (decided April 20, 2010): striking down on First Amendment grounds federal statute criminalizing depictions of animal cruelty (not animal cruelty itself) (defendant sold videos of pit bulls tearing apart pigs -- who the hell would buy that stuff??)
Bank Markazi v. Peterson, 578 U.S. 212 (decided April 20, 2016): no separation of powers problem with statute designating property available to satisfy particular judgments (here, bank accounts in New York, and judgments against Iran brought by victims of terrorism)
UNUM Life Ins. Co. v. Ward, 526 U.S. 358 (decided April 20, 1999): A provision of the ERISA law says that it does not affect state insurance law (I give a CLE on this really boring topic). So Court holds that claim on group insurance plan was subject to California’s “notice-prejudice” rule (insurer can’t disclaim for late notice unless it can show it was prejudiced by the delay) but ERISA preempts California law deeming notice to the employer to be notice to the insurer.
McDermott v. AmClyde, 511 U.S. 202 (decided April 20, 1994): apportionment of fault in admiralty case (damage to 5,000-ton crane placing offshore platform) to settling defendant is by percentage of fault, not by dollar amount
United States v. Grace, 461 U.S. 171 (decided April 20, 1983): This case arose on the Supreme Court’s own property, contesting statute disallowing political activity on the surrounding sidewalks. The Court struck down the statute on First Amendment “grounds”.
Connick v. Myers, 461 U.S. 138 (decided April 20, 1983): no Free Speech impediment to firing for insubordination Assistant D.A. who was upset at being transferred and circulated a questionnaire to other A.D.A.’s as to transfer policy, morale, pressure to work on political campaigns, etc.
Smith v. Wade, 461 U.S. 30 (decided April 20, 1983): “reckless or callous indifference” shown meriting punitive damages in §1983 action against juvenile facility guard for placing plaintiff in same cell with others who were likely to beat and sexually abuse him
Northwest Airlines, Inc. Transport Workers Union of America, 451 U.S. 77 (decided April 20, 1981): Title VII does not provide right to contribution (airline liable to female cabin attendants for back pay could not seek contribution from union whose policies were partly at fault for the discrimination)
City of Los Angeles v. Lyons, 461 U.S. 95 (decided April 20, 1983): nobody has standing to seek injunction preventing police use of chokeholds because can’t show that every police officer will always use a chokehold; 5 - 4 decision (Marshall, writing for the dissent, notes that on this reasoning federal courts would have no power to enjoin a “shoot to kill” policy, or a policy of shooting one out of ten suspects on sight)
April 21
City of Austin, Texas v. Reagan Nat’l Advertising of Austin, LLC, 596 U.S. — (decided April 21, 2022): City ordinance restricting billboards that (like most billboards) are not on land they are advertising for is content-neutral and subject to “intermediate” First Amendment scrutiny; remanded to Fifth Circuit (which then upheld the ordinance, 64 F.4th 287)
United States v. Vaello Madero, 596 U.S. — (decided April 21, 2022): not denial of Equal Protection to deny SSI benefits to Puerto Ricans; they don’t pay taxes for it (this was a New Yorker who was ordered to pay back benefits awarded after he moved to P.R.)
Jerman v. Carlisle, McNellie, Rini, Kramer & Ulrich LPA, 559 U.S. 573 (decided April 21, 2010): “bona fide error” defense to liability under Fair Debt Collection Practices Act does not apply to mistake of law (here, an incorrectly worded notice from a law firm trying to collect on a mortgage)
United States v. Haggar Apparel Co., 526 U.S. 380 (decided April 21, 1999): Chevron deference (to an agency’s reasonable interpretation of a statute) applied to regulation stating that chemical treatment during assembly (here, men’s trousers) removes imported clothing from duty exemption for articles fabricated here but merely assembled abroad
CSX Transportation, Inc. v. Easterwood, 507 U.S. 658 (decided April 21, 1993): can’t sue train for going unreasonably fast under the circumstances if it was under speed limit set by federal regulation (now that’s what I call preemption!)
United States v. Alaska, 503 U.S. 569 (decided April 21, 1992): Another Chevron deference case, wherein Alaska, whose highways are not of much use, tried to improve its Nome port which in the process would extend Alaska’s border by accretion. The Court upholds the decision of the Secretary of the Army (whose Corps of Engineers would be doing the work) to condition the permit on a waiver of all claims to the new land.
Tison v. Arizona, 481 U.S. 137 (decided April 21, 1987): Under the felony-murder rule, a killing in the process of committing a felony is murder, not manslaughter (cf. the misdemeanor-manslaughter rule), even if the defendant did not do the actual killing. Here the Court upholds the rule against Eighth Amendment attack so long as the participation in the felony is “major” and with “reckless indifference” to human life. (Defendant had helped steal a car after escaping prison, and occupants were shot.)
Larson v. Valente, 456 U.S. 228 (decided April 21, 1982): denial of Equal Protection to restrict charitable solicitation permits given to organizations funded more than 50% by nonmembers
Rosales-Lopez v. United States, 451 U.S. 182 (decided April 21, 1981): at voir dire in violent crime case federal judge, upon request, must inquire into jurors’ racial prejudices, particularly if defendant and victim were different races (here, it was harmless error to deny request)
Cassirer v. Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection Foundation, 596 U.S. — (decided April 21, 2022): Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act claim against Spanish art foundation (for holding family’s painting extorted by Nazis) was based on state law, so law of forum state (California) applied, not federal common law (the opinion contains the painting, Pissaro’s 1897 “Rue Saint-Honore in the Afternoon, Effect of Rain”, and a photo of it hanging in plaintiff’s grandmother’s Berlin home)
April 22
Jones v. Mississippi, 593 U.S. — (decided April 22, 2021): not “cruel and unusual punishment” to sentence juvenile to life without parole for homicide so long as it’s discretionary and not mandatory (oh thanks so much — excuse me while I vomit) (15 year old stabbed his grandfather after fight about boy’s girlfriend)
McCleskey v. Kemp, 481 U.S. 279 (decided April 22, 1987): study showing that death penalty imposed more often on black defendants as to white victims did not show specific discriminatory motivation of this jury so as to vacate death sentence
Navarette v. California, 572 U.S. 393 (decided April 22, 2014): warrantless “investigative” stop comported with Fourth Amendment where anonymous 911 caller reported that a vehicle had run her off the road; police located vehicle with reasonable suspicion of intoxication (marijuana found in car)
Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, 572 U.S. 291 (decided April 22, 2014): Court had no power to strike amendment to Michigan constitution forbidding affirmative action in public education, employment or contracting
Nken v. Holder, 556 U.S. 418 (decided April 22, 2009): strict standard of 1996 immigration statute amendment as to appeal of removal orders (must show by “clear and convincing evidence” that removal order was “prohibited as a matter of law”) refers to orders to “enjoin” removal but not to “stay” removal order; traditional factors governing stays apply (Cameroon national claimed he would face persecution if he returned; removal order later vacated by Fourth Circuit, 585 F.3d 818)
Jinks v. Richland County, S.C., 538 U.S. 456 (decided April 22, 2003): upholding against Eleventh Amendment attack 28 U.S.C. §1367(d) which tolls state statutes of limitations while related federal suit is pending (§1983 action arising from mishandling of alcohol withdrawal in jail dismissed, followed by wrongful death suit in state court)
California v. Deep Sea Research, Inc., 523 U.S. 491 (decided April 22, 1998): not a violation of the Eleventh Amendment to contest with state over ownership of shipwreck; wreck was not in state’s possession (yet) even though in territorial waters
Lukhard v. Reed, 481 U.S. 368 (decided April 22, 1987): upholding against Due Process attack Reagan-era regulation classifying personal injury awards as “income” sufficient to disqualify welfare benefits even though IRS regulations say they’re not income (because the award is not a gain, but to make you whole again)
New York v. P.J. Video, Inc., 475 U.S. 868 (decided April 22, 1986): First Amendment implications of seizing materials listed in warrant did not change standard “probable cause” requirement (store renting out videos of what today would be considered rather limp porn, including “Debbie Does Dallas” and “Deep Throat”, though the latter has a number of good jokes, e.g., the Medicare card)
Ginsberg v. New York, 390 U.S. 629 (decided April 22, 1968): another porn case, where the Court upholds New York statute prohibiting sale to minors
April 23
Virginia v. Moore, 553 U.S. 164 (decided April 23, 2008): not a Fourth Amendment violation to arrest rather than issue summons as required by state law (for driving with suspended license) (drugs found incident to arrest) if police had independent “probable cause” suspicion (though I can’t find anything in the opinion that indicates why police had probable cause)
Romag Fasteners, Inc. v. Fossil, Inc., 590 U.S. — (decided April 23, 2020): can recover profits from infringed trademark (Lanham Act) even when infringement was unintentional (magnetic snap fasteners for handbags, recently very trendy) https://fineartamerica.com/featured/new-yorker-september-24th-2007-paul-noth.html?product=metal-print
Massaro v. United States, 538 U.S. 500 (decided April 23, 2003): ineffective assistance of counsel argument (did not ask for continuance to evaluate surprise evidence as to bullet found in victim’s car) can be raised on motion to attack sentence, 28 U.S.C. §2255, even though not raised on direct appeal
Clark County School District v. Breeden, 532 U.S. 268 (decided April 23, 2001): “I hear that making love to you is like making love to the Grand Canyon.” Not a tactful comment to make to a female co-worker (at least one who isn’t Storm Large). But no evidence that she was punished for complaining about this (though I hope the commenter got some serious grief). Title VII retaliation suit dismissed.
Holly Farms Corp. v. NLRB, 517 U.S. 392 (decided April 23, 1996): NLRB reasonably held (Chevron deference) that truckers hauling chickens to slaughter were not “agricultural workers” exempt from NLRB jurisdiction; therefore they’re entitled to union representation
Tony and Susan Alamo Foundation v. Secretary of Labor, 471 U.S. 290 (decided April 23, 1985): This is a weird case. The Secretary of Labor claimed a non-profit violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by underpaying its employees, even though the people at issue denied they were employees but just volunteers, being former drug addicts and “derelicts” who built and staffed facilities in return for food and shelter. The Court agrees with the Secretary, based on the dollar value of what was provided. The non-profit was ordered to provide back pay, and litigation went on for years, with the IRS eventually seizing the properties. (The Alamos led a cult and there was sexual abuse going on, which might have provoked enforcement.)
Florida v. Meyers, 466 U.S. 380 (decided April 23, 1984): no warrant needed for more extensive search of car impounded after arrest following admittedly valid search (strip of cloth found matching victim’s description of what she had been tied down with during rape)
DeFunis v. Odegaard, 416 U.S. 312 (decided April 23, 1974): White man sued law school claiming he was denied admission due to race (of the 37 black applicants who got admitted, 36 had lower LSAT’s than him). He won a preliminary injunction to admit him. By the time the case got the Court, he was in his last semester. Court dismisses case as moot; 5 - 4 decision; dissent (led by Douglas) notes the Constitutional questions that should be ruled on (the Court apparently did not think this was one of those “capable of repetition yet evading review” cases).
Moncrieffe v. Holder, 569 U.S. 184 (decided April 23, 2013): “social sharing” of marijuana (i.e., possession) is not an “aggravated felony” requiring deportation under Immigration and Naturalization Act of Jamaican national (good thing — otherwise half the college-age Jamaican population of this country would be deported, to hear my dormmate from 1976 tell it — the one whose wall was plastered with posters of Bob Marley in various clouds of smoke == “he is seeing God”)
Forncrook v. Root, 127 U.S. 176 (decided April 23, 1888): dispute between beekeepers as to who first devised an improved “honey frame” (prefabricated so that one doesn’t have to fit pieces together, laboriously and inaccurately — a diagram is in the opinion), and as to whether this is too obvious to be patentable; court affirms verdict for Root (who allegedly started using his model in 1873) against Forncrook (whose patent application was submitted in 1879) (notice I didn’t make any jokes about a “sweet” result, “swarming” sales or “stinging” accusations — whoops I just did)
April 24
United States v. Ballard, 322 U.S. 78 (decided April 24, 1944): allegation that faith healing advocates knew that their claims of religious belief were false and were used just for solicitation was precluded by Free Exercise Clause; entire mail fraud indictment thrown out even though question of defendants’ good faith in their beliefs was not submitted to jury (this was the “I Am” movement, followers of the late “Guy W. Ballard, a/k/a George Washington, Jesus”)
United States v. Lombardo, 241 U.S. 73 (decided April 24, 1916): any White Slave Traffic offense can be prosecuted in D.C. because element of offense is failing to mail in registration of woman to immigration office in D.C. (though offense can also be prosecuted in the state where the mailing should have been from)
Ngiraingas v. Sanchez, 495 U.S. 182 (decided April 24, 1990): can’t sue under §1983 in territories such as Guam, just in states (assaulted by police and forced to sign confessions)
Jesner v. Arab Bank, PLC, 584 U.S. — (decided April 24, 2018): “artificial entities” like (foreign) corporations can’t be sued under Alien Tort Statute (bank allegedly funded terrorism) (so here, a corporation is not a “person”)
Oil States Energy Services, LLC v. Greene’s Energy Group, LLC, 584 U.S. — (decided April 24, 2018): no separation of powers problem with Patent Office procedure for “inter partes” review (post-patent review sought by outside party which can result in patent being canceled; decision can then be appealed in federal court)
Atwater v. City of Lago Vista, 532 U.S. 318 (decided April 24, 2001): can make warrantless arrest where no “breach of peace” (here, officer noticed driver and children all in front seat without seat belts, and she was also driving without a license and without insurance; defendant’s account makes the officer look vindictive and unprofessional)
Stewart v. Abend, 495 U.S. 207 (decided April 24, 1990): This is actor James Stewart, and the movie “Rear Window”, based on a 1942 magazine short story by Cornell Woolrich, who assigned his rights to the production company (formed by Stewart and Alfred Hitchcock) and promised to renew the copyright and assign the rights to the renewal, but died before the original copyright expired. With dissemination of the movie in the 1980’s in various media, the publisher (which held copyright on the entire magazine issue) sued for infringement. The Court holds that the original copyright (Woolrich’s) is not extinguished when incorporated into a derivative work (the movie).
North Carolina v. Butler, 441 U.S. 369 (decided April 24, 1979): don’t have to explicitly say, “I waive my right to remain silent”; defendant (arrested on another charge) refused to sign “Advice of Rights” form though agreed to talk; inculpatory statements should have been excluded
Parham v. Hughes, 441 U.S. 347 (decided April 24, 1979): upholding against Equal Protection attack Georgia statute precluding father of child he never formally acknowledged from suing for wrongful death
Hughes v. Oklahoma, 441 U.S. 322 (decided April 24, 1979): Oklahoma statute prohibiting interstate sale of minnows violated Dormant Commerce Clause (apparently there are “licensed minnow dealers”; they’re used for bait — no not the dealers, the minnows)
April 25
United States v. Carolene Products Co., 304 U.S. 144 (decided April 25, 1938): Congress’s Commerce Clause power extends to public safety concerns; upholding statute prohibiting interstate sale of filled milk (sounds gross from the description, but the statute was later repealed and you can still buy it in the supermarket) but the decisions is famous for its (unnecessary) fourth footnote, where the “presumption of Constitutionality” as to federal statutes is questioned as to laws involving religion or racial minorities — the beginning of the “strict scrutiny” idea
Erie Railroad Co. v. Tompkins, 304 U.S. 64 (decided April 25, 1938): We all know this one, where the Court finally abandons Swift v. Tyson, 1842, and holds that on a state law claim a federal court must apply the law of the state in which it sits, and not on any federal common law (though there is such a thing as to federal-based law). Younger, I., “What Happened in Erie“, 56 Texas L. Rev. 1011-31 (1978), which we were referred to in Civ Pro class, extols the “genius” of the attorney who argued the winning side. But it was clear that Swift was becoming unworkable (see discussion in Gilmore, “The Death of Contract”, 1974, p. 97), and the product of this “genius” was that poor Harry Tompkins, who was injured due to the railroad’s admitted negligence, went through life minus his right arm and, being uneducated, was barely employable. See “The Ballad of Harry James Tompkins”, 52 Akron L. Rev. 531 (2019) (it’s online), which treats his plight with smirking levity but does contain a 1960 photo of the smiling one-armed Tompkins with his wife.
Northern Ins. Co. v. Chatham County, Ga., 547 U.S. 189 (decided April 25, 2006): county is not “arm of the State” (no, I’m not making a joke about Tompkins) and therefore does not enjoy Eleventh Amendment immunity from suit for injury due to drawbridge it built
Palmore v. Sidoti, 466 U.S. 429 (decided April 25, 1984): racial bias (a.k.a. the concerns of the Spencer Tracy character in “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?”) is not a basis for divesting (White) mother of custody of child after she married a Black man
National Society of Professional Engineers v. United States, 435 U.S. 679 (decided April 25, 1978): striking down on antitrust grounds canon of ethics issued by professional association prohibiting competitive bidding; overrides First Amendment Free Speech concerns
Gravitt v. Southwestern Bell Telephone Co., 430 U.S. 723 (decided April 25, 1977): order remanding diversity action to state court can’t be appealed (there are some exceptions, not noted by the Court but noted by me in my stupefyingly dull CLE on federal court jurisdiction)
Carson v. Dunham, 121 U.S. 421 (decided April 25, 1887): another removal case, this one pointing out that the removing party has the burden to show grounds for removal, i.e., he must establish that plaintiff is not from the same state
Huron Portland Cement Co. v. City of Detroit, Mich., 362 U.S. 440 (decided April 25, 1960): Dormant Commerce Clause did not prohibit Detroit smoke abatement ordinance as applied to docked ships (belching steam boiler smoke) even though they are engaged in interstate commerce
California v. Zook, 336 U.S. 725 (decided April 25, 1949): state statute prohibiting unlicensed transport of passengers (these were customers of a travel agency) preempted by ICC regime (which exempted “casual, occasional, or reciprocal” transportation)
Duignan v. United States, 274 U.S. 195 (decided April 25, 1927): right to jury trial is waived if not demanded (tenant was claiming unconstitutionality of claim for repossession due to Prohibition-era liquor nuisance)
April 26
United States v. Lopez, 514 U.S. 549 (decided April 26, 1995): Gun-Free School Zones Act (prohibiting guns in school zone) exceeds Commerce Clause power because gun possession is not economic activity; 5 - 4 decision
Small v. United States, 544 U.S. 385 (decided April 26, 2005): 18 U.S.C. §922(g)(1) (prohibiting gun possession by anyone “convicted in any court” of crime punishable by more than one year) does not apply to foreign convictions (here, in Japan for smuggling guns) (§922(g)(8), which restricted the gun rights of wife and child beaters, was recently declared unconstitutional on Second Amendment grounds, 61 F.4th 443, 3/2/23; the Court might have decided this case by the time you read this)
Trimble v. Gordon, 430 U.S. 762 (decided April 26, 1977): invalidating on Equal Protection grounds Illinois statute allowing non-marital children to inherit from intestate mothers but not from intestate fathers
Heffernan v. City of Paterson, N.J., 578 U.S. 266 (decided April 26, 2016): valid §1983 claim even though superiors' belief that plaintiff (a policeman) was participating in political activity (not a permissible reason for demotion) was mistaken (he was at campaign headquarters for mayor’s opponent not to help with campaign but to pick up yard sign as favor to his bedridden mother)
Hartman v. Moore, 547 U.S. 250 (decided April 26, 2006): one suing federal officials for malicious prosecution (an example of a Bivens suit, the federal analog of a §1983 suit against state officials) must show absence of probable cause for prosecution
Beck v. Prupis, 529 U.S. 494 (decided April 26, 2000): former president of company could not bring RICO action after being terminated on trumped-up charges after discovering and punishing corruption among subordinates because firing him was independent of the corruption (?)
Pasquantinov v. United States, 544 U.S. 349 (decided April 26, 2005): Canada liquor taxes are “property” within meaning of Wire Fraud statute, 18 U.S.C. §1343, so scheme to defraud can be prosecuted despite rule at common law that courts can’t enforce tax laws of foreign sovereigns (I’m almost quoting from Thomas’s elegant 3-sentence introduction) (defendants smuggled liquor in from Canada without paying Canadian excise taxes) (so if the Court, as allowed by the statute, imposes a fine instead of a sentence, does the money go to the Canadian government?)
New York State Conference of Blue Cross & Blue Shield Plans v. Travelers Ins. Co., 514 U.S. 645 (decided April 26, 1995): ERISA did not preempt New York statute placing surcharges on benefits from hospital insurance plans governed by ERISA
Edenfield v. Fane, 507 U.S. 761 (decided April 26, 1993): First Amendment violated by statute banning in-person solicitation by CPA’s (do they really go door to door?)
Long Island Water-Supply Co. v. City of Brooklyn, N.Y., 166 U.S. 685 (decided April 26, 1897): In 1886 the town of New Lots was annexed by the City of Brooklyn, which condemned a water supply system operated by a private company. The Court here holds that this did not violate Contracts Clause, art. I, §10, because the company was compensated.
April 27
AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion, 563 U.S. 333 (decided April 27, 2011): Federal Arbitration Act preempts California common law rule against arbitration clauses in consumer contracts (dismissing suit by customers alleging that cell phone “giveaway” was fraudulent because sales tax added to bill)
United States v. Sun-Diamond Growers of California, 526 U.S. 398 (decided April 27, 1999): Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy was one of the only two people in the much-investigated Clinton Administration who actually got indicted (the other was Henry Cisneros). The indictment was for receiving improper gifts (for which he was acquitted). In a probably related case, a lobbyist was charged with giving him $5,900 in “gratuities” (food, hotel rooms, tickets to sports events, etc.). Court holds that the gratuities statute (18 U.S.C. §201(c)(1)(A)) does not apply because there is no showing of what Espy did in return for the gifts (how often can such a showing really be made?).
Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, Inc., 590 U.S. — (decided April 27, 2020): not a copyright infringement to reprint official annotated code (well, duh! hard to believe Georgia sued over this — the Court says the fact that the code contains annotations makes this case “different” but for a lot of states the official code is an annotated one)
City of Chicago v. Fieldcrest Dairies, 316 U.S. 168 (decided April 27, 1942): whether a city ordinance Constitutionally conflicts with state law (here, over whether milk can be sold in paper containers) should be decided by state courts even though technically federal court also has jurisdiction
Montana v. Hall, 481 U.S. 400 (decided April 27, 1987): no Double Jeopardy problem with trying defendant for more specific offense (incest) after first prosecution (for general sexual assault) was dismissed before trial as overly broad
U.S. Trust Co. of New York v. New Jersey, 431 U.S. 1 (decided April 27, 1977): Contracts Clause (as to Port Authority’s contracts with bondholders) was violated by New Jersey - New York agreement retroactively changing funding mechanism (Robert Moses held king-like power over large sections of New York State because the Contracts Clause kept governors and mayors from interfering with his arrangements with bondholders of his “public authorities”; this ended with Gov. Rockefeller whose brother David’s bank, Chase, held most of the bonds and dropped all objections)
Hampton v. United States, 425 U.S. 484 (decided April 27, 1976): informant gave defendant heroin which he then sold to undercover police officer; no entrapment because defendant was predisposed to commit crime (he had already offered to buy some for another informant who had heroin tracks on his arm)
Tooahnippah v. Hickel, 397 U.S. 598 (decided April 27, 1970): Will by Native American disposing of allotted land can’t be invalidated by Secretary of the Interior (who has to approve it, 25 U.S.C. §373) so long as it’s rational (doesn’t matter if it seems inequitable)
Harman v. Forssenius, 380 U.S. 528 (decided April 27, 1965): Twenty-Fourth Amendment (invalidating poll taxes for federal elections) violated by Virginia statute requiring either paying poll tax or supplying certificate of residence
Giles v. Harris, 189 U.S. 475 (decided April 27, 1903): Court can’t order state to register black persons prohibited by “grandfather clause” from being registered (this decision was in effect later overruled)
April 28
Crawford v. Marion County Election Board, 553 U.S. 181 (decided April 28, 2008): Indiana law requiring photo ID to vote did not violate Equal Protection (6 - 3 decision)
Cummings v. Premier Rehab Keller, PLLC, 596 U.S. — (decided April 28, 2022): emotional distress damages not available under Rehabilitation Act of 1973 or Affordable Care Act (physical therapist did not provide sign language interpreter for deaf and blind client)
Vieth v. Jubelirer, 541 U.S. 267 (decided April 28, 2004): no justiciable question presented by Pennsylvania Republicans’ political gerrymandering, no matter how obvious (the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania seemed to disagree, striking down a subsequent map that “clearly, plainly and palpably” violated the Pennsylvania Constitution, 645 Pa. 1, 2018)
Edwards v. United States, 523 U.S. 511 (decided April 28, 1998): sentencing judge can permissibly find that defendants distributed crack (as well as cocaine), which the Sentencing Guidelines treat more harshly, even though crack charge was not before jury
Richards v. Wisconsin, 520 U.S. 385 (decided April 28, 1997): no-knock entry (with warrant) justified because police were aware defendants knew it was the police at the door (of a motel room) and waiting for response would give them chance to flush the cocaine
Meese v. Keene, 481 U.S. 465 (decided April 28, 1987): the term “political propaganda” as used in the Foreign Agents Registration Act (“intended to influence foreign policy”) is content neutral and therefore no First Amendment impediment to registration and disclosure requirements for materials so designated by the Department of Justice (Canadian films that a California state senator wished to show, dealing with nuclear war and acid rain)
Costarelli v. Massachusetts, 421 U.S. 193 (decided April 28, 1975): In Massachusetts, trial for certain criminal offenses was without jury — but if found guilty, can “appeal” and get a de novo jury trial in Superior Court. Does this system violate Sixth Amendment right to trial by jury? No jurisdiction to hear a direct appeal as to this; defendant must go through to Massachusetts’s highest court (he never got that far — perhaps he was acquitted?). (Massachusetts has since eliminated this two-tier system.)
Renegotiation Board v. Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corp., 421 U.S. 168 (decided April 28, 1975): reports given to Renegotiation Board (watchdog agency as to excessive defense contractor profits) are not “final opinions” disclosable under the Freedom of Information Act (Dick Cheney fought tooth and nail, mostly successfully, in resisting disclosure of documents as to his pre-9/11 Energy Task Force — this holding was probably helpful to him)
Beauharnais v. Illinois, 343 U.S. 250 (decided April 28, 1952): upholding against First Amendment attack Illinois statute criminalizing materials “portraying lack of virtue in a class of citizens” (white supremacist handing out broadsheets accusing black people of rape, murder, etc.); if there can be criminal libel against individuals, there can be such against classes of people (this case, with opinion by the Jewish Justice, Frankfurter, with recent memories of the Holocaust, has in effect been overruled by later First Amendment jurisprudence, see discussion in Nuxoll v. Indian Prairie School District, 523 F.3d 668)
Zorach v. Clauson, 343 U.S. 306 (decided April 28, 1952): (no, this was not Zorach from “Space Ghost Coast to Coast”, a great show) “release time” from public school to attend religious classes is Constitutional (we Catholic kids were let out an hour early for the bus, though with Catechism added in, we ended up getting home an hour later than everyone else)
April 29
Niz-Chavez v. Garland, 593 U.S. — (decided April 29, 2021): “notice to appear” served on people subject to deportation (and which stops the time accrued in this country) must contain all the information the person needs on a single form, not on various forms sent at various times (this is another example of Gorsuch’s clear and informal writing style)
Thacker v. Tennessee Valley Authority, 587 U.S. — (decided April 29, 2019): The TVA, owned by the federal government, by statute can sue and be sued, but retains some governmental immunity. Here the Court, construing the TVA statute, holds that the usual immunity for liability under the Federal Tort Claims Act for “discretionary functions” (decisions by officials, as opposed to negligence in how those decisions are carried out) does not apply to the TVA, and suit for damages due to failure to warn of a downed power line could proceed. (Sounds like negligence to me anyway!)
Williams-Yulee v. Florida Bar, 575 U.S. 433 (decided April 29, 2015): upholding against First Amendment attack state rule prohibiting candidates for judicial office from personally soliciting funds for their campaign; integrity of the judiciary is a “compelling state interest”; 5 - 4 decision (I suppose this would also prohibit Patreon, crowdfunding, bedroom webcams, etc.)
McBurney v. Young, 569 U.S. 221 (decided April 29, 2013): Virginia allows only its own citizens to request records under its Freedom of Information Act. This does not violate the Dormant Commerce Clause or the Privileges and Immunities Clause. (One plaintiff, from Rhode Island, was trying to find out why a court had waited so long to issue a decision on child support he was retroactively owed; another, from California, was trying to get real estate tax records for a client.)
Kansas v. Ventris, 556 U.S. 586 (decided April 29, 2009): confession obtained in violation of Miranda (statement to jailhouse informant) can be used to impeach if defendant decides to testify (this is why I never went into criminal law: it’s great to free the innocent, but you make your money there by freeing the guilty)
Roell v. Withrow, 538 U.S. 580 (decided April 29, 2003): magistrate had authority to issue findings in §1983 case against prison doctors; though no explicit consent had been given, plaintiff had acquiesced in magistrate managing case and acting as judge at trial (my practice in federal court is to always consent; you don’t want to piss off the judge by forcing him to manage and then try your case, particularly if it’s a state law diversity case — which is too mundane for those thinkers, who want to deal only with Great Constitutional Issues)
McLaughlin v. United States, 476 U.S. 16 (decided April 29, 1986): unloaded handgun is “dangerous weapon” under federal bank robbery statute
EEOC v. Federal Labor Relations Authority, 476 U.S. 19 (decided April 29, 1986): Here we have one federal agency suing another, the EEOC seeking review of a FLRA ruling requiring the EEOC to accede to its union’s request for restrictions on contracting out work. The Court holds that the EEOC can’t raise arguments not made before the FLRA. Which is the plain language of 5 U.S.C. §7123(c).
Procunier v. Martinez, 416 U.S. 396 (decided April 29, 1974): striking down California prison rules allowing censorship of mail without procedural safeguards and prohibiting legal interviews with law students and paralegals (overruled as to mail censorship by Thornburgh v. Abbott, 1989)
Ball v. James, 451 U.S. 355 (decided April 29, 1981): one-person, one-vote principle not violated by restricting voting for directors of agricultural improvement district to landowners and weighting votes by acreage owned
April 30
Bad Elk v. United States, 177 U.S. 529 (decided April 30, 1900): Kid shot a gun into the air for fun. Tribal policeman (his cousin) had no right to arrest him, such that he had self-defense argument when things came to a head the next day when the policeman drew a gun on him. The extensive account of the facts describes a slower-moving frontier society and might have made a good episode of “Gunsmoke”, though with an all-Native American cast. (The defense that one has the right to resist an unlawful arrest is no longer permitted, at least not in South Dakota where this incident happened, S.D. Cod. L.§22-11-5.)
Berra v. United States, 351 U.S. 131 (decided April 30, 1956): can’t give jury the choice of convicting for felony (filing false tax return) or misdemeanor (submitting false valuation) where same facts supported either charge (overlap was removed by later Code change, see Sansone v. United States, 1965)
KSR Int’l Co. v. Teleflex, Inc., 550 U.S. 398 (decided April 30, 2007): electronic sensor for pedal position adaptable for short-legged people was too “obvious” to be patentable in light of then-existing technology (unfortunately no diagram is provided) (my knowledge of pedal mechanisms is intimate but it begins and ends with my 1959 VW Beetle)
Turner v. Murray, 476 U.S. 28 (decided April 30, 1986): error to refuse request to question prospective jurors as to racial bias in capital crime prosecution involving black defendant and white victim
Wilkins v. United States, 441 U.S. 468 (decided April 30, 1979): petition for certiorari should have been entertained even though 17 months late due to court-appointed attorney’s inaction after defendant wrote to him repeatedly requesting that a petition be filed; this petition was pro se, supported by affidavits from wife and minister; remanded to Circuit Court so that proper, lawyerly petition could be filed (this was a Mann Act case; not clear how it turned out)
Addington v. Texas, 441 U.S. 418 (decided April 30, 1979): Due Process requires that showing of mental illness requiring commitment must be made by “clear and convincing” evidence, not just preponderance
Comm’r of Interal Revenue v. Bilder, 369 U.S. 499 (decided April 30, 1962): rent paid for winter Florida apartment can’t be deducted as medical care expense even though was following doctor’s orders to spend cold months in warm climate (fact that wife accompanied him might have been a factor, but what did they expect?)
Communist Party of United States v. Subversive Activities Control Board, 351 U.S. 115 (decided April 30,1956): The CPUSA argued that it wasn’t a “Communist-action organization” (controlled by Moscow, dedicated to world Communist revolution) requiring registration and monitoring. Here, there was so much perjured testimony that the finding against them had to be vacated. Case remanded; no record of what happened after this. (My understanding is that though the CPUSA marched in lockstep with Moscow, it was their choice to do so, and there was internal debate between world revolution and single-country revolution.)
Scott v. Harris, 550 U.S. 372 (decided April 30, 2007): police enjoyed qualified immunity after stopping high-speed car chase by ramming car from behind, causing loss of control of vehicle and injuries; §1983 suit dismissed
Microsoft Corp. v. AT&T Corp., 550 U.S. 437 (decided April 30, 2007): Microsoft can make lots of $ infringing AT&T’s voice recognition patent so long as it’s sold for overseas use (even though the disks incorporating the software are made here)