Town of Greece v. Galloway, 572 U.S. 565 (decided May 5, 2014): opening town board meetings with almost inevitably Christian prayer (rotating local ministers were almost all Christian) does not violate Establishment Clause; no attempt at proselytizing (overruling without admitting it County of Allegheny v. ACLU, 1989) (5 – 4 decision)
Kaupp v. Texas, 538 U.S. 626 (decided May 5, 2003): waking 17-year-old defendant from bed (after let in by father), handcuffing him, and walking him to police station was “arrest” such that confession obtained without Miranda warning was inadmissible (from the facts you can tell everyone knew each other and the cops knew this kid had done a bad thing, namely stabbing a disappeared 14-year-old friend)
Illinois ex rel. Madigan v. Telemarketing Assocs., 538 U.S. 600 (decided May 5, 2003): First Amendment does not bar prosecution of fundraisers lying about where the money goes
Smalis v. Pennsylvania, 476 U.S. 140 (decided May 5, 1986): “Causing a catastrophe” is apparently a criminal offense in Pennsylvania. Defendants allegedly allowed their building to burn, causing deaths of tenants. Their motion to dismiss at the close of prosecution’s case based on insufficient evidence was granted. The Court holds that this counts as an “acquittal” and appeal is barred by Double Jeopardy.
Moore v. Ogilvie, 394 U.S. 814 (decided May 5, 1969): striking down on Equal Protection grounds Illinois statute allowing third party on ballot only if 200 voters signed petition from each of the 102 counties (which gives much greater weight to voters from sparsely-populated counties; Hardin County, the least populous, currently has a voting population of about 2,000)
Kramer v. Caribbean Mills, Inc., 394 U.S. 823 (decided May 5, 1969): plaintiff, who had paid $1 for Panama corporation which had the real claim against a Haitian corporation (and then sold it back under similar arrangement), was “collusively” a party for the sake of invoking federal court jurisdiction even though the arrangement was legal under state law; case dismissed
Poland v. Arizona, 476 U.S. 147 (decided May 5, 1986): Double Jeopardy does not bar re-sentencing (appellate court found different reasons to support death penalty)
Yates v. United States, 356 U.S. 363 (decided May 5, 1958): Smith Act conviction reversed on appeal, but contempt for refusal to answer questions during trial survives; Court holds that the seven months spent in prison during the proceedings was already adequate punishment (this was Oleta Yates, a CPUSA official)
Carnegie Steel Co. v. Cambria Iron Co., 185 U.S. 403 (decided May 5, 1902): patent upheld for mixing molten steel from different furnaces for uniformity; not “anticipated” (i.e., obvious in light of then-current technology) by established process which did not hold molten steel in common container
Robers v. United States, 572 U.S. 639 (decided May 5, 2014): amount owed to bank under Mandatory Victims Restitution Act of 1996 (here, fraudulent mortgage application) reduced by amount realized by sale of collateral, not by the value of the collateral at the time of the fraud
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