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 is no longer enforced and you can still buy it in the supermarket); the decision is known for its (unnecessary) footnote 4, where the “presumption of Constitutionality” as to federal statutes is questioned if they involv

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

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 Kingston dormmate from 1976 tell it -- whose wall was plastered with posters of Bob Marley in clouds of smoke -- “he is seeing God”) Virginia v.

Jones v. Mississippi , 593 U.S. 98 (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

City of Austin, Texas v. Reagan Nat’l Advertising of Austin, LLC , 596 U.S. 61 (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. 159 (decided April 21, 2022): not denial of Equal Protection to deny SSI bene

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: can’t show that every officer will always use a chokehold on every suspect; 5 - 4 decision (Marshall, in 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) Ramos v. Louisiana , 590 U.S. 83 (decided April 20, 2020): gui

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 Ac

Dusky v. United States , 362 U.S. 402 (decided April 18, 1960): record of competency hearing too sparse to evaluate; conviction (for kidnapping 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, opines that he doesn’t understand the nature of the proceedings) Block v. Hirsh , 256 U.S. 135 (decided April 18, 1921): statute re

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 hint of economic theory in the Court’s decision); the dissent by Harlan (along with White and Day) is the more rele

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 porn (it’s difficult for law enforcement to discern virtual from real children) because it extends beyond bannable “obscenity” 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, resid

Chandler v. Miller , 520 U.S. 305 (decided April 15, 1997): statute requiring drug tests for state office candidates was unreasonable search under Fourth Amendment; suit brought by Libertarian Party nominees 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

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, like many law professors unaware of how he came off, ke

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 -

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) Associated Press v. NLRB , 301 U.S. 103 (decided April 12, 1937): another early “switch” case, holding that news gathering organization involved “interstate commerce” and subject NLRB jurisdiction Texas v. White , 74 U

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) (this case established the doctrine of “qualified immunity” -- arresting police officers had defense of “good faith and probable cause” under statute later declared unconstitutional) New York Indians v. United States , 170 U.S. 1 (decided

Totten v. United States , 92 U.S. 105 (decided April 10, 1876): secret agent can’t sue United States for back pay, 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 conclusive proof of fraud (i.e., no defenses allowed), which had been re-enacted by Florida legislature despite the Co

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, by the way, the Constitution does not protect against federal interference) (overruled by, for example, West Coast Hotel Co. v. Parrish , 1937, see March 29) NLRB v. Walton Mfg. Co. , 369 U.S. 404 (decided April 9, 1962): Court of Appeals can’t apply stricter “substantial evidence” standard

Edwards v. Pacific Fruit Express Co. , 390 U.S. 538 (decided April 8, 1968): owner and supplier of railroad refrigerator cars 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 injured while servicing 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 pr

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) (I noticed that under the statutory definition, lesbians can’t possibly do anything “obscene” because there is no penis for them to put in any forbidden place) Wilson v. Snow , 228 U.S. 217 (d

Ashe v. Swenson , 397 U.S. 436 (decided April 6, 1970): Double Jeopardy Clause bars trial for break-in and robbery of second poker player after acquittal as to robbery of first 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., p