INS v. Hibi, 414 U.S. 5 (decided October 23, 1973): denies application for citizenship by Philippines-born veteran who fought there and was imprisoned there by the Japanese because the Nationality Act of 1940 (as amended), which made citizenship available for any non-citizen who served honorably in World War II, set 12/31/46 deadline for applications, even though Nationality Act provisions were never publicized in the Philippines and there was no office there where one could

Maney v. United States, 278 U.S. 17 (decided October 22, 1928): District Court award of citizenship could be re-opened by United States; award could be attacked on basis that necessary Certificate of Arrival from the Department of Labor had not been attached to petition (looks like they were looking for any way to get rid of this guy) Davis v. Wechsler, 263 U.S. 22 (decided October 22, 1923): Supreme Court can review facts on federal claim that had been rendered irrelevant in

Mireles v. Waco, 502 U.S. 9 (decided October 21, 1991): judicial immunity for judge who ordered public defender seized and brought into courtroom when he failed to appear for a calendar call; ordering use of (allegedly excessive) force was acting in aid of his judicial authority (see law review article detailing what happened, https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/ 232781112.pdf, doesn’t make the judge look good) United States v. Michigan Nat’l Corp., 419 U.S. 1 (decided October 21

United States v. Sandoval, 231 U.S. 28 (decided October 20, 1913): Congress can make laws as to Indian lands (here, a prohibition on bringing in liquor) over the head of the state involved (here, New Mexico) (contains charming anthropological “testimony” as to Native Americans: “Living in separate and isolated communities, adhering to primitive modes of life, largely influenced by superstition and fetichism [sic], chiefly governed according to the crude customs inherited from

Comm’r of Internal Revenue v. McCoy, 484 U.S. 3 (decided October 19, 1987): Circuit Court can’t award equitable relief (forgiving interest on tax deficiency) that was not available to trial court Druggan v. Anderson, 269 U.S. 36 (decided October 19, 1925): Congress can pass statute restricting alcohol any time after Eighteenth Amendment was ratified even though not in effect yet (18A stated it becomes effective one year after ratification) United States v. Maryland Savings-Sh

Rivas-Villegas v. Cortesluna, 595 U.S. 1 (decided October 18, 2021): plaintiff sued under §1983 for excessive force; Court held that police officer who put knee in his back after he was already on the ground was entitled to qualified immunity (plaintiff had threatened and cornered wife and children in house, came out at command of police with knife in his pocket, and officer briefly placed his knee on plaintiff’s back when handcuffing him and removing his knife); unanimous pe

McPherson v. Blacker, 146 U.S. 1 (decided October 17, 1892): rejects argument that under art. II, §1, clause 2 (Electors from states shall be appointed “in such manner as the legislature thereof may direct”) electors have to be chosen by the Legislature itself, acting as a unit; upholds Michigan statute (i.e., an Act of the Legislature) directing Electors to be elected by Congressional district The Silvia, 171 U.S. 462 (decided October 17, 1898): shippers of sugar damaged by

Charlotte Harbor & N. Ry. Co. v. Welles, 260 U.S. 8 (decided October 16, 1922): Florida Legislature can ratify county’s ultra vires (this means exceeding authority) creation of new bridge district which overlapped existing district (effect of which was to add toll to existing bridge) Bitter v. United States, 389 U.S. 15 (decided October 16, 1967): Mail fraud defendant, who had been on time at every appearance, was 37 minutes late in returning from a recess. So the judge stu

Civil Rights Cases, 109 U.S. 3 (decided October 15, 1883): strikes down federal statute prohibiting racial discrimination in public accommodations; Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments apply only to governmental action, not private action (here, refusal to allow black people to take rooms at an inn, seats at an opera, and to get onto “ladies’ car” reserved for whites on train) (according to Westlaw, this case was never explicitly overruled, with the first recognition of it no

McConnell v. Rhay, 393 U.S. 2 (decided October 14, 1968): Court holds that its rule of Mempa v. Rhay, 1967 -- the right to counsel in revocation of probation and deferred sentencing proceedings, at least as to felony defendants -- is retroactive (retroactive application is often, though not always, ordered in criminal procedure matters, though it often requires a second case with similar facts to come along) Arkansas v. Tennessee, 311 U.S. 1 (decided October 14, 1940): Court

Moore v. Terminal Railroad Ass’n of St. Louis, 358 U.S. 31 (decided October 13, 1958): Court, without opinion, reverses Missouri Supreme Court and upholds jury verdict that railroad company had share of negligence in accident where plaintiff, a baggage handler operating a “hand cart” (remember those in old movies?), was crushed against a train when another train backed into the cart; Frankfurter dissents on “sole cause” doctrine; Whittaker (a nervous wreck who didn’t last lon

United States v. Morrison, 429 U.S. 1 (decided October 12, 1976): After conviction based on marijuana found in car, the Circuit Court (in another case) created an exclusionary rule which was retrospective; defendant demanded a hearing which resulted in suppression of the evidence and vacating the conviction. Here, the Court holds that Double Jeopardy does not bar Government from appealing the suppression finding, because if the appeal is successful, it merely means the guil

Arlington County Board v. Richards, 434 U.S. 5 (decided October 11, 1977): town can restrict on-street parking to residents and their guests; “rational basis” survives Equal Protection attack (at first I got this confused with the Arlington zoning case from the same year, but this case wasn’t about race; issue was avoiding congestion and pollution) Ex parte Levitt, 302 U.S. 633 (decided October 11, 1937): the Senate had just voted to provide Supreme Court Justices with pensio

Lucy v. Adams, 350 U.S. 1 (decided October 10, 1955): Court reinstates injunction, meaning University of Alabama can’t deny two black students admission; District Court had found that sole basis for denying entry was skin color; Ms. Lucy had been trying for three years to get in; she was still excluded from dorms and dining halls; riot broke out when she actually showed up and, being pelted with bricks and eggs and death threats, she was suspended for her own safety; Universi

Pilon v. Bordenkircher, 444 U.S. 1 (decided October 9, 1979): Court, relying on its own recent precedent, reverses the denial of habeas and remands back to District Court; after state court conviction for manslaughter, lower court applied former standard for violation of Due Process (reversing only if there is “no evidence in support of conviction”); new, more defendant-friendly standard is whether if “after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution,

Nebraska v. Wyoming et al., 325 U.S. 665 (decided October 8, 1945): Original jurisdiction case where the Court confirms the Special Master’s finding that Colorado and Wyoming divert too much of the North Platte River before it gets into Nebraska. From the finding, which is detailed as to how much can be diverted when and from where, and how it is to be measured, one can see that the Special Master was bombarded with a mountain of geological and environmental evidence. Roth v.

Doe v. Gonzalez, 546 U.S. 1301 (decided October 7, 2005): Ginsburg denies emergency stay because appeal in Second Circuit is being expedited, but grants motion to file briefs under seal; discusses the case at length; librarian contested FBI order to disclose browsing history associated with a certain IP address which also ordered him not to reveal order or reveal his identity; issue was whether this prior restraint (authorized by statute) violated First Amendment; identity ha

Lopez v. Smith, 574 U.S. 1 (decided October 6, 2014): Court grants cert and upholds state murder conviction where prosecution switched theories at end of trial (defendant aided and abetted murder of wife instead of directly wielding metal bar that killed her); Ninth Circuit had relied on its own precedent, which prohibited such practices, in granting habeas, but 1996 statute restricting habeas only to where state court misapplied federal law refers only to federal law establi

Maryland v. Kulbicki, 136 S.Ct. 2 (decided October 5, 2015): dismisses ineffective assistance of counsel claim; method of comparing lead in bullets in defendant’s truck vs. in victim’s brain relied on by prosecution was later discredited but was still state of the art at time of trial and as such could not have been attacked

Buntion v. Lumpkin,142 S.Ct. 3 (decided October 4, 2021): stay of execution denied; Breyer doesn’t dissent but notes the “serious legal and practical problem with the death penalty as it is currently administered”; in 1890 the Court said waiting on death row for even four weeks was “one of the more horrible feelings to which a person can be subjected”, and Buntion had been on death row for 30 years, which is in itself cruel and unusual punishment (Buntion, age 78 and infirm,