District of Columbia v. Gallaher , 124 U.S. 505 (decided February 6, 1888): District of Columbia is bound by post-contract modifications to sewer project (including increased payment) agreed to by predecessor body which was then legislated out of existence (this was the Board of Public Works, which according to Wikipedia spent D.C. almost into bankruptcy; Congress abolished it in 1874) (project turned the open-sewer Tiber Creek into an underground river, like the River Fleet

Queen v. Hepburn , 11 U.S. 290 (decided February 5, 1813): Marshall holds that while hearsay can support a claim to property (for example as to boundaries) it can’t as to freedom; statements of people who were now dead that ancestor of mother and child petitioning for their freedom came from England and not Africa were properly excluded; Duvall, in his only written dissent in 24 years on the Court, points out that hearsay on this issue is allowed in his home state of Maryland

Dice v. Akron, Canton & Youngstown R.R. Co. , 342 U.S. 359 (decided February 4, 1952): release of personal injury defendant sued under Federal Employers’ Liability Act is determined by federal, not state, law and issue of whether release was obtained by fraud is to be tried by a jury Martino v. Michigan Window Cleaning Co. , 327 U.S. 173 (decided February 4, 1946): can sue for inadequate overtime under Fair Labor Standards Act even though union contract allowed it (superseded

Germany v. Philipp , 592 U.S. 169 (decided February 3, 2021): Foreign Sovereignty Immunities Act barred suit in U.S. courts by Holocaust survivors to recover value of property they were forced to sell at below market value to agents of Goering; exception for “property taken in violation of international law” applied to property taken from another country’s citizens, and this was Germany’s own citizens Marshall v. Barlow’s, Inc. , 429 U.S. 1347 (decided February 3, 1977): OSHA

Dartmouth College v. Woodward , 17 U.S. 518 (decided February 2, 1819): state attempt to change existing charter of college to turn it into a public institution violated Contracts Clause; corporate entities are entitled to Clause protection Ross v. Bernhard , 396 U.S. 531 (decided February 2, 1970): I did my law review article on the Seventh Amendment, which guarantees the right to a jury trial in a civil case in actions at law (but not equity). Stupidly, one has to look at

Marbury v. Madison , 5 U.S. 137 (decided February 1, 1803): Marshall rules that the Court has no original jurisdiction to enforce a judicial appointment which Marshall (as Secretary of State) had failed to get delivered. Marshall was also already Chief Justice at the time. He should have, of course, recused himself. This case is cited as the precedent for judicial scrutiny of government acts, but that part of the opinion is dicta, as Marshall later pointed out ( Cohens v. V

Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers v. Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific R.R. Co. , 382 U.S. 423 (decided January 31, 1966): Arkansas statute regulating size of train crews survives Dormant Commerce Clause attack (it in effect applied only to intrastate lines) United States v. Shubert , 348 U.S. 222 (decided January 31, 1955): theatrical productions are “interstate commerce” subject to Sherman Act (defendant produced the shows + booked them + operated the theaters, which even de

Southern Pacific Co. v. Gallagher , 306 U.S. 167 (decided January 30, 1939): California’s Use Tax did not violate Dormant Commerce Clause because it applied only to use or storage of property in-state after interstate sale was completed United States v. Durkee Famous Foods , 306 U.S. 68 (decided January 30, 1939): can’t bring second indictment after statute of limitations has run (first one was quashed) H.P. Welch Co. v. New Hampshire , 306 U.S. 79 (decided January 30, 1939):

Marchetti v. United States , 390 U.S. 39 (decided January 29, 1968): I didn’t know until I read this case that something can be against the law and still be taxed. “Wagering” (handling bets) is (or was) an example. Not only did (do?) “wagerers” have to pay taxes, they were required to register and publicly post their licenses. Defendant here refused to do any of this, citing the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination. The Court agrees, noting that the inform

Gold v. United States , 352 U.S. 985 (decided January 28, 1957): defendant on trial for filing false affidavit stating he was not Communist Party member (such affidavits had to be submitted by union officials under the Taft-Hartley Act); conviction vacated because FBI unintentionally intruded into jury (while investigating another false-affidavit case, called three jurors to see if they had received any “propaganda literature” -- I suppose that’s tampering in itself) Hillsbor

Adair v. United States , 208 U.S. 161 (decided January 27, 1908): Congress cannot criminalize sacking an interstate carrier employee for being a union member because membership in a union is not interstate commerce (later cases held that it is, allowing federal regulation of labor relations) Daniel v. Louisiana , 420 U.S. 31 (decided January 27, 1975): holding of Taylor v. Louisiana , 1975, that excluding women from jury violates Sixth Amendment guarantee of fair and impartia

Crawford v. Nashville , 555 U.S. 271 (decided January 26, 2009): Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 forbids retaliation against an employee who makes an accusation of sexual harassment. Here the Court holds that it also protects an employee who reports sexual harassment only after being asked about it by the employer’s agent as part of an investigation into the alleged harasser. (That’s right: at a presumably confidential investigative interview she was asked if she’

Montgomery v. Louisiana , 577 U.S. 190 (decided January 25, 2016): holding of Miller v. Alabama , 2012 (life without parole for juvenile offenders is “cruel and unusual punishment”) is retroactive Richardson v. Lawrence County , 154 U.S. 536 (decided January 25, 1864): holder of bonds could recover par value even though railroad sold them at 64 cents on the dollar, where county had authorized railroad to sell only at par Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin v. United States ,

Springer v. United States , 102 U.S. 586 (decided January 24, 1881): upholding federal income tax because it was not a “direct tax” such as has to be apportioned among the states by population (as is required by art. I, §2) (a later contrary decision led to the Sixteenth Amendment) Panama Ry. Co. v. Pigott , 254 U.S. 552 (decided January 24, 1921): affirming Canal Zone court verdict for 7-year-old boy who was “run over” by a train (and still lived??); interesting because Holm

United States v. Jones , 565 U.S. 400 (decided January 23, 2012): attaching a GPS device to suspected drug dealer’s vehicle (actually his wife’s) is a “search” of “effects” and therefore warrant needed Ryburn v. Huff , 565 U.S. 469 (decided January 23, 2012): police entitled to qualified immunity for warrantless search when they went to house of student who had threatened to “shoot up” the school and when mother answered door and was asked if they had any guns she ran back in

Roe v. Wade , 410 U.S. 113 (decided January 22, 1973): balancing interests of the state vs. privacy interest of mother, invalidates Texas’s near-absolute ban on abortion (only exception was to save life of mother) and holds that Due Process prohibits state interference during first trimester; during second trimester the state may regulate abortion “in ways that are reasonably related to maternal health”; and during third trimester may forbid it except to save life of mother (

Citizens United v. Federal Election Comm’n , 558 U.S. 310 (decided January 21, 2010): Court disallows on First Amendment grounds any restrictions on use of general corporate or union funds to advocate or denigrate political candidates, explicitly overruling McConnell v. FEC , 2003, and Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce , 1990, except for requiring identification of who is putting out the ads and disclaiming that it represents the views of the broadcaster (in effect, evis

Nashville Milk Co. v. Carnation Co. , 355 U.S. 373 (decided January 20, 1958): Robinson-Patman Act (prohibiting underselling to destroy competition by use of means unavailable to competition) does not provide private right of action; it’s not an “antitrust” statute as defined by the Clayton Act and therefore Clayton remedy of treble damages is not available (plaintiff restricted to basic Clayton Act claim) Hunter v. Erickson , 393 U.S. 385 (decided January 20, 1969): Akron, O

Patsone v. Pennsylvania , 232 U.S. 138 (decided January 19, 1914): state can prohibit foreign born non-citizens from killing wild game except in defense of person or property (this case has never been overruled) NASA v. Nelson , 562 U.S. 134 (decided January 19, 2011): upholding NASA regulation requiring even long-term employees to submit to background checks and answer questions about illegal drug use (“if there is a right to private information, it is not violated here”) Un

Mistretta v. United States , 488 U.S. 361 (decided January 18, 1989): The Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 created the Sentencing Commission (appointed by the President w/Senate approval, three of seven members being federal judges) which sets binding guidelines. Here the Court holds that this arrangement does not violate separation of powers nor is an excessive delegation of authority by Congress. (The Court says, “Congress decided to locate this Commission in the Judicial Br