Heien v. North Carolina , 574 U.S. 54 (decided December 15, 2014): police can stop you for something they think is illegal but actually isn’t (here, broken brake light, not an offense under state law which requires only one working light; upon consensual search of car they found cocaine) Altria Group v. Good , 555 U.S. 70 (decided December 15, 2008): Maine statute prohibiting false advertising as to cigarettes (one brand falsely claimed less “tar” and nicotine than another) n

Katzenback v. McClung , 379 U.S. 294 and Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States , 379 U.S. 241 (both decided December 14, 1964): Congress had Commerce Clause power to prohibit racial discrimination in restaurants ( Katzenbach ) and public accommodations ( Heart of Atlanta Motel ) because interstate commerce involved Texas v. New Mexico , 592 U.S. 98 (decided December 14, 2020): another original jurisdiction case involving water rights; here, the Court gives New Mexico credit

United States v. Wheeler , 254 U.S. 281 (decided December 13, 1920): Constitutional right to travel (implied in art. IV, §2) does not apply to state action (quashing indictment of Arizona sheriff who rounded up 1300 striking miners and sent them in cattle cars without supplies to New Mexico and threatened them with death if they returned to Arizona) (in effect overruled by United States v. Guest , 1966) White v. United States , 154 U.S. 661 (decided December 13, 1880): owner

Bush v. Gore , 531 U.S. 98 (decided December 12, 2000): Stopped the recount ordered by the Florida Supreme Court (though the Court had already stayed it), citing Equal Protection violation; hard to summarize this “don’t ever cite us for this!” decision so I won’t try (Westlaw lists 110 cases giving this case “negative treatment”, courts on all levels except the Supreme Court itself of course). Note: Maybe due to the rushed briefing this wasn’t brought out, but this decision s

Texas v. Pennsylvania , 141 S.Ct. 1230 (decided December 11, 2020): Texas has no standing to contest how other states conduct their elections (the Constitutional objection argued appears to be that Trump actually won) Carey v. Musladin , 549 U.S. 70 (decided December 11, 2006): fact that judge allowed murder victim’s family to sit in front row at trial wearing buttons with victim’s photo did not entitle defendant to habeas relief (because allowing this was not contrary to “cl

Whole Woman’s Health v. Jackson , 595 U.S. 30 (decided December 10, 2021): suit against abortion “bounty hunter” statute (Texas S. 8, see Sept. 1) can proceed against state health officials having collateral authority over abortion services but not against judges and clerks who put S. 8 cases on dockets (Sotomayor’s argument in dissent, that such a statute can in effect prevent the exercise of any explicitly recognized Constitutional right, survives Dobbs ) McConnell v. Feder

MacMath v. United States , 248 U.S. 151 (decided December 9, 1918): clerk employed as “acting U.S. weigher” at collection port not entitled to $2,500 statutory salary assigned to weighers (collection ports were notoriously a gold mine of booty, but I suppose not for lowly weighers, “acting” or otherwise) Warger v. Shauers , 574 U.S. 40 (decided December 9, 2014): under Fed. R. Evid. 606(b), juror cannot testify, and court cannot receive affidavit, as to statements during deli

Chew Heong v. United States , 112 U.S. 536 (decided December 8, 1884): Chinese Exclusion Act (requiring certificate for reentry) did not apply to those who were already in the country, left then returned Shapiro v. McManus , 577 U.S. 39 (decided December 8, 2015): Constitutional challenges to Congressional reapportionments must be referred to three-judge panel (appeal from which is one of the only remaining direct, non-discretionary appeal routes to the Supreme Court, and I t

Campbell v. Holt , 115 U.S. 620 (decided December 7, 1885): new Texas constitution (went into effect after Texas was readmitted into the Union) validly abolished statute of limitations as to suit for value of plantation (which included value added by pre-manumission slaves) Michigan v. Fisher , 558 U.S. 45 (decided December 7, 2009): “emergency aid” exception to warrant requirement applied when man was seen screaming and throwing things in his house even though he pointed a g

Palko v. Connecticut , 302 U.S. 319 (decided December 6, 1937): Fifth Amendment’s prohibition of double jeopardy did not apply to the states (upholding Connecticut statute allowing prosecution to appeal a lesser-charge conviction so as to get retrial on more serious charge) (overruled by Benton v. Maryland , 1969) Salman v. United States , 580 U.S. 39 (decided December 6, 2016): in prosecution under §10-b of Securities Exchange Act of 1934, jury could infer that source of inf

Lopez v. Gonzalez , 549 U.S. 47 (decided December 5, 2006): felony under state law which is only a misdemeanor under federal law is not “a felony punishable under the Controlled Substances Act” (18 U.S.C. §924(c)(2)) (here, abetting possession of cocaine), so deportation is only discretionary Things Remembered, Inc. v. Petrarca , 516 U.S. 124 (decided December 5, 1995): order remanding after removal is generally not appealable (once it’s out of federal court, it’s gone) (wrin

New Jersey v. City of New York , 290 U.S. 237 (decided December 4, 1933): imposes penalties against NYC for not complying with earlier order prohibiting dumping garbage into ocean next to New Jersey Arkansas Game and Fish Comm’n v. United States , 568 U.S. 23 (decided December 4, 2012): flooding by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (water released from dam) which destroyed state’s downstream timber crop is a “taking” even if only temporary Logan v. United States , 552 U.S. 23 (dec

International Shoe v. Washington , 326 U.S. 310 (decided December 3, 1945): this case was (as my law professor put it) the “fountainhead” of personal jurisdiction law, finally ending the “presence in the state” games begun in 1878 by Pennoyer v. Neff  (which Civ Pro profs waste a lot of time on): jurisdiction over out-of-state defendant consistent with Due Process if had enough “minimum contacts” in the forum state to “not offend traditional notions of fair play and substanti

United States v. Stapf , 375 U.S. 118 (decided December 2, 1963): estate not entitled to marital tax deduction; Will transferred widow’s share to children United States v. Powell , 423 U.S. 87 (decided December 2, 1975): 18 U.S.C. §1715, criminalizing mailing of concealed-carry-capable weapons to general public (for example, defendant’s 22-inch sawed-off shotgun), was not unconstitutionally vague (AFAIK this statute survives Heller and McDonald ) United States v. Jose , 519

Moore v. Illinois , 55 U.S. 13 (decided December 1, 1852): upholding Illinois statute criminalizing hiding an out-of-state slave (not preempted by Const. art. IV, §2, which speaks only of delivery to owner upon demand) McAfee v. Crofford , 54 U.S. 447 (decided December 1, 1851): recovery in trespass (invading property and carrying off slaves) includes consequential damages such as property lost due to not having slaves to watch over things (logs allowed to float away on river

Porter v. McCollum , 558 U.S. 30 (decided November 30, 2009): ineffective assistance of counsel where mental health effects of combat experience were not presented at competency and mitigation hearings California v. Mitchell Bros. Santa Ana Theater , 454 U.S. 90 (decided November 30, 1981): “beyond reasonable doubt” can be the state law standard of proof in a civil enforcement action as to obscenity (here, showing pornographic films) but Due Process does not require it Hoeper

Commissioner v. Kowalski , 434 U.S. 77 (decided November 29, 1977): cash meal allowances to New Jersey police officers are taxable income Lincoln Property Co. v. Roche , 546 U.S. 81 (decided November 29, 2005): defendant can remove to federal court without having to exclude possibility of non-diverse interested parties (tenants sued out-of-state landlord for mold injuries; did not find any in-state affiliates, etc. of defendants during jurisdictional discovery but Court notes

United States v. P.G. Evans , 195 U.S. 361 (decided November 28, 1904): owner of land-anchored feature (lighthouse) can sue in admiralty for damage done by vessel City of Indianapolis v. Edmond , 531 U.S. 32 (decided November 28, 2000): drug checkpoint (stopping every car, asking for license and registration, conducting “plain view” search and having dog sniff around it) was “unreasonable search” under Fourth Amendment United States v. Sperry Corp. , 493 U.S. 52 (decided Nove

California Reduction Co. v. Sanitary Reduction Works of San Francisco , 199 U.S. 306 (decided November 27, 1905): San Francisco validly under the California Constitution gave corporation exclusive right to dispose of the city’s garbage; dismisses Fourteenth Amendment argument made by citizens and competing corporation (the opinion has long lists of types of garbage, offal, excrement, animal remains; don’t read it while eating) Correctional Services Corp. v. Malesko , 534 U.S.

Keyes v. United States , 109 U.S. 336 (decided November 26, 1883): lieutenant’s suit for back pay dismissed because he was validly court-martialed (one of the judges, his C.O., was a main witness, but he didn’t object at that time) and because President’s appointment of his successor terminated his commission (a smaller Army in those days) Nitro-Lift Technologies v. Howard , 568 U.S. 17 (decided November 26, 2012): objection to non-compete agreements involved federal law (Fed