Today in Supreme Court History: April 30

Bad Elk v. United States, 177 U.S. 529 (decided April 30, 1900): Kid shot a gun into the air for fun.  Tribal policeman (his cousin) had no right to arrest him, such that he had self-defense argument when things came to a head the next day when the policeman drew a gun on him.  The extensive account of the facts describes a slower-moving frontier society and might have made a good episode of “Gunsmoke”, though with an all-Native American cast.  (The defense that one has the right to resist an unlawful arrest is no longer permitted, at least not in South Dakota where this incident happened, S.D. Cod. L.§22-11-5.)

Berra v. United States, 351 U.S. 131 (decided  April 30, 1956): can’t give jury the choice of convicting for felony (filing false tax return) or misdemeanor (submitting false valuation) where same facts supported either charge (overlap was removed by later Code change, see Sansone v. United States, 1965)

KSR Int’l Co. v. Teleflex, Inc., 550 U.S. 398 (decided April 30, 2007): electronic sensor for pedal position adaptable for short-legged people was too “obvious” to be patentable in light of then-existing technology (pity, no diagram is provided) (my knowledge of pedal mechanisms is intimate but is limited to my 1959 VW Beetle)

Turner v. Murray,  476 U.S. 28 (decided April 30, 1986): error to refuse request to question prospective jurors as to racial bias in capital crime prosecution involving black defendant and white victim

Wilkins v. United States, 441 U.S. 468 (decided April 30, 1979): petition for certiorari should have been entertained even though 17 months late due to court-appointed attorney’s inaction after defendant wrote to him repeatedly requesting that petition be filed; this petition was pro se, supported by affidavits from wife and minister; remanded to Circuit Court so that proper, lawyerly petition could be filed (Mann Act case; not clear how it turned out)

Addington v. Texas, 441 U.S. 418 (decided April 30, 1979): Due Process requires showing of mental illness requiring commitment by “clear and convincing” evidence (though preponderance is enough if already tried and acquitted on insanity defense, see Jones v. U.S., 1983)

Comm’r of Internal Revenue v. Bilder, 369 U.S. 499 (decided April 30, 1962): rent paid for winter Florida apartment can’t be deducted as medical care expense even though was following doctor’s orders to spend cold months in warm climate (fact that wife accompanied him might have been a factor, but what did he expect?)

Communist Party of United States v. Subversive Activities Control Board, 351 U.S. 115 (decided April 30,1956): The CPUSA argued that it wasn’t a “Communist-action organization” (controlled by Moscow, dedicated to world Communist revolution) requiring registration and monitoring.  Too much perjured testimony; Court vacates the finding against them and remands.  No record of what happened after this.  (My understanding is that though the CPUSA marched in lockstep with Moscow, it was their choice to do so, and there was internal debate between world revolution and single-country revolution.)

Scott v. Harris, 550 U.S. 372 (decided April 30, 2007): stopping car chase by ramming car from behind (causing it to crash) was not Fourth Amendment “search or seizure”; §1983 suit for injuries dismissed

Microsoft Corp. v. AT&T Corp., 550 U.S. 437 (decided April 30, 2007): Microsoft can infringe AT&T’s voice recognition patent so long as it’s sold overseas (even though master disk holding software was made here with disks for sale made abroad)