Today in Supreme Court History: January 17

Jimmy Swaggart Ministries v. Board of Equalization of California, 493 U.S. 378 (decided January 17, 1990): generally applicable sales and use tax (i.e., goods, property) does not violate Free Exercise clause when imposed on religious organization

Seling v. Young, 531 U.S. 250 (decided January 17, 2001): petition for commitment of convicted sexual offender who was about to finish serving his sentence is a civil proceeding (i.e., not punitive) and did not implicate Double Jeopardy or Ex Post Facto prohibitions

Gonzalez v. Duenas-Alvarez, 549 U.S. 183 (decided January 17, 2007): conviction of permanent resident alien for “unlawful driving or taking of vehicle” as defined by California statute was a “theft offense” under Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. §1101(a)(43)(G)) and therefore predicate for deportation (not mentioned exactly what this guy did -- the statute seems to cover some innocuous situations)

McGrain v. Daughtery, 273 U.S. 135 (decided January 17, 1927): Senate has power to jail subpoenaed witness who fails to appear (it was investigating the Department of Justice and the witness was the brother of the former Attorney General); irrelevant that during habeas process a new Congress was sworn in (the committee work presumably continued because it was a Republican Congress replacing a Republican Congress)

Gonzalez v. Oregon, 546 U.S. 243 (decided January 17, 2006): Attorney General did not have authority to issue “interpretive rule” stating that physicians assisting suicide as permitted by Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act would be violating the federal Controlled Substances Act