Today in Supreme Court History: January 20

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. ordinance allowing housing discrimination based on race is not saved from Fourteenth Amendment attack by the fact that by its terms it wouldn’t take effect until the voters approve it (which they did)

Beal v. Missouri Pacific R.R. Corp., 312 U.S. 45 (decided January 20, 1941): civil lawsuit can’t stop criminal prosecutions (here, railroads facing prosecution under Nebraska’s Full Train Crew Law claimed it would have been financially ruinous to comply with it) (statute had been in force since 1929; from the opinion it appears that railroads were hiring dual-role black workers at lower wages than white)

Kansas v. Carr, 577 U.S. 108 (decided January 20, 2016): jury considering death penalty doesn’t have to be instructed that mitigating factors don’t have to be proved beyond reasonable doubt (then how the hell are they supposed to know that???)

Department of the Army v. Blue Fox, Inc., 525 U.S. 255 (decided January 20, 1999): subcontractor barred by sovereign immunity from asserting lien as to proceeds owed to it by general contractor and still held by Army