Today in Supreme Court History: January 4

Theatre Enterprises, Inc. v. Paramount Film Distributing Corp., 346 U.S. 537 (decided January 4, 1954): jury properly heard issue of whether movie producers and distributors conspired (in violation of the Clayton Act) to restrict first-run movies to downtown theaters (jury found for defendant; plaintiff’s argument on appeal was that the judge should have directed verdict in its favor with jury hearing only damages)

Blockburger v. United States, 284 U.S. 299 (decided January 4, 1932): this case is the source of the “Blockburger rule”, important in sentencing and Double Jeopardy situations: here, each sale of narcotics, no matter how close in time, held to be a separate offense because each sale had a separate fact

Marine Transit Corp. v. Dreyfus, 284 U.S. 263 (decided January 4, 1932): admiralty courts have power to order arbitration (suit arose when 19,200 bushels of wheat sank into the Erie Canal when ship hit a guide wall; somehow this reminds me of the fact that my grandmother, who lived on the Canal, made noodle soup that was too watery)