Today in Supreme Court History: January 4

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 (e.g., selling a ten-pound bag of cocaine can’t be split up into ten offenses of selling one pound)

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)

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 that my grandmother, who lived on the Canal, made noodle soup that was too watery)