Today in Supreme Court History: January 8

The Paquete Habana, 175 U.S. 677 (decided January 8, 1900): Fishing vessel was not a “prize of war” (its crew did not even know there was a war going on when it was seized in 1898 off the coast of Cuba) and therefore owner and crew awarded value of it and its contents (lots of fish in tanks); the opinion is a long, long historical survey of admiralty jurisdiction and prize law.  (This is an important case in international human rights litigation, establishing that United States courts will apply customary international law unless Congress says otherwise.)

Culbertson v. Berryhill, 586 U.S. 53 (decided January 8, 2019): construing 42 U.S.C. §406, Thomas holds that 25% cap on attorney’s fees for successful pursuit of past due Social Security benefits applies only to proceedings before a court, not to the runup administrative proceedings

Los Angeles County Flood Control District v. Natural Resources Defense Council, 568 U.S. 78 (decided January 8, 2013): stormwater runoff into river is not itself a “pollutant” as defined by the Clean Water Act (though opinion admits that stormwater is often heavily polluted)

Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers v. Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R.R. Co., 516 U.S. 152 (decided January 8, 1996): I picked this case because of two interesting terms dealing with when a train crew’s maximum 12 hours expire during a trip: “deadhead transportation” (getting the new crew to the train, often requiring a special stop, and the old crew back to the terminal) and “limbo time” (the time spent by the new crew and the old crew during d.t.). Here the Court, noting that the purpose of the Hours of Service Act is to prevent fatigue, holds that limbo time waiting for d.t. to the train counts toward the 12-hour daily limit but limbo time waiting for d.t. from the train (i.e., back to the terminal) does not.

Western Union Telegraph Co. v. Lenroot, 323 U.S. 490 (decided January 8, 1945): by-foot or by-car transmission of telegraph messages by children under age 16 was not specifically prohibited by federal child labor statute (we learn here that 12% of all message runners were under the age of 16)