Today in Supreme Court History: June 10

Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (decided June 10, 1968): allowed “stop and frisk” without warrant if suspicion of armed and involved in a crime (whence came the term “Terry stop”)

Whren v. United States, 517 U.S. 806 (decided June 10, 1996): any traffic offense (here, speeding when approached by police) is pretext for stopping car (police then saw two bags of cocaine in front seat)

Borden v. United States, 593 U.S. 420 (decided June 10, 2021): three previous armed felonies were not predicate for enhanced sentence under Armed Career Criminal Act because one of the earlier convictions was based on reckless (not intentional) conduct

City of Chicago v. Morales, 527 U.S. 41 (decided June 10, 1999): Chicago ordinance prohibiting “criminal street gang members” from loitering struck down on due process grounds as too vague and arbitrary restriction on personal liberties

Oxford Health Plans v. Sutter, 569 U.S. 564 (decided June 10, 2013): arbitrator had authority under contract to authorize class action of physicians’ claim against health plan for prompt payment; contract gave arbitrator the authority to construe the contract so “arbitrator’s construction holds, however good, bad, or ugly”

Ringhiser v. Chesapeake & Ohio Ry. Co., 354 U.S. 901 (decided June 10, 1957): steel plates stacked next to toilet shifted during switching operation and crushed leg of engineer who was “answering call of nature”; jury should be allowed to determine whether the railroad should have known this kind of thing might happen

McKune v. Lile, 536 U.S. 24 (decided June 10, 2002): no violation of Fifth Amendment where convicted rapist threatened with transfer to maximum security prison if he refused therapy, even though counseling was not confidential and statements could be used against him

Jenkins v. Anderson, 447 U.S. 231 (decided June 10, 1980): defendant’s silence can be used against him if the silence was pre-arrest, i.e., before Miranda warnings had to be given (here, his defense to murder was self-defense but oddly he never told police that)

Standard Stock Food Co. v. Wright, 225 U.S. 540 (decided June 10, 1912): Iowa law requiring listing of certain ingredients on containers of animal feed did not violate Dormant Commerce Clause; this was an inspection law, effect on interstate commerce was “incidental” even though feed shipped to Nebraska

Chicago, R.I. & P.R. Co. v. Brown, 229 U.S. 317 (decided June 10, 1913): (accident similar to Affolder, March 13) upholding verdict for switchman, leg cut off by colliding railroad cars due to defective safety hook (in violation of federal statute); not contributory negligence for him to go in between cars because he had to move quickly to prevent collision (this principle played for laughs in a much less serious case, Cordas v. Peerless Transp. Co., history’s most garishly written opinion)