Today in Supreme Court History: June 23

Kelo v. City of New London, 545 U.S. 469 (decided June 23, 2005): eminent domain power can be used to condemn homeowners’ property and sell to private nonprofit for office space, parking lots etc. as part of downtown revitalization (I assume the compensation paid to Ms. Kelo and her neighbors was the same as was billed to the New London Development Corporation?)

Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L., 594 U.S. --- (decided June 23, 2021): First Amendment prohibits school from punishing student for vulgar non-disruptive, off-campus speech (she posted on Snapchat “fuck school fuck softball fuck cheer fuck everything”) (sounds like late-period George Carlin) South Dakota v. Dole, 483 U.S. 203 (decided June 23, 1987): Tenth Amendment not violated by withholding federal highway funds from states with an under-21 drinking age Grutter v. Bollinger, 539 U.S. 306 (decided June 23, 2003): upholding use of race as a “plus factor” but not a “predominating factor” in law school admission policy Nance v. Ward, 597 U.S. --- (decided June 23, 2022): can challenge lethal injection method of execution (painful in his case because of drug-abuse-compromised veins) even if less painful alternate method is not authorized by state law (he wanted a firing squad) (case is still being litigated in lower courts); 5 - 4 decision ​ New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass'n v. Bruen, 597 U.S. --- (decided June 23, 2022): striking down on Second Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment grounds state law requiring “proper cause” requirement for open carry hangun licenses; no “strict” or “intermediate” scrutiny analysis relevant, just showing that restriction would be in conflict with historical tradition (law at issue was from 1911 but Court discounts the 20th century) Micou v. Nat’l Bank, 104 U.S. 530 (decided June 23, 1881): bankrupt father can pay off his creditor daughters ahead of the bank because no intent to defraud the bank P.R. v. Branstead, 483 U.S. 219 (decided June 23, 1987): federal courts can order state governors to extradite (one would think this was obvious in light of the Extradition Clause, art. 4, §2, cl. 2, but the Court had held otherwise in Kentucky v. Dennison, 1860) Fay v. New York, 332 U.S. 261 (decided June 23, 1947): upholding New York’s use of special (“blue ribbon”) jury (education and morality qualifications) in criminal case involving construction contract extortion despite defendant’s argument that such a jury is more likely to convict (statute allowing special juries was repealed in 1965 -- too bad!) Globe Newspaper Co. v. Superior Court, 457 U.S. 596 (decided June 23, 1982): struck down Massachusetts statute excluding public from trials of those accused of sexual offenses against minors