Today in Supreme Court History: June 29

Planned Parenthood v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833 (decided June 29, 1992): invalidated on “undue burden” grounds Pennsylvania statute requiring spousal notice for abortion; left in place requirement of waiting period and parental consent for minors Ashcroft v. ACLU, 535 U.S. 564 (decided June 29, 2004): enjoined on First Amendment grounds enforcement of the Child Online Protection Act which penalized providers that allowed minors to access “harmful content”; injunction ended up being permanent Penneast Pipeline Co. v. New Jersey, 594 U.S. --- (decided June 29, 2021): Congress can delegate to private entity right to sue state under eminent domain (here, Natural Gas Act delegating to Penneast to obtain right-of-way for pipeline)

Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238 (decided June 29, 1972): death penalty is “cruel and unusual punishment” in violation of Eighth Amendment, citing “evolving standards of decency” (overruled by Gregg v. Georgia, 1976) Seila Law LLC v. Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, 591 U.S. --- (decided June 29, 2020): the makeup of the CFPB (a single Director with significant executive authority removable by President only “for cause”) violated separation of powers Torres v. Texas Dept. of Public Safety, 597 U.S. --- (decided June 29, 2022): Texas state trooper enlisted, was sent to Iraq, was disabled due to exposure to toxic smoke, and came back to ask for re-employment in any way they could use him. They refused. The federal Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act allowed him to sue Texas in state court. The Court holds that this does not violate the Eleventh Amendment which applies only to suits in federal courts. Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta, 597 U.S. --- (decided June 29, 2022): state courts had concurrent jurisdiction with tribal courts over crimes on reservation committed by non-Indians against Indians (father prosecuted for neglect of his stepdaughter) Miller v. Johnson,515 U.S. 900 (decided June 29, 1995): struck down attempt to create second black majority Congressional district due to grotesque boundaries (on the map it looked like a cat with a very long tongue jumping up to snare a spider) Ricci v. DeStefano, 557 U.S. 557 (decided June 29, 2009): Title VII (equal opportunity in hiring) was violated when city hired black firefighters for management positions even though none passed the qualifying exam (whereas 19 white and 1 hispanic applicants did pass) Bacchus Imports v. Dias, 468 U.S. 263 (decided June 29, 1984): struck down Hawaii’s tax exemption for in-state manufactured brandy as violating Dormant Commerce Clause