Today in Supreme Court History: June 29

Planned Parenthood v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833 (decided June 29, 1992): Pennsylvania statute requiring spousal notice for abortion placed “undue burden” on woman; 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. 482 (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)

Groff v. DeJoy, 600 U.S. 447 (decided June 29, 2023): defense to Title VII (religious discrimination) claim, that employer would incur “undue hardship” in accommodating religious practice, requires showing of substantial cost; clarifying Trans World Airlines v. Hardison, 1977, which had been misunderstood as requiring only something more than de minimis (Evangelical sued because required to work on Sunday after USPS started delivering for Amazon; case remanded for fact findings)

Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238 (decided June 29, 1972): death penalty in three cases appealed was “cruel and unusual punishment” violating Eighth Amendment (short opinion, followed by concurring and dissenting opinions) (decision in effect abolished death penalty nationwide; in Gregg v. Georgia, 1976, Court allowed death penalty if arrived at by established factors presented to jury at sentencing trial)

Seila Law LLC v. Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, 591 U.S. 197 (decided June 29, 2020): 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. 580 (decided June 29, 2022): Texas state trooper enlisted, sent to Iraq, disabled by toxic smoke, 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 allows suit against Texas in state court; Congress has the power to negate states’ sovereign immunity from suit.

Arbitron Austria GmbH v. Hetronic Int’l, 600 U.S. 412 (decided June 29, 2023): Lanham Act (trademark infringement) does not extend to overseas infringement (remote controls for construction equipment)

Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta, 597 U.S. 629 (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 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 applicant 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

Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard University, 600 U.S. 181 (decided June 29, 2023): after years of chipping away at it, the Court finally kills race-based affirmative action as violating Equal Protection; race cannot be used even as a “plus factor” in a multi-step process; 6 - 3 decision