Today in Supreme Court History: June 9

Carey v. Population Services Int’l, 431 U.S. 678 (decided June 9, 1977): statute prohibiting sale of non-prescription contraceptives, and contraceptives to minors, violated Due Process right to privacy/liberty (you can see Brennan’s hard work here -- cobbling together a majority but with fractured opinions)

Randon v. Toby, 52 U.S. 493 (decided June 9, 1851): fact that loan was used to buy slaves which had been illegally imported from Africa to Texas did not make it an “illegal contract” such that plaintiff could not sue on the loan; Court compared this argument to a man who won’t pay his tailor because the importer had smuggled the cloth Williams v. Pennsylvania, 579 U.S. 1 (decided June 9, 2016): judge must recuse himself in death penalty appeal because he was the D.A. who brought the prosecution Microsoft Corp. v. i4i Limited Partnership, 564 U.S. 91 (decided June 9, 2011): patents are presumed valid (35 U.S.C. §282); defendant claiming invalidity must prove by clear and convincing evidence (i4i had developed document editing method independent of metacodes; original source code had been destroyed, so evidence adduced as to possible waiver via prior sale) (Microsoft eventually lost; it continued to infringe, but i4i lost motion to reopen action and cite for contempt, see 398 F. Supp. 3d 90, 2019) Commonwealth of Puerto Rico v. Sanchez Valle, 579 U.S. 59 (decided June 9, 2016): Double Jeopardy bars prosecutions of the same conduct (illegal gun sale) by Puerto Rico and by the federal government; unlike a State, P.R. is not a separate “sovereign” Dietz v. Bouldin, 579 U.S. 40 (decided June 9, 2016): District Court judge has power to recall jury and instruct them to re-deliberate after they returned an impermissibly baseless verdict (finding $0 in damages in auto injury case even though both sides had stipulated to at least $10,136) CTS Corp. v. Waldburger, 573 U.S. 1 (decided June 9, 2014): “superfund” law (CERCLA) preempts state statutes of limitations but not state statutes of repose; North Carolina law barring actions brought more than 10 years after last culpable act (sale of property) applied to dismiss suit against polluter who had sold the property 24 years previously (statute of limitations by contrast began to run from date of damage/discovery) Omaha & C.B.S.R. Co. v. Interstate Commerce Comm’n, 230 U.S. 324 (decided June 9, 1913): street railroads (run not on land owned by the railroad company but on public street as an aid to street traffic) did not fit definition of “railroad” in the ICC Act of 1887 and therefore ICC had no power to set rates United States v. Lovasco, 431 U.S. 783 (decided June 9, 1977): speedy trial requirement of Sixth Amendment does not apply to time between crime and indictment (here, 18 months) even if delay is unexplained (opinion written by Marshall!) Pruneyard Shopping Center v. Robins, 447 U.S. 74 (decided June 9, 1980): upholding against Takings Clause and Privileges and Immunities attack California law requiring owner of private property open to public to allow political speech (here, students in shopping center had set up table protesting “a United Nations resolution against Zionism”) (this must have been the infamous resolution equating Zionism with racism -- ironic because some early Zionists were antisemites who were glad to pack Jews off to faraway Palestine; even the Nazis considered it at one point)