Today in Supreme Court History: May 17

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 (decided May 17, 1954): “separate is inherently unequal”, invalidating on Equal Protection grounds school segregation by race (this applies only to schools within the same district, and could not invalidate “white flight” into other districts or into private schools); unanimous decision, though it was almost 8 - 1 because Jackson’s law clerk (William Rehnquist) was telling him to vote the other way (as my Con Law professor pointed out, the Court was making a “policy” decision; this was one of three consolidated cases and the Court could have agreed with the Delaware court that separate being equal can be decided case-by-case)

Bolling v. Sharpe, 347 U.S. 497 (decided May 17, 1954): same holding as Brown, but as to segregation in D.C., where Fourteenth Amendment (with its Equal Protection clause) doesn’t apply; segregation violates Due Process (Fifth Amendment) (why did they need Equal Protection to decide Brown? all they needed was Due Process for that case too)

Saenz v. California Dept. of Social Services, 526 U.S. 489 (decided May 17, 1999): limitation of welfare benefits to newly arrived residents to the amounts they would have received in prior state infringed on freedom of travel (note: such right is not mentioned in Constitution)

Caniglia v. Strom, 593 U.S. 194 (decided May 17, 2021): warrant needed to conduct weapons search of house to which wife called police as to conversation on porch with husband who wanted to shoot himself (police had brought him for psychiatric evaluation after promising they would not confiscate his guns; he brought this §1983 action arising out of the confiscation) (Caniglia died in 2023 at age 72 of natural causes)

CIC Services v. IRS, 593 U.S. 209 (decided May 17, 2021): Anti-Injunction Act (prohibits “stay” applications to avoid paying a tax) did not bar taxpayer’s pre-enforcement challenge to new reporting rules for consultants of “captive insurers” (which are sometimes used for tax avoidance) because IRS did not follow “notice and comment” rulemaking procedures required by Administrative Procedure Act

BP v. Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, 593 U.S. 230 (decided May 17, 2021): on appeal of order remanding removed case to state court (suit by city against oil companies for concealing environmental impact of fossil fuels), court can review all defendant’s arguments for removal, not just the one (involvement of federal officer) that made the order appealable (28 U.S.C. §1442)

McNeil v. United States, 508 U.S. 106 (decided May 17, 1993): Federal Tort Claims action (exposure to AIDS in prison) dismissed as premature (even though case just filed) until administrative remedies are exhausted, no matter how long they take to process, and even though claimant was pro se (in those days AIDS was a death sentence)

Graham v. Florida, 560 U.S. 48 (decided May 17, 2010): life sentence without parole for a juvenile for non-homicide (attempted armed robbery) is “cruel and unusual punishment” per Eighth Amendment

Abbott v. Abbott, 560 U.S. 1 (decided May 17, 2010): Chilean court’s “ne exeat” order (prohibiting leaving jurisdiction without consent) issued to non-custodial father created “right of custody” under the Hague Convention; United States court therefore had power to order mother to bring child back to Chile; law of “sister signatory” (Chile) entitled to great weight in construing the Convention

Organization for a Better Austin v. Keefe, 402 U.S. 415 (decided May 17, 1971): injunction barring leafletting warning against local “blockbuster” (realtor who scared white homeowners that blacks were moving in, convinced them to sell at below value, then resold at above market to blacks) violated First Amendment