Today in Supreme Court History: May 22

TC Heartland LLC v. Kraft Foods Group, 581 U.S. 258 (decided May 22, 2017): patent suit must be brought in defendant’s state of incorporation under patent venue statute (28 U.S.C. §1400(b)) despite later revision of general venue statute (§1391) with broader language

Cooper v. Harris, 581 U.S. 285 (decided May 22, 2017): deferring to District Court’s factual determination rejecting North Carolina’s redistricting because no reason was shown for increasing percentage of black voters in two districts; plaintiffs (registered voters) not collaterally estopped by State’s victory in racial gerrymandering suit brought by civil rights groups

Water Splash, Inc. v. Menon, 581 U.S. 271 (decided May 22, 2017): Hague Service Convention (to which the U.S. is a signatory) allows service of suit abroad by mail (suit was by water park against Canadian employee for giving design drawings to competitor)

Wilson v. Arkansas, 514 U.S. 927 (decided May 22, 1995): police did not have to knock first when entering house with a warrant (front door was open; evidence properly admitted that police found defendant flushing drugs down the toilet)

Brigham City v. Stuart, 547 U.S. 398 (decided May 22, 2006): court below should have evaluated whether police responding to a disturbance without a warrant had to knock and announce entry after they saw through a screen door one person punch another, causing spitting blood, and after they knocked first though their knocking was not heard; remanded to lower court

Jones v. United States, 529 U.S. 848 (decided May 22, 2000): private residence not used in interstate commerce; federal arson statute doesn’t apply

Bankers Trust Co. v. Texas & P.R. Co., 241 U.S. 295 (decided May 22, 1916): mere fact that defendant was corporation chartered by Congress does not mean that any lawsuit against it contains federal issue invoking federal court jurisdiction

United States v. Playboy Entertainment Group, 529 U.S. 803 (decided May 22, 2000): striking down on First Amendment grounds cable providers’ prevention of “signal bleed” by either scrambling sexually explicit channels or restricting viewing to certain hours; less restrictive alternatives available (in the 1980’s those of us without cable would watch those rhythmic wiggles on our TVs and try to guess what those people were doing) (though the Playboy Channel was concededly “sexually explicit” under the statute, Hefner & Co. were careful to avoid depicting actual sex; Teri Weigel, the April 1986 Playmate, went into porn and they never spoke to her again)

Zicarelli v. New Jersey State Comm’n of Investigation, 406 U.S. 472 (decided May 22, 1972): witness in organized crime investigation could not “take the Fifth” after commission had granted him “use and derivative use” immunity

United States Term Limits v. Thornton, 514 U.S. 779 (decided May 22, 1995): States cannot impose term limits on people they send to Congress