Today in Supreme Court History: May 25

Choteau v. Burnet, 283 U.S. 691 (decided May 25, 1931): status as Native American does not excuse obligation to pay income tax on amounts received from tribe’s oil and gas leases ​ Griffin v. School Board of Prince Edward County, 377 U.S. 218 (decided May 25, 1964): school district couldn’t avoid desegregation order by closing all schools and using the money for vouchers to private schools all of which happened to exclude blacks ​ Phillips v. Comm’r of Internal Revenue, 283 U.S. 589 (decided May 25, 1931): summary taxation order (as to assets of dissolved corporation) does not violate Due Process because taxpayer may contest the order in court even though court will review only for clearly erroneous United States v. Dickey, 268 U.S. 378 (decided May 25, 1925): First Amendment protected newspaper’s publication of private person’s tax return information (identity, address, amount paid) because Congress had already authorized the IRS to make this information available for public inspection ​ Dickey v. Florida, 398 U.S. 30 (decided May 25, 1970): unexplained and objected-to eight-year delay of trial for armed robbery violated Sixth Amendment speedy trial right; witnesses had disappeared, files lost, etc.; conviction reversed Carpenter v. Strange, 141 U.S. 87 (decided May 25, 1891): full faith and credit extended to New York court’s probate of will even though it determined property rights out of state Chang Chan v. Nagle, 268 U.S. 346 (decided May 25, 1925): pursuant to Immigration Act of 1924 (part of ongoing exclusion of Asians) Chinese women married t American citizens not eligible thereby for citizenship and not permitted to enter country ​ Avery v. Georgia, 345 U.S. 559 (decided May 25, 1953): To compose jury panel, judge selected names from jury box. White prospective jurors were on white slips, black jurors on yellow slips, and guess what? -- not a single yellow slip was selected, and the resulting all-white jury found black defendant guilty of rape. Conviction reversed. ​ Schacht v. United States, 398 U.S. 58 (decided May 25, 1970): actor who wore Army uniform in street play protesting Vietnam War atrocities not guilty under statute criminalizing impersonation of servicemen “in a manner to bring the military into disrepute” due to statutory exception for performance in theatrical production; criminal statute struck anyway as violating First Amendment Bibb v. Navajo Freight Lines, 359 U.S. 520 (decided May 25, 1959): Illinois law uniquely requiring trucks to have curved mudflaps violated “dormant commerce clause” because it burdened interstate commerce (requiring truckers from other states to buy them just to go through Illinois) (Illinois is a hard state to go around; would a similar Rhode Island law pass muster?)