Today in Supreme Court History: May 9

Andersen v. United States, 170 U.S. 481 (decided May 9, 1898): upholding conviction of sailor for shooting crewmember and pushing him overboard. Technical defects in indictment (unclear whether homicide alleged to be caused by shooting or drowning, does not mention location) held harmless error.

Bell v. United States, 349 U.S. 81 (decided May 9, 1955): sentence for Mann Act offense should not be doubled for transporting two women instead of one, due to ambiguity in statute.

Havnor v. New York, 170 U.S. 408 (decided May 9, 1898): Court could not review conviction under New York law (for practicing “barbering” on Sunday) because Writ of Error was signed by an Associate Judge of New York’s highest court instead of the Chief Judge as was required by federal jurisdictional statute.

Gacy v. Page, 511 U.S. 1079 (decided May 9, 1994): denying stay of execution of John Wayne Gacy; dissent by Blackmun who restated belief that death penalty is always unconstitutional.

Rice v. Sioux City Memorial Park Cemetery, 349 U.S. 70 (decided May 9, 1955): earlier grant of certiorari, and decision on the merits, 348 U.S. 880 (1954) (as to mental distress to widow due to refusal to bury husband in Native American cemetery) vacated because Court belatedly alerted to statute enacted during the litigation which mooted the issue presented. (D’oh!)

United States ex rel. Johnson v. Shaughnessy, 336 U.S. 806 (decided May 9, 1949): order denying admission of immigrant as “mental defective” vacated and remanded because medical appeal board did not conduct its own examination as required by regulation.