Today in Supreme Court History: November 13

United States v. Bormes, 568 U.S. 6 (decided November 13, 2021): dismissing lawyers’ class action alleging Fair Credit Reporting Act violation of privacy (federal court filing receipts display last four digits and expiration date of lawyer’s credit card) because sovereign immunity not waived

Ayers v. Belmontes, 549 U.S. 7 (decided November 13, 2006): no error in judge not specifically instructing jury to consider future mitigating circumstances in sentencing (here, that defendant would lead a constructive life if incarcerated as opposed to executed), where evidence and argument was presented by defense counsel; death sentence reinstated (the defendant, who during a burglary unexpectedly encountered the 19-year-old victim and struck her head 15 to 20 times with a dumbbell, went up to the Court again on an ineffective assistance of counsel argument in 2009; eventually died on death row of natural causes in 2017) (so did those extra years end up being “constructive”?)

In re Amendments to Rules 1 and 10, 108 U.S. 1 (decided November 13, 1882): Waite amends Court rules as to costs for a copy of the record; he gifts us with a history of the clerk’s practices under the old rule (this boring disquisition suited Waite’s literary talents; as Frankfurter pointed out, “the stuff of the artist was not in him”)