Today in Supreme Court History: November 7

Cleveland v. United States, 531 U.S. 12 (decided November 7, 2000): video poker licenses were not “property” so as to be predicate for prosecution under mail fraud statute (defendants had obtained licenses via applications with fraudulently concealed facts)

Powell v. Alabama, 287 U.S. 45 (decided November 7, 1932): in one of the earliest Incorporation decisions, Court holds that Sixth Amendment right to counsel was incorporated by Fourteenth Amendment; black defendants accused of raping white women on train should have been given court-appointed lawyer and been informed of their right to such (this was the “Scottsboro Boys” case)

The Max Morris v. Curry, 137 U.S. 1 (decided November 7, 1890): person injured on vessel can recover in admiralty suit even if part of the fault was his