Today in Supreme Court History: October 31

General Atomic Co. v. Felter, 434 U.S. 12 (decided October 31, 1977): state court can’t enjoin litigants from filing actions in federal court Kane v. Garcia Espitia, 546 U.S. 9 (decided October 31, 2005): Does the right to self-representation require a pro se defendant to have access to the prison law library? Because the Supreme Court had not ruled on the issue, the Circuit Court erred in holding that the “clearly established federal law” requirement for habeas relief applied (but the Court here refuses to rule on the issue! — and remands for “further proceedings consistent with this opinion” — ???) Louisiana v. Mississippi, 516 U.S. 22 (decided October 31, 1995): in this original jurisdiction case, Court holds that Stack Island is still in Mississippi even though main channel of the Mississippi River now runs on the Mississippi side of it and accretion plus erosion has shifted the island toward Louisiana (applies the “island exception to the rule of thalweg” which serves to prevent change of jurisdiction over the island) (a thalweg is a zigzag line tracing the deepest points of a river bed as one goes downstream; it is often used to define a border) (Stack Island was, according to Wikipedia, “a rendezvous for horse thieves, counterfeiters, robbers and murders” until the New Madrid earthquakes of 1811 – 1812 reduced it to a sand bar)

Weidrick v. Biden, 143 S.Ct. 368 (decided October 31, 2022): Court lacks a quorum, seven of the Justices having been named as defendants in this pro se suit alleging “mind-raping” of plaintiff by computer, terrorist acts, etc., see District Court’s order of dismissal of suit as frivolous, 2022 WL 3215590; only Kagan and Gorsuch appear to be innocent of these foul acts (unsigned decision cites 28 U.S.C. §1, which requires quorum of six Justices, and 28 U.S.C. §2109, under which without a quorum the Court’s disposition is equivalent to an affirmance due to an evenly split Court)