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| Stevens: held that, on election ballots, states may not identify congressional candidates who do not support term limits. Case: concerned a '96 am. to the Missouri Constitution, it went beyond the power the consititution gives states to regulate elections |
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| Cook County v United States ex rel. Chandler |
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| Souter: holding that local governments can be sued under the 1863 False Claims Act for defrauding the federal government. Congress intended to include local governments "persons" liable within the meaning of the law, and did not abandon that position when it amended it substantially in '86. Case: involved a National Institute of Drug Abuse grant to Cook County Hospital |
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| Q: equality of states in the Union. Oklahoma applied for statehood, Congress allowed it w/ the stipulation that the capital stay where it was... Oklahoma accepted, enter the Union and moved its capital. Lurton: upheld Oklahoma, Congress may impose any conditions for statehood, but once in the Union a state is equal w/ all other states. If a congressional condition would make a state unequal, it does not have to observe it. |
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| Crawford v Marion Count Election Board |
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| Stevens: upholding Indiana's voter identification law, saying that the challengers failed to carry their burden of persuasion that the photo ID requirement placed an unconstitutional burden on the right to vote. Case: the risk of voter fraud was real. wouldbe voters w/o proper id may cat a provisional ballot to be counted only if they appear with 10 days, present acceptable photo id, or swear they are indigent/religious objection to photo. |
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| Issue of President Carter's executive agreement w/ Iran made in return for the release of 53 hostages held by Iran. Hostage were taken, Carter froze Iranian assest in the country and suspended all claims against those assest, even those in litigation. Carter returned assets to Iran and issued executive orders carrying out the agreement in this country. Rehnquist: upheld Carter, congress in the past had upheld the settlement of foreign claims by use of the executive agreement, allow Carter to suspend pending claims |
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| Indiana reapportioned its state legislative districts in 1981, but it was challenged by the states Democrats as being too one-sided for the Republicans, a "gerrymander." White: said this was a justiciable question, in that it does address the issue of representation. Upheld the reapportionment, saying that even though it favored the Rep. it was not sufficiently adverse to call it a denial of equal protection. |
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| DeGregory v Attorney General |
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| Court ruled against the New Hampshire Attorney General who was asking questions about DeGregory's Communist activities in the 50s. There was no record of a Communist movement in that state, therefore there was no compelling state interest into intruding on his political and associational privacy. |
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| Department of Commerce v United States House of Representatives |
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| O'Connor: held that the census may not be conducted w/ the help of statistical sampling in order to compile the figures to be used to apportion the House of Representatives. Said that the Constit. calls for an actual enumeration, and when the Census Act was amended in '76 no member of Congress had suggesting sampling. The clinton admin. planned to use traditional methods (mail, door to door, only 2/3) for 90% of the figures |
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| Department of Justice v Landano |
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| a person convicted in a state court for murder who filed a Freedom of Information Act request w/ the FBI for info. It was withheld b/c the law does allow exemptions for confidential sources. O'Connor: ruled against the gov. saying that it cannot presume all sources to the FBI are confidential. Only ones that are confidential are where there was an understanding that the FBI would not divulge them except to the extent it thought necessary for law enforcement. |
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| The Court reversing a contempt of congress conviction of a person who had refused to answer questions put to him by House Committee on Un-Amer. Activities. Committee looking at communism in the labor movement in NY, but ask Deutsch questions about communism at the college where he taught, he agreed to answes question about himself, not others. Court upheld his refusal, the questions were not pertinent to the subject matter |
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| Director, OWCP v Greenwich Collieries |
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| O'Connor: overturn a 50 yr old Labor Dept. rule under which a longshoreman or coal miner filing for disabiltiy benefits due to being injured would prevail if the evidence for and against the claim was equal. Violated the Administrative Procedure Act which places the burden of proof on the side seeking the benefits, therefore, makes it more difficult to obtain the benefits |
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| Case: the establishment of a military gov. to rule the Hawaiian Islands the day after the Japanese attack upon Pearl Harbor. Military ran everything, even trials, civil matter handled by civil authority, not criminal matters. Black: Congress, in setting up the gov og Hawaii in '90 Organic Act allowed for military rule only in cases of actual invasion/rebellion. Neither had occured, the law was violated, unconstit. for military to rule over civilians |
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| Ginsburg: upholding Congress in '98 extending the length of copyrights by 20yrs. Materials such as books, songs, cartoon characters are protected by copyrights. Rational enactment and not overreaching nor violation of free speech rights. Constitutional allows Congress to give authors the exclusive right to their works for a "limited" time. |
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| Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v Wyoming |
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| Federalism case: concerned Age Discrimination in Employment Act, which Congress in '74 amended to make applicable to the states, Wyoming had made a supervisor in its Fish and Game department retire, and the Court upheld that action broke the law and that law was a valid one b/c it did not directly impair a state's ability to handle traditional governmental functions. That was because the law had only a slight financial effect on states and states still had a lot of flexibility in their retirement policies |
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| Federal Communications Commissions v Fox Television Stations |
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| Scalia: upholding the FCC's 2006 policy change which said broadcasters that allow foul language on live programs may be punished even if the vulgarities were unscripted and isolated. The FCC had provided an adequate explanation of policy change , the Court ought not to substitute its judgment for that of an agency, and FCC did not need empirical evidence of harm to children by dirty language in order to turn more aggressive enforcement |
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| Federal Maritime Commission v South Carolina Ports Authority |
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| Thomas: the 11th Am. shields states from having to answer to private complaints before federal agencies. The federal agency proceedings, and the framers of the constitution, envisioned a limited gov., could not have anticipated the vast growth of the administrative state. CASE: A cruise line went to the commission, which enforces Shipping Act, to complain that the port of Charleston had wrongfully denied a berth to one of its ships. |
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| Issue was the delegation of power from Congress to the President. Congress set duties on certain good but then said some farm goods could be admitted into the country w/o payment of duty. If president found the country sending free good to the US discriminated against shipped from country, then he suspends free entry and charge appropriate price. Court upheld the law saying that Congress had not delegated its power over tariffs to Pres. |
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| Florida Prepaid Postsecondary Education Expense Board v College Savings Bank |
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| Federalism: Both Florida and the Bank were competitions in the Marketplace for investment funds for college tuition, and the Bank charged Florida w/ infringing on its patent on its investment program. Rehnquist: held that states, including their universities and agencies, are immune from patent infringement suits. |
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| Garcia v San Antonio Metro |
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| Concerning powers of the states versus the national government. Reversed in 9 yr old decision and held that a municipally owned and operated mass-transit system does fall under the interstate commerce power of the fed. government, meaning that those employees are covered by the wage and hour provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Blackmun: discarded the test that held states were immune from the fed. commerce power in areas |
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| Gibson v Florida Legislative Investigate Committee |
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| The Court rule against a committee investigating Communism in the civil rights movement, had ordered the Miami chapter of NAACP to produce its membership lists. Court decided: groups get protected by the right of association from the 1st am. and made applicable to the states by way of the due process clause of the 14th am. and that with this right comes privacy that can only be taken away by an overriding and compelling state interest |
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| The government again indicted someone who refused to answer to questions concerning Communist Party activities in the labor field. Court held the indictment void, because the congressional subcommittee which had conducted the investigation was not lawfully delegated the authority to do it, and the full committee also did not follow its own rules in that the subject of the inquiry was never specified or authorized by it. |
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| Kennedy: holding that John Ashcroft, former attorney general, acted w/o legal authority when he threathened Oregon doctors who followed state's Deathw/ Dignity Act w/ losing their fed. prescription-writing privileges. Voters approved act that allowed doctor to prescribe lethal doses to terminally ill patients to end their life. Ashcroft invoked controlled substance law and regulation but Congress had not give him the authority, states regulate medical pratice |
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| Reapportionment case: invalidated the Georgia county unit system under which candidates ran in the primary for statewide offices. Douglas: objected to the fact that each county was assigned units, and in order to win the primary one had to receive a majority of units. Problem: population was just one of the factors that went in to the decision, therefore, rural counties w/ little population had more units than did urban counties. |
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| Whether Missouri Consititution violated the '67 Age Discrimination in Employment Act and the Equal Protection Clause of 14th Am. by making most state judges retire at 70. O'Connor: upheld the state, states can determine the qualifications of their most important government officials. |
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| concerned the newly elected Auditor General of PA who, true to her election promise, fired people in her office. Q: whether she can be sued for damages under 1871 fed. civil rights law. O'Connor: the suit could proceed, state officials may be held personally liable based upon actions taken in their official capacities b/c law imposes liability on every person whose actions on behalf of the state/local gov. deprive citizens of their right |
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| Stevens: ruled against the Bush Admin. attempt to put Guantanamo detainees on trial before military commissions b/c they were unauthorized by fed. statute and violated international law. Common Art. 3 of Geneva Conv. applies to these detainees and is enforceable in federal court for their protection. Rejected that rules do not apply to members of AL Qaeda. Case: Hamdan, bodyguard of Osama, tried for conspiracy, but Stevens said that conspiracy was not violation of law of war |
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| Hamilton v Kentucky Distilleries Co. |
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| Looked at controversial question as to the constitutionality of the Wartime Prohibition Act which had been passed the year before, but ten days after fighting ceased. It banned the making or distributing of alcoholic bev. until formal end of war and demobilization. Court upheld the law, feeling that if Congress still felt there was an emergency due to the war, it could pass laws accordingly. |
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| Challenge 8th Am. Day: held that Ohio may not submit the question of prohibition to its voters in a referendum. Ohio already approved the Am. through its legislature, as mandate by Congress, and to submit it to the voters is not the way the Framers meant for Amds. to be ratified. Only two methods are by state legislatures and state conventions. Congress chooses which one but a referendum goes beyond what constitution allows |
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| Civil War monetary issue. Chase: Congress had acted unconstitutionally during the Civil War when it passed the Legal Tender Acts authorizing greenbacks to be used as money for all purposes, even for debts incurred prior to the passage of the Acts. The latter violated the due process clause of 5th Am. by taking property w/o due cause process, and broke the Contracts Clause bound the national gov. in spirit |
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| Free Enterprise Fund v Public Company Accounting Over-Sight Board |
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| The Sarbanes-Oxley Act said that if your company is on the stock exchange, you must register. Also, all these companies have to assess their management controls and listen to auditors. The law says the SEC can only remove members of the Board b/c they appoint them. Roberts: the SEC can remove members for any reason, not just for cause |
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| Hamdi was a US citizen who was detained for 2 years. O'Connor: if it could be proved that he was an enemy combatant then the detention was fine, but b/c he was a citizen he should have had the right to testify in court b/c of the 5th Am due process clause |
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