Term
|
Definition
| involved attack on the life of one of the Justices. Field, circuit duty, ruled against a woman whose husband was her laywer, and they threatened his life if he came back to california. Neagle was Field's bodyguard when he returned, Husband tried to kill Field but Neagle killed him, and was arrested. Miller: ruled that Cali could not try Neagle b/c he was acting in pursuance of a law of the US. Ordered to protect the Justice, and he did. |
|
|
Term
| Nevada Department of Human Resources v Hibbs |
|
Definition
| Rehnquist: ruled that states can be sued for violating their employees' federally guaranteed rights to take up to 12 weeks unpaid leave a year to deal with family illnesses and other emergencies. Case: a male who sought leave to care for his ailing wife, he was dismissed after failing to returen to work when his supervisor said his exhausted his leave. Rejected the State's argument that the law should be seen as a federal labor regulation that simply conferred a benefit of employment. Discrimination that taking care of the family is a woman's job |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| O'Connor: hold that the federal government may not conscript state governments as its agents. Upheld parts of a '85 law which provide financial incentives to states to find places to store low-level radioactive waste, but struck down the part which made the state the legal owner of all such waste within its border if it has not met its diposal needs by Jan 1, 96. Along with ownership the state would assume all legal liability for any harm caused by material. Violation of 10th Am. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Fitzgerald was a civilian cost analyst working for AirForce, testified before Congress about cost overruns and technical difficulties in the development of a transport plane. His job eliminated, Pres. Nixon said he wouldnt move him to another position b/c lack of loyalty. Nixon sued for damages after asked to reinstate Fitz. Powell: held that presidents have absolute immunity for civil suits, have important duties and shouldnt be bothered with private suits |
|
|
Term
| Nixon v Missouri Municipal League |
|
Definition
| Souter: states can bar local governments from offering their own communications services. 9 states had such a prohibition but about 150 local gov. had built telecommunication networks. Hinged on provision that states may not prohibit any entity from offering phone service, Souter: that was not meant to include local governments, which are subdivisions of the state |
|
|
Term
| Norman v Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company |
|
Definition
| Hughes: justified the cancellation in private contracts under pwoer of Congress to regulate the currency. It has the right to say what is legal tender, and if it decides that gold is no longer legal tender, all contracts calling for gold now mush use whatever Congress decides is legal tender. Roosevelt, in order to try to stimulate inflation, took the country off the gold standard |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Souter: struck down rules, held that states may limit new parties' access to the ballot only for a sufficiently weighty state interest; candidates could be required to get formal permission from an establish party to use its name. (Illinois: new party had to get 25000 signatures to get on ballot) |
|
|
Term
| Northern Insurance Company of New York v Chatham County |
|
Definition
| Thomas: held that cities, counties and other levels of government below that of states themselves are not protected by the general immunity from suits that states enjoy in court. Only those subdivisions acting as "an arm of the state" can claims the state's immunity, agencies subject to state's complete control and have no independent power or separate legal identity |
|
|
Term
| North Pacific Railway Company v North Dakota |
|
Definition
| Congress passed law authorizing the Pres. to take over the railroads during a war if necessary, Wilson named Sec. of the Tres. as Director General of the railroads, congress ratified it and provided compensation. White: sustained the takeover as a legitmate use of the government's war powers |
|
|
Term
| Osborn v Bank of the United States |
|
Definition
| involved the Second Bank of the US. Ohio still collected a tax on a branch of the Bank located in their state. Marshall: the Bank's constitutionality, allowed the state official who collected the tax to be sued for damages. The official was executing a law he knew to be unconstitutional |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| O'Connor: held that prisoners who have not first appealed to their state's courts forfeit their right to federal court review even if it was evident that state appeal would be fruitless, Illinois: state high court, the criteria for selecting cases make it virtually certain that the inmate's case to will not even be heard. Case: convicted rapist, raised six issues for appeal bedore the intermediate court, but only presented 3 to state supreme court. Issues not raised in state supreme courts should be considered defaulted |
|
|
Term
| Panama Refining Company v Ryan |
|
Definition
| National Industrial Recovery Act: allowed businesses to get together through their trade associations to draft codes of fair competition for each industry. These codes were to be overseen by an agency created by the Act. Section 9 devoted to oil industry: allowed Pres. the power to ban this so-call "hot-oil" from being shipped interstate. Hughes: invalidated, struck down statute, it was too broad a delegation of legislative power to the executive. Regulation of interstate commerce belongs to Congress |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| repudiating gold payments in government bonds. Hughes: part of the joint resolution was unconstitutional, b/c gov. had pledged its word to pay in gold when the people bought the bonds. Did not let Perry sue because amount of gold received and the amount he would receive from bond was negligible that there was no real damages suffered, no standing in the suit |
|
|
Term
| Pharmaceutical Research and Manufactureres of America v Walsh |
|
Definition
| Stevens: upholding a 200 Maine Law which tries to reduce prescription drug prices by pressuring manufacturers to grant price rebates, and in doing so he lifted a federal district court injunction against it. The program intended primarily for the resident who lack medical insurance, and under it states requires drug manufacturers who want to sell their product there to negotiate rebates similar to those the manufacturers have accpted on durgs they sell to Medicaid |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| House Representatives excluded Adam Clayton Powell, a black congressman from NY from taking his seat despite the fact that he had been reelected by his constituents. Grounds: he disobeyed NY courts not paying a judgment against him, misappropriated House funds. Flamboyant lifestyle upset his colleagues. Burger: ruled it a political question but took the case b/c constitution had been violated. Powell met age, citizenship, and residency requirement and house couldnt refuse him |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Scalia: strike down the background check provision of the 93 Brady Hangun Violence Prevention Act. Until the Attorney General could establish a national system for instantly checking prospective handgun purchasers' backgrounds, the law said that the chief law enforcement officer of each local jurisdiction must do it. Scalia: called it unconstitutional, it violated principle of separate state sovereignty. State and national gov. are co-equal sovereigns, state officers cannot execute fed. laws |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| upheld Lincoln;s blockade of the southern ports despite no declaration of war from Congress. Grier: felt that war was going on, even though Congress had not declared it, and the Pres. must take the appropriate measures to see that the laws are carried out. War not against another nation so declaration was not a necessity. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Q: the protection of the constitution for enemies in wartime. Involved the capture of 8 Nazi saboteurs who had landed in this country in a German submarine and had on them devices to blow up buildings, bridges, railroad centers. Roosevelt ordered they be tried by military tribunal. Stone: upheld the Pres' power to create military tribunals for offenses such as these due to various laws passed by Congress under the war powers in the Constitution, not required to have grand jury |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Stevens: federal judges have jurisdiction to consider petitions for habeas corpus from the hundreds of noncitizens confined at the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay, calling a territory over which the US exercises exclusive jurisdiction and control under its 1903 lease |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Drivers Privacy Protection Act restricted states' ability to disclose a driver's personal information w//o driver's consent. South Carolina said law violated federalism. Rehnquist: upheld the law under Congress interstate commerce power since the information sold by the state was used by insurers, manufacturers, direct marketers etc. all operate in interstate commerce to contact driver info used in stream of interstate commerce, Drivers info is an article of commerce, can be regulated by Congress |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Alabama devised plan for apportioning both houses of its state legislature, w/ population being just one of the criteria used. Felt since gov. does not have both its houses based upon population. Warren: applied one-man, one-vote principle to both houses, dismissed fed. analogy, holding it was a compromis worked out in order to prevent the Constit. Convention from failing. Equal protection: people in state must be represented equally in both houses |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| 18th Am. imposed national prohibition on the country. In order for Congress to enforce it, had passed Volstead Act, it defined what constituted an alcoholic beverage. Brandeis: upheld Volstead Act, deferring to Congress the definition of what constituted a level of intoxication |
|
|
Term
| Rush Prudential H.M.O, Inc. v Moran |
|
Definition
| Souter: upheld the states authority to protect the rights of patients in disputes w/ managed care companies over denial of recommended treatments. HMO should been seen as an insurer not medical provider. States has laws which guarantee outside review of a health plan's refusal to pay for prodecure that a patient's doctor has authorized. Women sued HMO for refusal to approve her shoulder surgery and had to pay $95,000 while awaiting her trial |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Court reversed the convictions of the six witnesses. Problem was that the subject matter of the inquiry was not clear. in the indictment, each question was listed and said to be pertinent, but never was the subject of the inquiry listed. witnesses did not know exactly what crime they had committed, Court didnt have enough info to make decision. Committees: House on Un-American Activities, Senate Internal Security Committee |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Souter: upheld the 1984 federal bribery statute which makes it a crime to bribe a state or local official if the official's agency receives federal grants or contracts worth more than $10,000. Law does not require proof of connection b/w the bribe and the federal money. |
|
|
Term
| Sale v Haitian Centers Council, Inc. |
|
Definition
| Stevens: upheld an Executive Order directing the Coast Guard to intercept vessels beyond our territorial waters which are illegally transporting passengers from Haiti to the US and to return them w/o first determinf whether they qualify as refugees. Acts do not have extraterrorial effects |
|
|
Term
| Schechter Poultry Corporation v United States |
|
Definition
| Court invalidated the National Industrial Recovery Act. Hughes: there was too broad a delegation of legislative power to the Pres. government cant do what it doesnt have the power to do, enforcing codes not drawn by gov. but trade assc. ruled Schechter Brothers ran such a local poultry business they could they could not be bound by the "Live Poultry Code" of which they were accused of breaking three sections. No direct effect upon interstate commerce |
|
|
Term
| Second Legal Tender Cases |
|
Definition
| Reverse decision, upheld the Legal Tender Acts in all their aspects even for debts incurred prior to their passage, because of Congress' power to control the currency |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Lousiana passed law setting up monopoly in the butchering business to a company around New Orleans, effectively driving other butchers out of business. Miller: ruled against the butcher and upheld the law. Two kinds of citizenship, state and federal, and most of our rights come from state citizenship, including right to work, thus 14th Am doesnt apply since it only applies to fed. rights |
|
|
Term
| New Process Steel, L.P. v National Labor Relations Board |
|
Definition
| The National Labor Relations Board, created by the Wagner Act, is made up of 5 members. However, 600 decisions were made when there were only 2 people on the Board. Stevens: because the statute said 2 members was a quoram, they can make decisions, but not indefinitely |
|
|
