Recent Supreme Court Decisions
Perez v. Mortgage Bankers Ass'n (March 9, 2015)
An agency does not need to use notice and comment procedures when issuing a new interpretation of a rule that is significantly different from a previous interpretation. The APA's less stringent procedural requirements are the limits of what an agency can be compelled to do.
Dep't of Transp. v. Ass'n of Am. Railroads (March 9, 2015)
Amtrak should be considered a governmental entity rather than a private corporation because the political branches control its leadership, operations, objectives, and funding sources, so it may be granted regulatory power by Congress.
Ala. Dep't of Revenue v. CSX Transp., Inc. (March 4, 2015)
When a railroad claims that a state's tax policy discriminates against it compared to its competitors in the transportation industry, the appropriate comparison is to similarly situated competitors in that jurisdiction. The state can justify an apparently discriminatory policy by imposing alternative, roughly equivalent taxes on competitors in other areas.
Direct Marketing Ass'n v. Brohl (March 3, 2015)
The Tax Injunction Act does not remove jurisdiction from federal courts to enjoin the enforcement of a tax law's notice and reporting requirements, since it applies only to the assessment, levy, or collection of taxes, which are separate phases in the taxation process that happen after the notice and reporting phases.
North Carolina State Bd. of Dental Examiners v. FTC (February 25, 2015)
State action immunity does not apply to a state board that places restraints on an occupation when a majority of its decision-makers are active market participants in the occupation, and the state does not actively articulate, support, or supervise the restraints enacted by the board.
Most Read Opinions
Tennessee v. Garner, 471 U.S. 1 (1985)
Under the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, a police officer may use deadly force to prevent the escape of a fleeing suspect only if the officer has probable cause to believe that the suspect poses a significant threat of death or serious physical injury to the officer or others.
Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (1968)
Under the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, a police officer may stop a suspect on the street and frisk him or her without probable cause to arrest, if the police officer has a reasonable suspicion that the person has committed, is committing, or is about to commit a crime and has a reasonable belief that the person "may be armed and presently dangerous."
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 (1954)
The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits states from segregating public school students on the basis of race. This marked a reversal of the "separate but equal" doctrine from Plessy v. Ferguson that had permitted separate schools for white and colored children provided that the facilities were equal.
Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966)
Under the Fourth Amendment, any statements that a defendant in custody makes during an interrogation are admissible as evidence at a criminal trial only if law enforcement told the defendant of the right to remain silent and the right to speak with an attorney before the interrogation started. The prosecution also must be able to prove that any waiver of these rights was both knowing and voluntary.
Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963)
The government's withholding of evidence that is material to the determination of either guilt or punishment of a criminal defendant violates the defendant's constitutional right to due process.
Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973)
A person may choose to have an abortion until a fetus becomes viable, based on the right to privacy contained in the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Viability means the ability to live outside the womb, which usually happens between 24 and 28 weeks after conception.
Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U.S. 643 (1961)
The prosecution is not allowed to present evidence that law enforcement secured during a search that was unconstitutional under the Fourth Amendment.
Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558 (2003)
A Texas law criminalizing consensual, adult homosexual intercourse violates the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 (1896)
Later overruled by Brown v. Board of Education, this decision embraced the now-discredited idea that “separate but equal” treatment for whites and African-Americans is permissible under the Fourteenth Amendment.
Tinker v. Des Moines School District, 393 U.S. 503 (1969)
Since First Amendment protections extend to students in public schools, educational authorities who want to censor speech will need to show that permitting the speech would significantly interfere with the discipline needed for the school to function.