Recent Supreme Court Decisions
Halo Elecs., Inc. v. Pulse Elecs., Inc. (June 13, 2016)
District courts have substantial discretion regarding enhanced damages awards in patent infringement cases, and no precise rule is required regarding the standard of proof, so decisions by district courts should be subject to abuse of discretion rather than de novo or mixed review.
Puerto Rico v. Franklin Cal. Tax-Free Trust (June 13, 2016)
The sections of the Puerto Rico Public Corporation Debt Enforcement and Recovery Act that mirror Chapters 9 and 11 of the Federal Bankruptcy Code are preempted because states may not enact municipal bankruptcy laws, and Puerto Rico is included in the definition of a "state" for the purposes of most applications of the Federal Bankruptcy Code.
United States v. Bryant (June 13, 2016)
Even though the Sixth Amendment right to an attorney does not apply in tribal court prosecutions, sufficient procedural safeguards are provided to protect the due process rights of criminal defendants, so convictions in those courts may be used as predicate offenses in later prosecutions if they comply with the Indian Civil Rights Act.
Puerto Rico v. Valle (June 9, 2016)
Since U.S. territories like Puerto Rico are not sovereigns distinct from the United States, the Double Jeopardy Clause prevents Puerto Rico and the United States from successively prosecuting a defendant for the same conduct under equivalent criminal laws.
Dietz v. Bouldin (June 9, 2016)
A judge may rescind a jury discharge order and recall a jury for further deliberations in a civil case after identifying an error in the verdict, as long as the jury did not appear to be tainted after being discharged, and the error was easily corrected.
Williams v. Pennsylvania (June 9, 2016)
A judge must recuse himself from a criminal case, based on an impermissible risk of actual bias, when he was personally involved in making a critical decision as a prosecutor earlier in the defendant's case.
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.
