Supreme Court Decision Syllabus (SCOTUS Podcast)

Slack Technologies v. Pirani (Securities Act)

In Slack Technologies v. Pirani the Court held that Section 11 of the Securities Act of 1933 requires the plaintiff to prove that they purchased securities that were registered under a materially misleading registration statement. The Court rejected the argument that the term "such security" could include securities that were not registered under an allegedly misleading registration statement. Read by Jeff Barnum. 

U.S. ex rel. Schutte v. SuperValu Inc. (False Claims Act)

Supreme Court's decision is here.  The False Claims Act allows for private citizens to bring a cause of action on behalf of the United Sates, against a person who "knowingly" submits a "false claim" to a federal program. The defendant can meet the knowledge requirement by, 1.) actual knowledge that the reported prices were not "usual and customary," 2.) being aware of a substantial risk that the retail prices were not usual and customary, or 3.) awareness of a substantial and unjustifiable...

Dupree v. Younger (1983 Post-Trial Motion)

In Dupree v. Younger, the Supreme Court addressed whether a post-trial motion of a purely legal issue that was resolved at summary judgment, requires a post-trial motion to be preserved on appeal. Kevin Younger sued Neil Dupree, who was a correctional officer under Section 1983. Dupree moved for summary judgment alleging that Younger had failed to exhaust administrative remedies. The district court denied the motion. After Younger prevailed at trial by obtaining $700,000 in damages, Dupree a...

Sackett v. EPA (Clean Water Act)

In Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency, the Supreme Court examines the scope the terms "waters" under the Clean Water Act. The EPA ordered the Sackets, who purchased property in Idaho, to restore the property after the family had backfilled it with dirt. The EPA claimed that putting dirt on their property violated the Clean Water Act, and threatened the family with $40,000 in penalties daily.  The Sacketts claimed that the Clean Water Act did not apply as "waters of the United states...

Tyler v. Hennepin County (Takings Clause)

In Tyler v. Hennepin County, Chief Justice Roberts writes for the majority, reversing the Eighth Circuit. The District Court and Circuit Court had rejected a taxpayer's claim that Hennepin County keeping the $25,000 surplus after a tax sale violated both the Takings Clause under the Fifth Amendment and the prohibition on excessive fines under the Eighth Amendment. The Court reversed, finding that the state is not entitled to recover the surplus after a property is sold after the owner's fail...

Calcutt v. FDIC (Administrative Review)

The Supreme Court reversed the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, reasoning that the Court of Appeals must reverse the administrative agency if it reaches the same outcome for a different reason. Once an administrative agency has made an error of law, the decision must be remanded back to the administrative agency. Per Curiam. Read by Jake Leahy.

Andy Warhol Foundation v. Goldsmith (Copyright Fair Use)

In Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. v. Goldsmith et al., the Supreme Court ruled that the commercial licensing of a derivative artwork by Andy Warhol, based on a copyrighted photograph taken by Lynn Goldsmith, did not qualify as fair use. The case involved the licensing of Warhol's "Orange Prince" image. This well-known image includes a silkscreen portrait of musician Prince, which was derived from Goldsmith's photograph. The Court found that despite adding new expression, me...

Ohio Adjutant General’s Dept. v. FLRA (Labor)

In Ohio Adjutant General's Department v. FLRA, the Supreme Court ruled that the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute (FSLMRS) grants jurisdiction to the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) over labor disputes involving state National Guards when they hire and supervise dual-status technicians in their civilian roles. These technicians are both employed by the Ohio National Guard, as well as the Army and the Air Force.  The Court's decision was based on three main reasons, ...

Gonzalez v. Google (Section 230)

On the same day, the Court released its decision in Twitter v. Taamneh. The Court largely disposed of the claims in Twitter, stating that Taamneh had failed to state a claim under the federal statute. Here, the Court in its per curiam opinion, writes that it need not consider the veracity of the Section 230 claims because Twitter's reasoning requires disposal of the claims here. Read by Jake Leahy.

Amgen Inc. v. Sanofi (Patent)

The patent requires certain particularity, such that any person skilled in the craft would be able to manufacture, make, construct, or use the invention. The Court held that Amgen's patent failed to provide the detail required to protect its interest, in part, because the patent applies to a wide range of antibodies and requires a certain level of trial/error for a skilled person to replicate it. A pharmaceutical patent case. Gorsuch delivered the opinion of the unanimous Court. Read by Jake...

Twitter v. Taamneh (Aiding and Abetting ISIS)

Taamneah brought suit against social media companies, alleging that the companies were "aiding and abetting" ISIS by providing a platform and recommendations to the companies. HELD: The social media companies did not knowingly aid and abet ISIS, and therefore, no claim can be brought under the Anti-Terrorism Act. 

Polselli v. IRS (Tax Summons)

Chief Justice Roberts writes for the majority in this case: "As an old joke goes: 'I believe we should all pay taxes with a smile. I tried but they wanted cash.'" The IRS is authorized by statute to issue a summons to third parties to aid in the "collection" of an assessment against a taxpayer. There are certain notice requirements and exceptions to the requirements as they pertain to summonses. The question presented is whether the statute requires notice when a summons is issued to a thir...

Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico v. Centro de Periodismo Investigativo, Inc. (Sovereign Immunity)

"The question presented is whether the statute categorically abrogates (legalspeak for eliminates) any sovereign immunity the board enjoys from legal claims. We hold it does not. Under long-settled law, Congress must use unmistakable language to abrogate sovereign immunity. Nothing in the statute creating the board meets that high bar." (First paragraph of Justice Kagan's majority opinion).  The Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA) was enacted in 2016 to a...

National Pork Producers v. Ross (Dormant Commerce Clause)

In National Pork Producers v. Ross, the Supreme Court reviewed whether California's Proposition 12 regulatory requirements relating to conditions for in-state pork sales unconstitutionally interfered with out-of-state businesses in violation of the dormant commerce clause.  From Justice Gorsuch's majority opinion: "Assuredly, under this Court’s dormant Commerce Clause decisions, no State may use its laws to discriminate purposefully against out-of-state economic interests. But the pork prod...

Percoco v. United States (Jury Instructions)

In Percoco v. United States, the Supreme Court considered whether a private citizen with influence over government decision-making can be convicted for wire fraud on the theory that he or she deprived the public of its “intangible right of honest services.” Joseph Percoco, former Executive Deputy Secretary to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, was charged with conspiracy to commit honest-services wire fraud. Percoco accepted payments while on hiatus from government service to assist a real-esta...

Ciminelli v. United States (Wire Fraud)

In Ciminelli v. United States, the Supreme Court ruled that the Second Circuit's right-to-control theory of wire fraud cannot be used as the basis for a conviction under federal fraud statutes. Louis Ciminelli was convicted of federal wire fraud for his involvement in a scheme to rig the bid process for state-funded development projects under Governor Andrew Cuomo. The Government relied on the right-to-control theory, which establishes wire fraud by depriving a victim of potentially valuable...

Santos-Zacaria v. Garland (Immigration / Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies)

In Santos-Zacaria v. Garland, the Supreme Court reviewed two questions. First, whether §1252(d)(1) is jurisdictional; and second, whether a non-citizen is required to request reconsideration of an adverse board action to fully exhaust administrative remedies under the law. HELD: Santos-Zacaria is correct and the Fifth Circuit was incorrect to find that §1252(d)(1) is jurisdictional. The statute in question is not jurisdictional, as Congress did not clearly demonstrate that it intended to m...

Turkiye Halk Bankasi A.S. v. United States (Foreign Immunity)

Turkiye Halk Bankasi A.S. (Halkbank) vs. the United States involves the criminal prosecution against Halkbank for evading American economic sanctions against Iran.  Halkbank claims immunity, as an instrumentality of a foreign state under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976 (FSIA). The Supreme Court held that the District Court has jurisdiction over this criminal prosecution of Halkbank, that the FSIA's comprehensive scheme governing claims of immunity in civil actions against foreig...

MOAC Mall Holdings LLC v. Transform Holdco LLC (Bankruptcy Jurisdiction)

Section 363(m) of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code is not a jurisdictional provision. Courts should not construe a statute to be jurisdictional unless clearly stated. A jurisdictional provisions puts a limit on the jurisdiction of federal courts. Guest recorded by Jeff Barnum. 

Wilkins v. United States (Quiet Title Act)

In Wilkins v. United States, the Supreme Court addressed a dispute between property owners in rural Montana and the government regarding a road easement. The government claimed that the easement included public access, while the property owners disagreed. The property owners sued the government under the Quiet Title Act, but the government argued that their claim was barred by a 12-year time limit in the Act. The Court held that the time limit was a nonjurisdictional claims-processing rule a...

New York v. New Jersey (Interstate Compact)

New York and New Jersey entered into a compact in 1953 to establish the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor to conduct regulatory and law enforcement activities at the Port, and in 2018, New Jersey sought to withdraw from the Compact, resulting in New York filing a bill of complaint in this Court. HELD: Despite New York's opposition, New Jersey is permitted to withdraw from the Waterfront Commission Compact. Recorded by Jeff Barnum. 

Axon Enterprises v. FTC (Administrative Jurisdiction)

Michelle Cochran and Axon Enterprise each filed a federal district court lawsuit, challenging the constitutionality of the agency proceedings against them in separate enforcement actions initiated in the SEC and the FTC. Both suits were initially dismissed for lack of jurisdiction, but the Fifth Circuit disagreed as to the SEC question, finding that Cochran's claim would not receive "meaningful judicial review" in a court of appeals, was "wholly collateral to the Exchange Act's statutory-rev...

Luna Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools (ADA in Public Schools)

Miguel Luna Perez, a deaf student who attended schools in Michigan's Sturgis Public School District, was denied graduation. his family filed a complaint with the Michigan Department of Education claiming that the district failed to provide him with a free and appropriate public education under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The parties reached a settlement, and Perez then sued under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), seeking compensatory damages, but the dist...

Delaware v. Pennsylvania (Unclaimed Property)

The Disposition of Abandoned Money Orders and Traveler's Checks Act requires that abandoned property from a "money order . . . or other similar written instrument," be returned to the state where the property was purchased. This rule is different from the common law, which requires that unclaimed property be returned to the state of incorporation, not the state of purchase. The Supreme Court held that Agent Checks and Teller's Checks, offered by MoneyGram, were sufficiently similar to a mone...

Bittner v. United States (Bank Secrecy Act)

Bittner, was required to file reports under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). In 2004, Congress amended the law to create a penalty for the non-willful failure to file certain reports pertaining to foreign bank accounts. After filing reports, Bittner was assessed penalties for over fifty accounts that he had failed to report over several years. The Secretary of the Treasury assessed a penalty for his non-willful failure to file in the amount of $10,000 per account per year, while Bittner claimed t...

Bartenwerfer v. Buckley (Bankruptcy)

In Bartenwerfer v. Buckley, the Supreme Court held that the discharge exceptions under Section 523(a)(2)(a) of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code apply to an individual debtor, regardless of said debtor's culpability in the fraud. Recorded by Jake Leahy. Bartenwerfer v. Buckley

Helix Energy v. Hewitt (Overtime pay)

In Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc., et al. v. Hewitt, the Supreme Court ruled that an employee paid a daily rate does not qualify for an exemption from the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) overtime pay requirements, unless they satisfy the conditions set out in Section 541.604(b). Michael Hewitt, a former employee of Helix, sued his employer claiming overtime pay under FLSA, as he worked 84 hours a week while on the vessel, but Helix paid him a daily-rate basis with no overtime compensatio...

Cruz v. Arizona (Post conviction)

Cruz v. Arizona is a case heard by the US Supreme Court that questioned whether the Arizona Supreme Court's ruling was an adequate ground to preclude review of a federal question. The petitioner, John Montenegro Cruz, was found guilty of capital murder and sentenced to death, and argued that under Simmons v. South Carolina, he should have been allowed to inform the jury that a life sentence in Arizona would be without parole. Cruz sought to raise the Simmons issue again in a state post-convi...

Reed v Goertz (Post conviction relief)

Rodney Reed was found guilty of murder and sentenced to death in Texas. He filed a motion under Texas's post-conviction DNA testing law, requesting DNA testing on certain evidence, which he believed would help identify the true perpetrator. The state trial court denied Reed's motion, citing an inadequate chain of custody for the evidence he sought to test. Reed then sued in federal court, arguing that Texas's post-conviction DNA testing law violated procedural due process. The Fifth Circuit ...

Arellano v. McDonough (Equitable tolling of veteran benefits)

In Arellano v. McDonough, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that Section 5110(b)(1) of the Veterans' Benefits Act is not subject to equitable tolling. The case involves the effective date of an award of disability compensation to a veteran of the United States military. Adolfo Arellano applied to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for disability compensation based on his psychiatric disorders approximately 30 years after his honorable discharge from the Navy. Arellano argued ...

Fed Election Coms’n v Ted Cruz (Free Speech/Campaign loan repayment)

Morgan v Sundance (Fed Arbitration act)

Gallardo v Marstiller (State recovery of medicare expenses)

Southwest v Saxon (Fed Arbitration act exemptions)

Shinn v Martinez-Ramirez (Fed post conviction relief)

Shinn v Martinez-Ramirez

Seigel v Fitzgerald (Bankruptcy)

Egbert v Boule (Bivens)

Kemp v US (Civil Procedure)

Garland v Aleman Gonzalez (Immigration and Jurisdiction)

Johnson v Arteaga-Martinez (Immigration and bond)

DENEZPI v. UNITED STATES (Dual Sovereignty/Double Jeopardy)

The Dual sovereignty exception to Double jeopardy is not implicated by the sovereignty of the court personnel, but by the sovereignty of the AUTHORITY under which that court operates. 

ZF Automotive v Luxshare (discovery in international arbitration).

§1782 does not authorize district courts to demand discovery for international arbitration. 

Viking River cruises v Moriana (Arbitration and California Law)

Not really sure.

Golan v Saada (Hague Convention--Child Abduction)

American Hospital Asn v Becerra (Medicare payments to hospitals)

YSLETA DEL SUR PUEBLO ET AL. v. TEXAS (Indian Gaming)

Texas’ bingo laws are regulatory in nature, therefore it may not prevent the Tribe from offering bingo on reservation lands.

George v McDonough (VA Benefits)

The decision below did not meet the “clear and unmistakable error”

Carson v Makin (1a Free Exercise)

Not allowed to discriminate based solely on religion.

Shoop v Twyford (All Writs act/Post conviction relief).

Prisoner here can’t use the all writs act to help him develop evidence that may not be admissible.