The Oyez Project: 1995 Term Decisions

44 Liquormart Inc. v. Rhode Island (No. 94-1140) - Opinion Announcement

Mon, 13 May 1996 12:00:00 -0500

Is Rhode Island's statute an infringement on the First Amendment right to commercial freedom of speech? If it is, can Rhode Island still pass such legislation under the Twenty-first Amendment which limits the dormant Commerce Clause by empowering the states to regulate the sale of alcohol?

Bailey v. United States (No. 94-7448) - Opinion Announcement

Wed, 06 Dec 1995 12:00:00 -0500

Is evidence of the proximity and accessibility of a firearm to drugs or drug proceeds alone sufficient to support a conviction for "use" of a firearm during and in relation to a predicate narcotics offense under 18 U.S.C. Section 924(c)(1)?

Behrens v. Pelletier (No. 94-1244) - Opinion Announcement

Wed, 21 Feb 1996 12:00:00 -0500

Does a defendant's immediate appeal of an unfavorable qualified-immunity ruling on his motion to dismiss deprive the court of appeals of jurisdiction over a second appeal, also based on qualified immunity, immediately following denial of summary judgment?

Bennis v. Michigan (No. 94-8729) - Opinion Announcement

Mon, 04 Mar 1996 12:00:00 -0500

Does the abatement order entered against Bennis's car constitute a taking of private property for public use in violation of the property clauses of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments?

BMW v. Gore (No. 94-896) - Opinion Announcement

Mon, 20 May 1996 12:00:00 -0500

Assuming that Gore's punitive damage award was grossly excessive, does the Fourteenth Amendment's due process clause protect BMW from paying the award?

Board of County Commissioners v. Umbehr (No. 94-1654) - Opinion Announcement

Fri, 28 Jun 1996 12:00:00 -0500

Did the Board's termination of Umbehr's contract, presumably as a result of his criticisms, constitute a violation of his First Amendment freedom of speech?

Brotherhood Of Locomotive Engineers v. Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad Co. (No. 94-1592) - Opinion Announcement

Mon, 08 Jan 1996 12:00:00 -0500

No details yet.

Cooper v. Oklahoma (No. 95-5207) - Opinion Announcement

Tue, 16 Apr 1996 12:00:00 -0500

May state law presume that defendants are competent to stand trial unless they prove their incompetence by clear and convincing evidence without violating the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment?

Denver Area Consortium v. FCC (No. 95-124) - Opinion Announcement

Fri, 28 Jun 1996 12:00:00 -0500

Do the Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act's empowerments and restrictions violate the petitioner's First Amendment right to freedom of speech?

Felker v. Turpin (No. 95-8836) - Opinion Announcement

Fri, 28 Jun 1996 12:00:00 -0500

Do the Act's Title I provisions, preventing the Supreme Court from reviewing an appellate review panel's denial of leave to file a second habeas petition, unconstitutionally "suspend" the habeas writ and restrict the Court's authority to entertain original habeas petitions?

Fulton Corporation v. Faulkner (No. 94-1239) - Opinion Announcement

Wed, 21 Feb 1996 12:00:00 -0500

Does North Carolina's "intangibles tax" on a fraction of the value of corporate stock owned by North Carolina residents inversely proportional to the corporation's exposure to the State's income tax violate the Federal Commerce Clause?

Holly Farms Corp. v. National Labor Relations Board (No. 95-210) - Opinion Announcement

Tue, 23 Apr 1996 12:00:00 -0500

Did the National Labor Relations Board correctly classify chicken catchers as employees, and not as exempt agricultural workers, for purposes of the National Labor Relations Act?

Lotus Development Corporation v. Borland International, Inc. (No. 94-2003) - Opinion Announcement

Tue, 16 Jan 1996 12:00:00 -0500

Is a computer program's menu command hierarchy a "method of operation" under 17 U.S.C.102(b), and therefore uncopyrightable?

Markman v. Westview Instruments, Inc. (No. 95-26) - Opinion Announcement

Tue, 23 Apr 1996 12:00:00 -0500

Is the interpretation of a patent's claim, the portion of the patent document that defines the scope of the patentee's rights, a matter of fact to be decided by jurors?

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. v. Epstein (No. 94-1809) - Opinion Announcement

Tue, 27 Feb 1996 12:00:00 -0500

May a federal court refuse to grant full faith and credit to a state-court judgment approving a class-action settlement simply because the settlement releases claims within the exclusive jurisdiction of the federal courts?

Meghrig v. KFC Western, Inc. (No. 95-83) - Opinion Announcement

Tue, 19 Mar 1996 12:00:00 -0500

May plaintiffs use the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 to sue and recover money they spent to clean up hazardous waste on their property?

Norfolk & Western Railway Co. v. Hiles (No. 95-6) - Opinion Announcement

Tue, 27 Feb 1996 12:00:00 -0500

Is a railroad liable, under the federal Safety Appliance Act, for injuries incurred by a railroad employee while trying to straighten a misaligned drawbar?

O'Hare Truck Service v. Northlake (No. 95-191) - Opinion Announcement

Fri, 28 Jun 1996 12:00:00 -0500

Did O'Hare Truck Service's removal from Northlake's employment list, as a result of its support for an opposition mayoral candidate, violate O'Hare Truck Services freedom of speech?

Peacock v. Thomas (No. 94-1453) - Opinion Announcement

Wed, 21 Feb 1996 12:00:00 -0500

Do federal courts possess ancillary jurisdiction over new actions in which a federal judgment creditor seeks to impose liability for a money judgment on a person not otherwise liable for the judgment?

Romer v. Evans (No. 94-1039) - Opinion Announcement

Mon, 20 May 1996 12:00:00 -0500

Does Amendment 2 of Colorado's State Constitution, forbidding the extension of official protections to those who suffer discrimination due to their sexual orientation, violate the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause?

United States v. Ursery (No. 95-345) - Opinion Announcement

Mon, 24 Jun 1996 12:00:00 -0500

Do civil property forfeitures ("in rem" forfeiture) constitute a "punishment" in terms of the Fifth Amendment's double jeopardy clause which forbids successive prosecutions and punishment for the same crime?

United States v. Virginia (No. 94-1941) - Opinion Announcement

Wed, 26 Jun 1996 12:00:00 -0500

Does Virginia's creation of a women's-only academy, as a comparable program to a male-only academy, satisfy the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause?

Varity Corp. v. Howe (No. 94-1471) - Opinion Announcement

Tue, 19 Mar 1996 12:00:00 -0500

Did the Varity Corporation and Massey-Ferguson, Inc. act their capacity as an Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974fiduciary when they significantly and deliberately misled the beneficiaries? By doing so, did Varity and Massey-Ferguson violate the fiduciary obligations that ERISA imposes upon plan administrators? Does ERISA authorize a lawsuit in such cases?

Whren v. United States (No. 95-5841) - Opinion Announcement

Mon, 10 Jun 1996 12:00:00 -0500

Did the officers conduct an unreasonable search and seizure in violation of the Fourth Amendment?

Wisconsin v. New York (No. 94-1614) - Opinion Announcement

Wed, 20 Mar 1996 12:00:00 -0500

Did the decision of the Secretary of Commerce not to use the PES in the 1990 census violate the constitutional right of certain minorities to be counted?

Yamaha Motor Corp., U. S. A. v. Calhoun (No. 94-1387) - Opinion Announcement

Tue, 09 Jan 1996 12:00:00 -0500

Do state remedies apply in maritime wrongful-death cases in which no federal statute specifies the appropriate relief and the decedent was not a seaman, longshore worker, or person otherwise engaged in a maritime trade?

Zicherman v. Korean Air Lines Co. (No. 94-1361) - Opinion Announcement

Tue, 16 Jan 1996 12:00:00 -0500

May a plaintiff, in a suit brought under Article 17 of the Warsaw Convention governing international air transportation, recover damages for loss of society resulting from the death of a relative in a plane crash on the high seas?