The Oyez Project: 1998 Term Decisions

Albertsons Inc. v. Kirkingburg (No. 98-591) - Opinion Announcement

Tue, 22 Jun 1999 12:00:00 -0500

Are all individuals with vision problems of any degree "disabled" under the Americans with Disabilities Act and, therefore, subject to its protections?

Alden v. Maine (No. 98-436) - Opinion Announcement

Wed, 23 Jun 1999 12:00:00 -0500

May Congress use its powers under Article I of the Constitution to abrogate a state's sovereign immunity from private suits in its own courts?

American Manufacturers Mutual Insurance Company v. Sullivan (No. 97-2000) - Opinion Announcement

Wed, 03 Mar 1999 12:00:00 -0500

1) Can the private insurers' decision to withhold payment for disputed medical treatment be considered state action, so as to bring them within the reach of the Fourteenth Amendment? (2) Do workers have a constitutionally protected property interest in continuing payment of disputed medical treatment before such treatment is determined to be reasonable and necessary?

Amoco Production Company v. Southern Ute Indian Tribe (No. 98-830) - Opinion Announcement

Mon, 07 Jun 1999 12:00:00 -0500

Does the reservation of coal under the land patents issued pursuant to the Coal Lands Acts of 1909 and 1910 include the coal-bed methane gas found within the coal formation?

Arizona Department of Revenue v. Blaze Constr. Co. (No. 97-1536) - Opinion Announcement

Tue, 02 Mar 1999 12:00:00 -0500

May a state impose a nondiscriminatory tax upon a private company's proceeds from contracts with the Federal Government when the federal contractor renders its services on an Indian reservation?

Bank of America v. 203 North LaSalle Partnership (No. 97-1418) - Opinion Announcement

Mon, 03 May 1999 12:00:00 -0500

May a debtor's prebankruptcy equity holders contribute new capital and receive ownership in a reorganized entity when the creditor objected to the reorganization plan?

California Dental Association v. Federal Trade Commission (No. 97-1625) - Opinion Announcement

Mon, 24 May 1999 12:00:00 -0500

Does the Federal Trade Commission have jurisdiction over the California Dental Association (CDA), a nonprofit professional association? Does an abbreviated rule-of-reason analysis suffice to justify the conclusion that the CDA's advertising restrictions violated the Sherman and Federal Trade Commission Act?

Cedar Rapids Comm. Sch. Dist. v. Garret F. and Charlene F. (No. 96-1793) - Opinion Announcement

Wed, 03 Mar 1999 12:00:00 -0500

Do schools that receive federal funding under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act have to pay for one-on-one nursing assistance for certain of their disabled students?

Chicago v. Morales (No. 97-1121) - Opinion Announcement

Thu, 10 Jun 1999 12:00:00 -0500

Does Chicago's Gang Congregation Ordinance, which prohibits "criminal street gang members" from loitering in public places, violate the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution?

Cleveland v. Policy Management Systems (No. 97-1008) - Opinion Announcement

Mon, 24 May 1999 12:00:00 -0500

Does application for, and receipt of, Social Security Disability Insurance reflexively bar alleged victims of discrimination from simultaneously pursuing a claim against their former employers under the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act?

Clinton v. Goldsmith (No. 98-347) - Opinion Announcement

Mon, 17 May 1999 12:00:00 -0500

Does the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces have the jurisdiction under the All Writs Act to enjoin the President and various military officials from dropping a convict from the rolls of the Air Force?

College Savings Bank v. Florida Prepaid (No. 98-149) - Opinion Announcement

Wed, 23 Jun 1999 12:00:00 -0500

Does the Trademark Remedy Clarification Act (TRCA) permit suits against states for alleged misrepresentations of their own products by providing a constitutionally permissible abrogation of state sovereign immunity? Does the TRCA permit suits against states for alleged misrepresentations of their own products by operating as a waiver of sovereign immunity when a state engages in activities regulated by the Lanham Act?

Conn and Najera v. Gabbert (No. 97-1802) - Opinion Announcement

Mon, 05 Apr 1999 12:00:00 -0500

Does a prosecutor violate the opposing attorney's Fourteenth Amendment right to practice his profession when the prosecutor causes the attorney to be searched at the same time his client is testifying before a grand jury?

Cunningham v. Hamilton County OH (No. 98-727) - Opinion Announcement

Mon, 14 Jun 1999 12:00:00 -0500

Is an order imposing sanctions on an attorney, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37(a)(4), a final decision and, thus, immediately appealable?

Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education (No. 97-843) - Opinion Announcement

Mon, 24 May 1999 12:00:00 -0500

Can a school board be held responsible under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, meant to secure equal access of students to educational benefits and opportunities, for "student-on-student" harassment?

El Paso Natural Gas Co. v. Neztsosie (No. 98-6) - Opinion Announcement

Mon, 03 May 1999 12:00:00 -0500

Do tribal courts have the authority to determine its own jurisdiction over damage actions stemming from nuclear incidents under the Price-Anderson Act, which grants federal district courts removal jurisdiction over such actions?

Florida Prepaid v. College Savings Bank (No. 98-531) - Opinion Announcement

Wed, 23 Jun 1999 12:00:00 -0500

Did nullification of state sovereign immunity, under the Patent and Plant Variety Protection Remedy Clarification Act, constitute valid legislation?

Florida v. White (No. 98-223) - Opinion Announcement

Mon, 17 May 1999 12:00:00 -0500

Does the Fourth Amendment require the police to obtain a warrant before seizing an automobile from a public place when they have probable cause to believe that it is forfeitable contraband under the Florida Contraband Forfeiture Act?

Greater New Orleans Broadcasting Assoc. v. U.S. (No. 98-387) - Opinion Announcement

Mon, 14 Jun 1999 12:00:00 -0500

Does a federal prohibition against advertising lawful privately-held casino-gambling violate the First Amendment's freedom of speech protections?

Grupo Mexicano de Desarrollo v. Alliance Bond Fund (No. 98-231) - Opinion Announcement

Thu, 17 Jun 1999 12:00:00 -0500

Does the District Court, in an action for monetary damages, have the authority to issue a preliminary injunction preventing the defendant from transferring assets in which no lien or equitable interest is claimed?

Hanlon v. Berger (No. 97-1927) - Opinion Announcement

Mon, 24 May 1999 12:00:00 -0500

Do federal agents violate the Fourth Amendment's prohibition on unreasonable searches and seizures when they let representatives of the news media accompany and observe their conduct in the execution of a search warrant?

Holloway v. United States (No. 97-7164) - Opinion Announcement

Tue, 02 Mar 1999 12:00:00 -0500

Does the federal carjacking law apply to crimes committed with the "conditional intent" of harming drivers who refuse a carjacker's demands?

Hunt v. Cromartie (No. 98-85) - Opinion Announcement

Mon, 17 May 1999 12:00:00 -0500

Is the presence of "uncontroverted material facts," concerning the practice of racial gerrymandering, sufficient to sustain a summary judgment even prior to conducting an evidentiary hearing or discovery?

INS v. Aguirre-Aguirre (No. 97-1754) - Opinion Announcement

Mon, 03 May 1999 12:00:00 -0500

Does the Immigration and Nationality Act require deportation boards, who face aliens that committed nonpolitical crimes prior to seeking asylum, to: balance the severity of the alien's offenses against the threat of political persecution, compare the atrocities of the crimes with others it faced in the past, or consider whether the crimes were politically necessary or successful?

Jefferson County v. Acker (No. 98-10) - Opinion Announcement

Mon, 21 Jun 1999 12:00:00 -0500

May Jefferson County impose a "license or privilege tax" upon two U.S. District Judges? Was the dispute properly transferred to the federal district court under the federal officer removal statute? Does the Tax Injunction Act deprive the district court of jurisdiction to adjudicate the matter?

Jones v. United States (No. 97-9361) - Opinion Announcement

Mon, 21 Jun 1999 12:00:00 -0500

Is a death-sentence-eligible defendant entitled to a jury instruction as to the effect of jury deadlock? Is there a reasonable likelihood that a jury might believe that a death-sentence-eligible defendant would receive a court-imposed sentence less than life imprisonment in the event that they could not reach a unanimous sentence recommendation?

Jones v. United States (No. 97-6203) - Opinion Announcement

Wed, 24 Mar 1999 12:00:00 -0500

Does the federal carjacking law define a single crime with three penalty options dependent on sentencing factors?

Kolstad v. American Dental Association (No. 98-208) - Opinion Announcement

Tue, 22 Jun 1999 12:00:00 -0500

Does an employer's conduct have to be "egregious" or "outrageous," independent of its state of mind, in order to sustain an award of punitive damages under Title II of the 1964 Civil Rights Act?

Kumho Tire Co. Ltd. v. Carmichael (No. 97-1709) - Opinion Announcement

Tue, 23 Mar 1999 12:00:00 -0500

Does a federal trial judge's "gatekeeping" obligation, under the Federal Rules of Evidence, apply to testimony based on skill or experience as it does to testimony based on scientific knowledge?

Lilly v. Virginia (No. 98-5881) - Opinion Announcement

Thu, 10 Jun 1999 12:00:00 -0500

Does trial evidence that includes out-of-court statements, that admit some wrongdoing but place primary blame on the defendant, by an alleged, nontestifying accomplice violate a criminal defendant's Sixth Amendment Confrontation Clause right to confront all adverse witnesses?

Marquez v. Screen Actors Guild (No. 97-1056) - Opinion Announcement

Tue, 03 Nov 1998 12:00:00 -0500

Can collective bargaining contracts require membership for employment without articulating what it means to be "in good standing?"

Martin v. Hadix (No. 98-262) - Opinion Announcement

Mon, 21 Jun 1999 12:00:00 -0500

Does the federal Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1995 limit an attorney's fees for post-judgment monitoring services that were pending when the Act became effective?

Minnesota v. Carter (No. 97-1147) - Opinion Announcement

Tue, 01 Dec 1998 12:00:00 -0500

In accordance with the Fourth Amendment, do household visitors have the same protection against unreasonable searches and seizures as do residents or overnight social guests?

Minnesota v. Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa Indians (No. 97-1337) - Opinion Announcement

Wed, 24 Mar 1999 12:00:00 -0500

Does the Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa Indians have usufructuary rights on land now part of the state of Minnesota?

Mitchell v. United States (No. 97-7541) - Opinion Announcement

Mon, 05 Apr 1999 12:00:00 -0500

Does a guilty plea in federal court waive a defendant's Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination during sentencing? When a defendant invokes his or her Fifth Amendment privilege during sentencing, may a trial court draw an adverse inference from the defendant's silence?

Monterey v. Del Monte Dunes At Monterey, Ltd. (No. 97-1235) - Opinion Announcement

Mon, 24 May 1999 12:00:00 -0500

Do plaintiffs have a right to a jury trial over land-use regulations when they allege constitutional violations under 42 USC Section 1983?

Murphy Brothers, Inc. v. Michetti Pipestringing, Inc. (No. 97-1909) - Opinion Announcement

Mon, 05 Apr 1999 12:00:00 -0500

Is the time limit in which a named defendant may remove a state-court action to a federal court, as set forth in 28 U. S. C. ?1446(b), triggered by the mere receipt of a complaint unattended by any formal service?

Murphy v. United Parcel Service (No. 97-1992) - Opinion Announcement

Tue, 22 Jun 1999 12:00:00 -0500

Is high blood pressure a "substantial impairment" that might limit one's life activities to such an extent as to justify their being called "disabled" and, therefore, entitled to protection under the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act?

NASA v. FLRA (No. 98-369) - Opinion Announcement

Thu, 17 Jun 1999 12:00:00 -0500

May an investigator employed in NASA's Office of Inspector General be considered a "representative" of NASA when examining a NASA employee, such that the right to union representation in the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute may be invoked?

NFFE, Local 139 v. Department of the Interior (No. 97-1184) - Opinion Announcement

Wed, 03 Mar 1999 12:00:00 -0500

Can federal agencies be required to bargain with federal employees' unions over issues that arise during the duration of a contract?

O'Sullivan v. Boerckel (No. 97-2048) - Opinion Announcement

Mon, 07 Jun 1999 12:00:00 -0500

Must a state prisoner present all of his claims to a state supreme court in a petition for discretionary review in order to satisfy the exhaustion requirement, 28 U. S. C. Sections 2254(b)(1), (c), for federal habeas relief?

Olmstead v. Zimring (No. 98-536) - Opinion Announcement

Tue, 22 Jun 1999 12:00:00 -0500

Should financial constraints entirely determine whether states comply by the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act guidelines concerning community treatment programs for the mentally handicapped?

Ortiz v. Fibreboard Corp. (No. 97-1704) - Opinion Announcement

Wed, 23 Jun 1999 12:00:00 -0500

Is a mandatory settlement class in asbestos personal injury litigation certifiable on limited fund theory under Rule 23(b)(1)(B) of Federal Rules of Civil Procedure?

Peguero v. United States (No. 97-9217) - Opinion Announcement

Tue, 02 Mar 1999 12:00:00 -0500

Does a District Court's failure to advise a defendant of his right to appeal, as required by the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, provide ground for habeas relief when the defendant was aware of his right and elected not to appeal?

Pfaff v. Wells Electronics, Inc. (No. 97-1130) - Opinion Announcement

Tue, 10 Nov 1998 12:00:00 -0500

Does the confirmation of a commercial sale mark the beginning of the one year period inventors have to file for a patent, despite the fact the invention has not been produced?

Reno v. American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (No. 97-1252) - Opinion Announcement

Wed, 24 Feb 1999 12:00:00 -0500

Does the IIRIRA deprive federal courts of jurisdiction over aliens' suits alleging that actions of the Attorney General are selectively enforced?

Reno v. Bossier Parish School Board (No. 98-405) - Opinion Announcement

Mon, 24 Jan 2000 12:00:00 -0500

Does section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 prohibit preclearance of a redistricting plan enacted with a discriminatory but nonretrogressive purpose?

Richardson v. United States (No. 97-8629) - Opinion Announcement

Tue, 01 Jun 1999 12:00:00 -0500

Does the "continuing criminal enterprise" statute require juror unanimity as to each specific violation of federal law for conviction?

Ruhrgas AG v. Marathon Oil Co. (No. 98-470) - Opinion Announcement

Mon, 17 May 1999 12:00:00 -0500

Is a federal district court barred from dismissing a removed case for lack of personal jurisdiction without first deciding its subject-matter jurisdiction?

Saenz v. Roe (No. 98-97) - Opinion Announcement

Mon, 17 May 1999 12:00:00 -0500

Does a state statute, authorizing states receiving Temporary Assistance to Needy Families to pay the benefit amount of another State's TANF to its first year residents, violate the Fourteenth Amendment's right-to-travel protections?

South Central Bell Telephone v. Alabama (No. 97-2045) - Opinion Announcement

Tue, 23 Mar 1999 12:00:00 -0500

Does Alabama's franchise tax discriminates against interstate commerce, in violation of the Commerce Clause? Did the Alabama Supreme Court's refusal to permit the South Central Bell Telephone Company and others to raise their constitutional claims because of res judicata deprive them of the due process of law guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment?

Strickler v. Greene (No. 98-5864) - Opinion Announcement

Thu, 17 Jun 1999 12:00:00 -0500

Did Virginia violate Brady v. Maryland, which provides for the disclosure of all possible exculpatory evidence, when a prosecutor failed to disclose all the exculpatory materials in the police's files? Was there an acceptable reason for Tommy Strickler's failure to raise a Brady claim in state court after such an event? Would the outcome of Strickler's trial been different in presence of the exculpatory evidence?

Sutton v. United Air Lines (No. 97-1943) - Opinion Announcement

Tue, 22 Jun 1999 12:00:00 -0500

(1) Should the determination of disability under 42 U.S.C. Section12102(2)(A) be made without reference to corrective measures that mitigate the impairment? (2) Is poor vision regarded as an impairment that substantially limits the Suttons in a major life activity?

United States v. Haggar Apparel Company (No. 97-2044) - Opinion Announcement

Wed, 21 Apr 1999 12:00:00 -0500

Is the United States Customs Service's regulation regarding permapressing entitled to judicial deference?

United States v. Rodriguez-Moreno (No. 97-1139) - Opinion Announcement

Tue, 30 Mar 1999 12:00:00 -0500

Is the venue for prosecuting a violation of 18 USC section 924(c)(1), which proscribes using or carrying a firearm "during and in relation to any crime of violence," proper only in the district were the firearm was used or carried?

United States v. Sun-Diamond Growers (No. 98-131) - Opinion Announcement

Tue, 27 Apr 1999 12:00:00 -0500

Must there be a specific link between the giving of a gratuity to a government official and the latter's performance of a specific act in order to sustain an illegal-gratuity-statute conviction?

UNUM Life Ins. Co. of America v. Ward (No. 97-1868) - Opinion Announcement

Tue, 20 Apr 1999 12:00:00 -0500

Does the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 preempt California's common-law agency rule, under which a California employer administering an insured group health plan should be deemed to act as the insurance company's agent? Does ERISA preempt California's "notice-prejudice" rule?

West v. Gibson (No. 98-238) - Opinion Announcement

Mon, 14 Jun 1999 12:00:00 -0500

Does the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission possess the legal authority to require federal agencies to pay compensatory damages when they discriminate in employment in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964?

Wilson v. Layne (No. 98-83) - Opinion Announcement

Mon, 24 May 1999 12:00:00 -0500

Is the accompaniment of law enforcement authorities by media personnel, during the execution of an arrest warrant in a home, a violation of the homeowner's Fourth Amendment protection against unlawful search and seizure?

Wright v. Universal Maritime Service Corp. (No. 97-889) - Opinion Announcement

Mon, 16 Nov 1998 12:00:00 -0500

May employees sue over alleged discrimination under the ADA when their union contract requires grievances to be handled through arbitration?

Wyoming v. Houghton (No. 98-184) - Opinion Announcement

Mon, 05 Apr 1999 12:00:00 -0500

May police officers, with probable cause to search a car, inspect personal items belonging to its passengers without violating the Fourth Amendment's protection against unreasonable searches?