Term
| Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County v U.S. Army Corps of Engineers |
|
Definition
| Rehnquist: the 1972 Clean Water Act should not prevent suburban Chicago localities from building a landfill atop 500 acres of abandon gravel pits that at times fill with water to become seasonal ponds used by migratory birds.Called ponds a far cry from the kind of large or navigable bodies of waters Congress intended to protect. Refinement law dealing with migratory birds didnt give fed. gov. control over ponds. Permit: Corps Engineers is required for landfills |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Congress passed law, directed the Secretary of Transportation to withhold a % of fed. highways funds to states, allowed persons under 21 to purchase/publicly possess alcoholic bev. 21st am. ended Prohibition, SD felt Congress was enacting fed. drinking age. Rehnquist: upheld law as a valid exercise of its spending power. Congress can spend for the general welfare, combat young people drinking and driving |
|
|
Term
| State of New Jersey v State of New York |
|
Definition
| Ownership of Ellis Island. Boundry line b/w them was the middle of the Hudson River, except for Ellis Island which is in 90% of NJ territory. Souter: since the compact allowed NJ the right to submerged lands on its side of the boundry, it now has title to the filled land to the low-water line along with the Kitchen and laundry of the main immigration building. The boathouse/baggage and dorm buildings split b/w states, and museum goes to NY |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| upheld an act of Congress passed the year before which had done away with the new circuit courts created by the Federalists and had placed the Supreme Court Justice back on riding the circuit again. Congress had the right to oversee inferior federal courts |
|
|
Term
| Supreme Court of Virginia v Friedman |
|
Definition
| Kennedy: struck down Virginia residency requirement under which a lawyer admitted to practice in other states may practice VA w/o taking the bar examination there as long as that lawyer is a permanent resident of VA. Friedman passed bar in Illinois, practiced in DC, and moved to VA and was denied an application to practice law. Violation of constit. "citizens of each state shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizen in the several States" |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| state conviction of a college professor who would not answer questions about a lecture he had given or about his association with the legal Progressive Party. Felt the charge to the committee was so vague that it took away due process of law under 14th Am. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Stevens: states that fail to make their court houses accessible to people w/ disabilities can be sued for damages under the Americans w/ Disabilities Act. 6 disabled residents, a man who refused to crawl or be carried to the second floor in a county courthouse to answer to a criminal traffic complaint. Charge with failing to appear in court |
|
|
Term
| Tennessee Student Assistance Coalition v Hood |
|
Definition
| Rehnquist: made it easier for financially troubled people to go to bankruptcy court to get relief from educational loans. Former college student said she could not afford payments of $4000 in state-backed loans. Court said bankruptcy court can decide whether education loans debt was a undue hardship w/o implicating state immunity |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Question whether Texas was a state or was it still out of the Union and therefore unable to sue. Chase: allowed suit by saying that, since secession was not constitutional, Texas has never stopped being a state. It might have given up some rights and privileges b/c of what it did, representation in congress, but it was still a state and could sue. Texas brough suit to recover bonds and prevent White and others from redeeming them from fed. gov |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| impoundment of funds by president. Congress would appropriate money for programs Nixon didnt favor, so he would not spend the money. Court ruled against the impoundment |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Sutherland: upheld an executive agreement made w/ russia, recognized Russia's nationalization of one of its businesses including the confiscation of assests in a New york bank. Under agreement US would take title of these assests. Held it was not a treaty given to Senate for ratification, but an executive agreement, and the Pres. does have the right to do this. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| validity of Roosevelt's agricultural legislation. Were convinced that farmers were more hurt by depression than other groups b/c overproduction. New farm methods led to more crops and hurt farmers pricewise. Under AAA farmers who voluntarily limited the amount of crops the grew and still didnt get a good price could have the gov. buy their crops. Roberts: struck down law as unconstitutional, it was not true to tax b/c not being used for the varied programs, farm production is a state matter |
|
|
Term
| United States v Curtiss-Wright Export Corporation |
|
Definition
| examined a 1934 joint resolution of Congress, gave Pres. right to place an embargo on the sale of weapons to the warring coutnries of Bolivia and Paraguay if he thought such action would help bring peace. Sutherland: upheld the joint resolution, felt the Pres. was the only person able to handle foreign relations, even if congress didnt pass it, president can still act |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Scalia: allowed disabled prison inmated to sue for damages, under Americans w/ Disabilities Act, which bars discrimination on the basis of disability in the services, programs, or activities offered by state and local gov. Congress acted within its authority when it stripped state's immunity in this area. Inmate said he was grossly neglected of his mobility and personal hygiene needs, and his wheelchair left him excluded him from library and recreational activities |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Burger: rejected the claim of executive privilege and ordered the president to turn over the tapes, Tapes were needed in a pending criminal trial and his executive privileges did not give him immunity for this matter |
|
|
Term
| United States v Sun-Diamond Growers of California |
|
Definition
| examined issues of gifts to federal officials. '62 law banned illegal gratuities, grew out of an independent counsel's prosecution of former Secretary of Agriculture for receiving tennis tickets, luggage, and other gifts woth $5900. Scalia: rejected the expanded theory of law, the only time law is broken is if there is a demostrated connection b/w the gifts amd the official actions, not proven in this case |
|
|
Term
| United States Term Limits v Thornton |
|
Definition
| Stevens: in the absence of a constitutional amendment neither the states nor Congress may limit the number of terms that members of congress can serve. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Breyer: rejecting Utah's challenge to a counting method used in 2000 census that cost the state to pick up an additional congressional seat which went to NC. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Vallandigham, agitator and opponent of the War, arrested by the military, tried and convicted, and he asked the Court to intervene under a writ of habeas corpus arguing that civilians should not be subject to military arrest. Wayne: it had no authority to issue the writ, deferring to Pres. the prosecution of the War |
|
|
Term
| Verizon Md. Inc. v Public Service Commission of Maryland |
|
Definition
| Scalia: held that states as well as individual state commissioners can be sued in federal court for their part in bringing competition into local telephone markets. 1996 Telecommunications Act was silent on the subject, Court would not presume that the statute means what it neither says nor fairly implies |
|
|
Term
| Vermont Agency of Natural Resources v United States ex rel. Stevens |
|
Definition
| Scalia: a state or state agency are not a "person" subject to the federal False Claims Act. Gov. had claimed that the agency submitted false claims to the Environmental Protection Admin. in federal grant programs |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Scalia: upheld the Congressional district boundaries in PA against the charges if unconstitutional gerrymanding. Redistricting was a political matter that courts should not address. Case: state lost two seats after 2000 census, w/ a Rep. governor and legislature the new boundaries were created so that Demo. were placed in the same districts |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Maryland and Virginia disputed over control of the Potomac river. Rehnquist: held that the Black-Jenkins Award which gave VA authority to build improvements to the shore and withdraw water from the river |
|
|
Term
| Washington State Grange v Washington State Republic Party |
|
Definition
| Thomas: upholding the state's primary election selection approved by the voters which provides that candidates must be identified on the ballot by their self-designed party preference. Rep party wanted law struck down as violating party's associational right to nominate a candidate. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Court reversed a contempt of Congress conviction of Watkins for refusing to answer questions put to him about the Communist oarty associates by the House Committee on Un-American Activities. Warren: the 5th Am. due process clause was violated when a witness does not know why the committee needed the questions answers, and didnt know why b/c the committee did not define the question under inquiry. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Georgia's congressional districts. Blac: held that these districts must conform to the one-man, one-vote principle, upheld principle of equal representation for equal numbers of people. Georgia apportionment did not do that, and therefore unconstitutional |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| concerned a missionary who was arrested by Georgia for living on Indian land w/o a state license. Marshall: held that Cherokees were a self-contained body and that Georgia law had no force there and Georgia citizens cannot enter Cherokee lands w/o permission |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| whether a three-day break meant that Congress was not in session. Hughes: it was in session b/c Secretary of the Senate was available to receive a veto message during that short a time period. Pocket-vetoed that Congress cannot override if Congress is not in session and Pres. did not signed. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| 1942 Emergency Price Control Act, created office of Price Admin and gave it broad powers to fix prices and to ration goods, and created an Emergency Court of Appeals to hear cases involving the OPA. Court upheld the Act, finding that it did not delegate too much legislative power to the executive b/c Act did tell the OPA that prices were to be fair and equitable |
|
|
Term
| Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v Sawyer |
|
Definition
| United Steel workers threatened a nationwide strike, fighting in Korea and needed steel in our atomic energy program. Truman ordered to seize the industry and keep the plants operating. Black: the Pres. had no power to seize the mills. Neither constitution nor congress gave him power |
|
|
