Court : US Supreme Court
Heckler v. Chaney - 470 U.S. 821 (1985) U.S. Supreme Court Heckler v. Chaney, 470 U.S. 821 (1985) Heckler v. Chaney No. 83-1878 Argued December 3, 1984 Decided March 20, 1985 470 U.S. 821 CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUIT Syllabus Respondent prison inmates were convicted of capital offenses and sentenced to death by lethal injection of drugs. They petitioned the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), alleging that use of the drugs for such a purpose violated the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA), and requesting that the FDA take various enforcement actions to prevent those violations. The FDA refused the request. Respondents then brought an action in Federal District Court against petitioner Secretary of Health and Human Services, making the same claim and seeking the same enforcement actions. The District Court granted summary judgment for petitioner, holding that nothing in the FDCA indicated an intent to circumsc...
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Nix v. Whiteside - 475 U.S. 157 (1986) U.S. Supreme Court Nix v. Whiteside, 475 U.S. 157 (1986) Nix v. Whiteside No. 84-1321 Argued November 5, 1985 Decided February 26, 1986 475 U.S. 157 CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT Syllabus In preparing for his Iowa state court trial on a murder charge, respondent consistently told his attorney that, although he had not actually seen a gun in the victim's hand when he stabbed the victim, he was convinced that the victim had a gun. Respondent's companions who were present during the stabbing told counsel that they had not seen a gun, and no gun was found. Counsel advised respondent that the existence of a gun was not necessary to establish a claim of self-defense, and that only a reasonable belief that the victim had a gun nearby was necessary, even though no gun was actually present. However, during preparation for direct examination shortly before trial, respondent for the first time told counse...
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Cal. Coastal Comm'n v. Granite Rock Co. - 480 U.S. 572 (1987) U.S. Supreme Court Cal. Coastal Comm'n v. Granite Rock Co., 480 U.S. 572 (1987) California Coastal Comm'n v. Granite Rock Co. No. 86-1200 Argued December 2, 1986 Decided March 24, 1987 480 U.S. 572 APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT Syllabus The Mining Act of 1872 authorizes a private citizen to enter federal lands to explore for mineral deposits, to perfect a mining claim, and to secure a patent to the land by complying with the requirements of the Act and regulations promulgated thereunder. Appellee Granite Rock Co. holds unpatented mining claims on federally owned lands in a national forest located in California. In accordance with federal regulations, Granite Rock obtained approval from the Forest Service in 1981 of its 6-year plan for mining limestone on the lands, and began to mine shortly thereafter. In 1983, the California Coastal Commission (Commission), acting pursuant ...
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McCleskey v. Kemp - 481 U.S. 279 (1987) U.S. Supreme Court McCleskey v. Kemp, 481 U.S. 279 (1987) McCleskey v. Kemp No. 84-6811 Argued October 15, 1986 Decided April 22, 1987 481 U.S. 279 CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT Syllabus In 1978, petitioner, a black man, was convicted in a Georgia trial court of armed robbery and murder, arising from the killing of a white police officer during the robbery of a store. Pursuant to Georgia statutes, the jury at the penalty hearing considered the mitigating and aggravating circumstances of petitioner's conduct, and recommended the death penalty on the murder charge. The trial court followed the recommendation, and the Georgia Supreme Court affirmed. After unsuccessfully seeking postconviction relief in state courts, petitioner sought habeas corpus relief in Federal District Court. His petition included a claim that the Georgia capital sentencing process was administered in a racially discrimina...
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O'Lone v. Estate of Shabazz - 482 U.S. 342 (1987) U.S. Supreme Court O'Lone v. Estate of Shabazz, 482 U.S. 342 (1987) O'Lone v. Estate of Shabazz No. 85-1722 Argued March 24, 1987 Decided June 9, 1987 482 U.S. 342 CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT Syllabus Respondents, prison inmates and members of the Islamic faith, brought suit under 42 U.S.C. 1983 contending that two policies adopted by New Jersey prison officials prevented them from attending Jumu'ah, a Muslim congregational service held on Friday afternoons, and thereby violated their rights under the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment. The first such policy, Standard 853, required inmates in respondents' custody classifications to work outside the buildings in which they were housed and in which Jumu'ah was held, while the second, a policy memorandum, prohibited inmates assigned to outside work from returning to those buildings during the day. The Federal District Court c...
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Lutheran Church v. County of Los Angeles - 482 U.S. 304 (1987) U.S. Supreme Court Lutheran Church v. County of Los Angeles, 482 U.S. 304 (1987) First English Evangelical Lutheran Church of Glendale v. County of Los Angeles, California No. 85-1199 Argued January 14, 1987 Decided June 9, 1987 482 U.S. 304 APPEAL FROM THE COURT OF APPEAL OF CALIFORNIA, SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT Syllabus In 1957, appellant church purchased land on which it operated a campground, known as "Lutherglen," as a retreat center and a recreational area for handicapped children. The land is located in a canyon along the banks of a creek that is the natural drainage channel for a watershed area. In 1978, a flood destroyed Lutherglen's buildings. In response to the flood, appellee Los Angeles County, in 1979, adopted an interim ordinance prohibiting the construction or reconstruction of any building or structure in an interim flood protection area that included the land on which Lutherglen had stood. Sho...
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Morrison v. Olson - 487 U.S. 654 (1988) U.S. Supreme Court Morrison v. Olson, 487 U.S. 654 (1988) Morrison v. Olson No. 87-1279 Argued April 26, 1988 Decided June 29, 1988 487 U.S. 654 APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUIT Syllabus This case presents the question of the constitutionality of the independent counsel provisions of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (Act). It arose when the House Judiciary Committee began an investigation into the Justice Department's role in a controversy between the House and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with regard to the Agency's limited production of certain documents that had been subpoenaed during an earlier House Investigation. The Judiciary Committee's Report suggested that an official of the Attorney General's Office (appellee Olson) had given false testimony during the earlier EPA investigation, and that two other officials of that Office (appellees Schmults and Dinkins) ha...
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Breininger v. SMW Int'l - 493 U.S. 67 (1989) U.S. Supreme Court Breininger v. SMW Int'l, 493 U.S. 67 (1989) Breininger v. Sheet Metal Workers International Association Local Union No. 6 No. 88-124 Argued Oct. 10, 1989 Decided Dec. 5, 1989 493 U.S. 67 CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT Syllabus Pursuant to a multi-employer collective bargaining agreement, respondent union operates a hiring hall through which it refers both members and nonmembers for work at the request of employers. The hiring hall is "nonexclusive," in that workers are free to seek employment through other means, and employers are not restricted to hiring persons recommended by the union. Petitioner, a member of the union, filed suit alleging that respondent: (1) violated 101(a)(5) and 609 of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (LMRDA) -- which forbid a union to "fine, suspend, expe[l] or otherwise discipline" a member for exercising LMRDA-secured ...
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FTC v. Superior Ct. TLA - 493 U.S. 411 (1990) U.S. Supreme Court FTC v. Superior Ct. TLA, 493 U.S. 411 (1990) Federal Trade Commission v. Superior Court Trial Lawyers Association Nos. 88-1198, 88-1393 Argued Oct. 30, 1989 Decided Jan. 22, 1990 493 U.S. 411 CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUIT Syllabus A group of lawyers in private practice who regularly acted as court-appointed counsel for indigent defendants in District of Columbia criminal cases agreed at a meeting of the Superior Court Trial Lawyers Association (SCTLA) to stop providing such representation until the District increased group members' compensation. The boycott had a severe impact on the District's criminal justice system, and the District government capitulated to the lawyers' demands. After the lawyers returned to work, petitioner Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a complaint against SCTLA and four of its officers (respondents), alleging that they had e...
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Dole v. United Steelworkers - 494 U.S. 26 (1990) U.S. Supreme Court Dole v. United Steelworkers, 494 U.S. 26 (1990) Dole v. United Steelworkers of America No. 88-1434 Argued Nov. 6, 1989 Decided Feb. 21, 1990 494 U.S. 26 CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT Syllabus Pursuant to the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, petitioner Department of Labor (DOL) promulgated a Hazard Communications Standard, which imposed disclosure requirements on manufacturers aimed at ensuring that their employees were informed of the potential hazards posed by chemicals in the workplace. Among other things, the Standard required the manufacturers to label hazardous chemical containers, conduct training on the chemicals' dangers, and make available to employees safety data sheets on the chemicals. Respondents and others challenged the Standard in the Court of Appeals. The court held that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) had not adeq...
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