Court : US Supreme Court
United States v. United States Tax Comm'n - 412 U.S. 363 (1973) U.S. Supreme Court United States v. United States Tax Comm'n, 412 U.S. 363 (1973) United States v. United States Tax Commission No. 72-350 Argued March 19, 1973 Decided June 4, 1973 412 U.S. 363 APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATE DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF MISSISSIPPI Syllabus The United States brought this action contesting the validity of appellee Tax Commission's regulation requiring out-of-state liquor distillers and suppliers to collect and remit to the Commission a wholesale markup on liquor sold to military officers' clubs and other nonappropriated fund activities located on bases within Mississippi, over two of which the United States exercises exclusive jurisdiction, and the remaining two of which concurrent jurisdiction. Relying on the Twenty-first Amendment, the District Court upheld the regulation. Held: 1. The Twenty-first Amendment does not empower a State to tax or otherwise regulate...
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Schlesinger v. Ballard - 419 U.S. 498 (1975) U.S. Supreme Court Schlesinger v. Ballard, 419 U.S. 498 (1975) Schlesinger v. Ballard No. 73-776 Argued October 15, 1974 Decided January 15, 1975 419 U.S. 498 APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA Syllabus Appellee, a naval officer with more than nine years of active service, who failed for a second time to be selected for promotion and thus under 10 U.S.C. 6382(a) was subject to mandatory discharge, brought this action claiming that application of that statute to him, when compared to 10 U.S.C. 6401 (under which, had he been a woman officer, he would have been entitled to 13 years of commissioned service before a mandatory discharge for want of promotion), was an unconstitutional discrimination based on sex in violation of the Fifth Amendment's Due Process Clause. A three-judge District Court, relying on Frontiero v. Richardson, 411 U. S. 677 , concluded that the challenged man...
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Parker v. Flook - 437 U.S. 584 (1978) U.S. Supreme Court Parker v. Flook, 437 U.S. 584 (1978) Parker v. Flook No. 77-642 Argued April 25, 1978 Decided June 22, 1978 437 U.S. 584 CERTIORARI TO THE COURT OF CUSTOMS AND PATENT APPEALS Syllabus Respondent's method for updating alarm limits during catalytic conversion processes, in which the only novel feature is a mathematical formula, held not patentable under 101 of the Patent Act. The identification of a limited category of useful, though conventional, post-solution applications of such a formula does not make the method eligible for patent protection, since, assuming the formula to be within prior art, as it must be, O'Reilly v. Morse, 15 How. 62, respondent's application contains no patentable invention. The chemical processes involved in catalytic conversion are well known, as are the monitoring of process variables, the use of alarm limits to trigger alarms, the notion that alarm limit values must be recomputed and rea...
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City of Newport v. Fact Concerts, Inc. - 453 U.S. 247 (1981) U.S. Supreme Court City of Newport v. Fact Concerts, Inc., 453 U.S. 247 (1981) City of Newport v. Fact Concerts, Inc. No. 8396 Argued March 31, 1981 Decided June 26, 1981 453 U.S. 247 CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT Syllabus Respondents (an organization licensed by petitioner city to present certain musical concerts, and a promoter of the concerts) brought suit in Federal District Court against the city and city officials. Alleging, inter alia, that the city's cancellation of the license amounted to a violation of their constitutional rights under color of.state law, respondents sought compensatory and punitive damages under 42 U.S.C. 183. Without objection, the court gave an instruction authorizing the jury to award punitive damages against each defendant, including the city. Verdicts were returned for respondents, which in addition to awarding compensatory damages, also ...
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Wainwright v. Greenfield - 474 U.S. 284 (1986) U.S. Supreme Court Wainwright v. Greenfield, 474 U.S. 284 (1986) Wainwright v. Greenfield No. 84-1480 Argued November 13, 1985 Decided January 14, 1986 474 U.S. 284 CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT Syllabus On three occasions shortly after his arrest in Florida for sexual battery, respondent was given Miranda warnings, and in each instance he exercised his right to remain silent and stated that he wished to speak with an attorney before answering any questions. Respondent later pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, and in the closing arguments in the Florida trial court, the prosecutor, over defense counsel's objection, reviewed police officer testimony as to the occasions on which respondent had exercised his right to remain silent, and suggested that respondent's repeated refusals to answer questions without first consulting an attorney demonstrated a degree of comprehension that...
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Sheridan v. United States - 487 U.S. 392 (1988) U.S. Supreme Court Sheridan v. United States, 487 U.S. 392 (1988) Sheridan v. United States No. 87-626 Argued April 26, 1988 Decided June 24, 1988 487 U.S. 392 CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT Syllabus An obviously intoxicated off-duty serviceman (Carr) fired several rifle shots into petitioners' automobile on a public street near the Bethesda Naval Hospital where Carr worked, causing physical injury to one of the petitioners and damage to the car. Petitioners filed suit against the Government under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) in Federal District Court, alleging that their injuries were caused by the Government's negligence in allowing Carr to leave the hospital with a loaded rifle in his possession. The facts, as alleged in the complaint and as supplemented by discovery, were that, after finishing his work shift, Carr consumed a large amount of alcoholic beverages; that naval corp...
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McConnell v. Federal Election Comm'n - 02-1674 (2003) SYLLABUS OCTOBER TERM, 2003 MCCONNELL V. FEDERAL ELECTION COMM'N SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES McCONNELL, UNITED STATES SENATOR, et al. v. FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION et al. appeal from the united states district court for the district of columbia No. 021674. Argued September 8, 2003Decided December 10, 2003 The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA), which amended the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (FECA), the Communications Act of 1934, and other portions of the United States Code, is the most recent of nearly a century of federal enactments designed to purge national politics of what [is] conceived to be the pernicious influence of big money campaign contributions. United States v. Automobile Workers, 352 U. S. 567 , 572. In enacting BCRA, Congress sought to address three important developments in the years since this Courts landmark decision in Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U. S. 1 (per curiam): ...
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Hamdi v. Rumsfeld - 03-6696 (2004) SYLLABUS OCTOBER TERM, 2003 HAMDI V. RUMSFELD SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES HAMDI et al. v. RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE, et al. certiorari to the united states court of appeals for the fourth circuit No. 036696. Argued April 28, 2004Decided June 28, 2004 After Congress passed a resolutionthe Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF)empowering the President to use all necessary and appropriate force against nations, organizations, or persons that he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided in the September 11, 2001, al Qaeda terrorist attacks, the President ordered the Armed Forces to Afghanistan to subdue al Qaeda and quell the supporting Taliban regime. Petitioner Hamdi, an American citizen whom the Government has classified as an enemy combatant for allegedly taking up arms with the Taliban during the conflict, was captured in Afghanistan and presently is detained at a naval brig in Charleston, S.C. Hamdis father f...
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Elk Grove Unified School Dist. v. Newdow - 02-1624 (2004) SYLLABUS OCTOBER TERM, 2003 ELK GROVE UNIFIED SCHOOL DIST. V. NEWDOW SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES ELK GROVE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT et al. v. NEWDOW et al. certiorari to the united states court of appeals for the ninth circuit No. 021624. Argued March 24, 2004Decided June 14, 2004 Petitioner school district requires each elementary school class to recite daily the Pledge of Allegiance. Respondent Newdows daughter participates in this exercise. Newdow, an atheist, filed suit alleging that, because the Pledge contains the words under God, it constitutes religious indoctrination of his child in violation of the Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses. He also alleged that he had standing to sue on his own behalf and on behalf of his daughter as next friend. The Magistrate Judge concluded that the Pledge is constitutional, and the District Court agreed and dismissed the complaint. The Ninth Circuit reversed, holding...
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Bilski v. Kappos - 08-964 (2010) SYLLABUS OCTOBER TERM, 2009 BILSKI V. KAPPOS SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES BILSKI etal. v . KAPPOS, UNDER SECRETARY OF COMMERCE FOR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND DIRECTOR, PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE certiorari to the united states court of appeals for the federal circuit No. 08964.Argued November 9, 2009Decided June 28, 2010 Petitioners patent application seeks protection for a claimed invention that explains how commodities buyers and sellers in the energy market can protect, or hedge, against the risk of price changes. The key claims are claim 1, which describes a series of steps instructing how to hedge risk, and claim 4, which places the claim 1 concept into a simple mathematical formula. The remaining claims explain how claims 1 and 4 can be applied to allow energy suppliers and consumers to minimize the risks resulting from fluctuations in market demand. The patent examiner rejected the application on the grounds that the invention is...
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