Court : US Supreme Court
Decided on : Jun-29-1989
Brendale v. Confederated Tribes - 492 U.S. 408 (1989) U.S. Supreme Court Brendale v. Confederated Tribes, 492 U.S. 408 (1989) Brendale v. Confederated Tribes & Bands of Yakima Indian Nation No. 87-1622 Argued January 10, 1989 Decided June 29, 1989 * 492 U.S. 408 CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT Syllabus The treaty between the United States and the Yakima Indian Nation (Yakima Nation or Tribe) provided that the Tribe would retain its reservation for its "exclusive use and benefit," and that "no white man [shall] be permitted to reside upon the said reservation without [the Tribe's] permission." Much of the reservation is located in Yakima County, Washington. Roughly 80 of the reservation land is held in trust by the United States for the Tribe or its individual members, and the remaining 20 is owned in fee by Indian or non-Indian owners. Most of the fee land is found in three towns, and the rest is scattered throughout the reservation i...
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Decided on : May-15-1989
United States v. Halper - 490 U.S. 435 (1989) U.S. Supreme Court United States v. Halper, 490 U.S. 435 (1989) United States v. Halper No. 87-1383 Argued January 17, 1989 Decided May 15, 1989 490 U.S. 435 APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK Syllabus After respondent, the manager of a company which provided medical services for patients eligible for federal Medicare benefits, was convicted, inter alia, of submitting 65 false claims for Government reimbursement in violation of the federal criminal false-claims statute, he was sentenced to prison and fined $5,000. Based solely on facts established by his criminal conviction, the District Court then granted the Government summary judgment in its suit against him under the federal civil False Claims Act (Act). Under the strict terms of that Act's remedial provision, as it then existed, respondent would have been liable for a civil penalty of $2,000 on each of the 65 false claims, a...
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Decided on : Jul-03-1989
Webster v. Reproductive Health Svcs. - 492 U.S. 490 (1989) U.S. Supreme Court Webster v. Reproductive Health Svcs., 492 U.S. 490 (1989) Webster v. Reproductive Health Services No. 88-605 Argued April 26, 1989 Decided July 3, 1989 492 U.S. 490 APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT Syllabus Appellees, state-employed health professionals and private nonprofit corporations providing abortion services, brought suit in the District Court for declaratory and injunctive relief challenging the constitutionality of a Missouri statute regulating the performance of abortions. The statute, inter alia: (1) sets forth "findings" in its preamble that "[t]he life of each human being begins at conception," and that "unborn children have protectable interests in life, health, and wellbeing," 1.205.1(1), (2), and requires that all state laws be interpreted to provide unborn children with the same rights enjoyed by other persons, subject to the Federal Constit...
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Decided on : Jun-05-1989
Commun. for Non-Violence v. Reid - 490 U.S. 730 (1989) U.S. Supreme Court Commun. for Non-Violence v. Reid, 490 U.S. 730 (1989) Commun. for Creative Non-Violence v. Reid No. 88-293 Argued March 29, 1989 Decided June 5, 1989 490 U.S. 730 CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUIT Syllabus In the fall of 1985, petitioners -- the Community for Creative Non-Violence (CCNV), a Washington, D.C. organization dedicated to eliminating homelessness, and one of its trustees -- entered into an oral agreement with respondent Reid, a sculptor, to produce a statue dramatizing the plight of the homeless for display at a 1985 Christmas pageant in Washington. While Reid worked on the statue in his Baltimore, Md. studio, CCNV members visited him on a number of occasions to check on his progress and to coordinate CCNV's construction of the sculpture's base in accordance with the parties' agreement. Reid accepted most of CCNV's suggestions and directio...
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Decided on : Jan-23-1989
Argentine Rep. v. Amerada Hess - 488 U.S. 428 (1989) U.S. Supreme Court Argentine Rep. v. Amerada Hess, 488 U.S. 428 (1989) Argentine Republic v. Amerada Hess Shipping Corp. No. 87-1372 Argued December 6, 1988 Decided January 23, 1989 488 U.S. 428 CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT Syllabus A crude oil tanker owned by respondent United Carriers, Inc., a Liberian corporation, and chartered to respondent Amerada Hess Corp., also a Liberian corporation, was severely damaged when it was attacked in international waters by Argentine military aircraft during the war between Great Britain and petitioner Argentine Republic over the Falkland Islands (Malvinas) off the Argentine coast. Respondents brought separate actions against petitioner in Federal District Court for the damage they sustained in the attack. They invoked the District Court's jurisdiction under the Alien Tort Statute (ATS), which confers original jurisdiction on district courts o...
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Decided on : Mar-28-1989
Texas St. Teach. Ass'n v. Garland ISD - 489 U.S. 782 (1989) U.S. Supreme Court Texas St. Teach. Ass'n v. Garland ISD, 489 U.S. 782 (1989) Texas State Teachers Association v. Garland Independent School District No. 87-1759 Argued March 1, 1989 Decided March 28, 1989 489 U.S. 782 CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT Syllabus Petitioners, state and local teachers' associations and several of their members and employees, brought suit in the District Court under 42 U.S.C. 1983, alleging that respondent school district's policy of prohibiting communications by or with teachers during the schoolday concerning employee organizations violated their First and Fourteenth Amendment rights in various particular respects. The District Court granted the school district summary judgment on most of petitioners' claims. The Court of Appeals affirmed in part and reversed in part, granting petitioners summary judgment on their claims that the school district...
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Decided on : Jun-22-1989
Harte-Hanks Communs. v. Connaughton - 491 U.S. 657 (1989) U.S. Supreme Court Harte-Hanks Communs. v. Connaughton, 491 U.S. 657 (1989) Harte-Hanks Communications, Inc. v. Connaughton No. 88-10 Argued March 20, 1989 Decided June 22, 1989 491 U.S. 657 CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT Syllabus Respondent was the unsuccessful challenger for the position of Municipal Judge of Hamilton, Ohio, in an election conducted on November 8, 1983. A local newspaper, the Journal News, published by petitioner supported the reelection of the incumbent. A little over a month before the election, the incumbent's Director of Court Services resigned and was arrested on bribery charges, and a grand jury investigation of those charges was in progress on November 1, 1983. On that day, the Journal News ran a front-page story quoting a grand jury witness (Thompson) as stating that respondent had used "dirty tricks" and offered her and her sister jobs and a trip to ...
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Decided on : Feb-21-1989
Texas Monthly, Inc. v. Bullock - 489 U.S. 1 (1989) U.S. Supreme Court Texas Monthly, Inc. v. Bullock, 489 U.S. 1 (1989) Texas Monthly, Inc. v. Bullock No. 87-1245 Argued November 1, 1988 Decided February 21, 1989 489 U.S. 1 APPEAL FROM THE COURT OF APPEALS OF TEXAS, THIRD DISTRICT Syllabus Between October, 1984, and October, 1987, a Texas statute exempted from sales and use taxes "[p]eriodicals . . . published or distributed by a religious faith . . . consist[ing] wholly of writings promulgating the teachings of the faith and books . . . consist[ing] wholly of writings sacred to a religious faith." In 1985, appellant, the publisher of a general interest magazine that was not entitled to the exemption, paid under protest sales taxes on the price of its qualifying subscription sales and sued to recover those payments in state court. Ruling that the exclusive exemption for religious periodicals promoted religion in violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment...
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Decided on : Feb-21-1989
Fort Wayne Books, Inc. v. Indiana - 489 U.S. 46 (1989) U.S. Supreme Court Fort Wayne Books, Inc. v. Indiana, 489 U.S. 46 (1989) Fort Wayne Books, Inc. v. Indiana No. 87-470 Argued October 3, 1988 Decided February 21, 1989 * 489 U.S. 46 CERTIORARI TO THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIANA Syllabus In No. 87-470, the State of Indiana and a local prosecutor (respondents) filed a civil action in state court against petitioner operator of an "adult bookstore," alleging that it had violated the state Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) statute by engaging in a pattern of racketeering activity consisting of repeated violations of the state laws barring the distribution of obscene books and films. Respondents sought injunctive relief under the state Civil Remedies for Racketeering Activity (CRRA) statute, including forfeiture of all of petitioner's property used in the alleged racketeering activity, and moved, in a separate petition, for a court order for immediate seizure ...
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Decided on : Jun-21-1989
Texas v. Johnson - 491 U.S. 397 (1989) U.S. Supreme Court Texas v. Johnson, 491 U.S. 397 (1989) Texas v. Johnson No. 88-155 Argued March 21, 1989 Decided June 21, 1989 491 U.S. 397 CERTIORARI TO THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OF TEXAS Syllabus During the 1984 Republican National Convention, respondent Johnson participated in a political demonstration to protest the policies of the Reagan administration and some Dallas-based corporations. After a march through the city streets, Johnson burned an American flag while protesters chanted. No one was physically injured or threatened with injury, although several witnesses were seriously offended by the flag burning. Johnson was convicted of desecration of a venerated object in violation of a Texas statute, and a state court of appeals affirmed. However, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals reversed, holding that the State, consistent with the First Amendment, could not punish Johnson for burning the flag in these circumstances. The ...
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