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A REVIEW OF THE U.S. SUPREME COURT’S
2014 TERM
Jason P. Steed Bel l Nunnal ly & Martin LLP
Felonies, Confederacies, Subsidies, and Dignities
Numbers
Court gets 8,000-10,000 cert petitions/yearDecided 74 cases in 2014 Term (average
79)41% unanimous; 60% with 7+ majority 19 5-4 decisions (26%)
Kennedy in majority 13/19
Fourth Amendment
Heien v. North Carolina Does officer’s
“reasonable mistake” justify a traffic stop, where no traffic law was being broken?
8-1 (Roberts): Yes. (Sotomayor dissent.)
Rodriguez v. U.S. Can officer extend a
traffic stop to conduct a suspicionless dog sniff?
6-3 (Ginsburg): No.
Fourth Amendment
Los Angeles v. Patel Is city ordinance permitting
random searches of hotel records unconstitutional?
5-4 (Sotomayor): Yes. Facial challenges permitted under 4th Amend.
Carroll v. Carman Does warrantless backdoor
approach violate 4th Amend.?
Per Curiam: Officer gets QI because it isn’t clearly established. (Still not!)
Eighth Amendment
Glossip v. Gross Does using midazolam
in lethal injection protocol violate Eighth Amend.?
5-4 (Alito): No. Sotomayor dissent;
Breyer dissent (inviting challenges to death penalty).
First Amendment (almost)
Holt v. Hobbs 9-0 (Alito): Prison
policy preventing Muslim prisoner from growing 1/2-inch beard violated RLUIPA.
Elonis v. United States 8-1 (Roberts/Thomas):
Criminal prosecution for “threats” on Facebook requires knowledge or intent (more than negligence).
Walker v. Sons of Confederate Veterans
Does Texas DMV Board’s rejection of proposed license plate design featuring Confederate flag violate the 1st Amend?
5-4 (Breyer): No. License plates are government speech, so state can decide what they say.
Alito dissent.
Redistricting & Gerrymandering
Alabama: Did district court panel
apply correct standards or test in determining AL redistricting was not “racial gerrymander” under section 5 of VRA?
5-4 (Breyer): No.Arizona:
Can voters use ballot initiative to create independent commission to draw congressional districts instead of state legislature?
5-4 (Ginsburg): Yes (in Arizona, at least).
Interpreting Statutes
Kimble v. Marvel Enterprises Can patent holder
collect royalties after patent has expired? (Brulotte)
6-3 (Kagan): No (affirming Brulotte). Alito dissent!
King v. Burwell
Does the ACA’s reference to “exchanges created by the State” preclude availability of tax credits for those who purchase insurance through “such exchanges” created by the federal government?
6-3 (Roberts): No. Plain meaning of statute as whole is that credits are available for all exchanges.
Scalia dissent (“absurd” & “jiggery-pokery”).
Interpreting Criminal Statutes
Yates v. U.S. Are fish “tangible objects”
under Sarbanes-Oxley? 5-4* (Ginsburg): No. (Kagan
dissent.)
Whitfield v. U.S. Statute enhances
punishment if ∆ forces person to “accompany” him during bank robbery. Is this triggered if ∆ forces someone to move “several feet, from one room to another”?
9-0 (Scalia): Yes.
Marriage
Kerry v. Din 3 (Scalia, w/ Roberts &
Thomas): U.S. citizen has no protected right or liberty interest in living with spouse, to trigger Due Process.
2 (Kennedy, w/ Alito): Due Process satisfied even if there was marital right.
Obergefell v. Hodges 5-4 (Kennedy): Fundamental
right to marry for everyone. 4 separate dissents (Scalia’s
“head in a bag”; Roberts from the bench).
Coming in 2015
Luis v. U.S. – Does seizure of assets needed to pay for criminal defense violate 5th & 6th Amend?
Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association – Challenging “fair shared” fees for public-sector unions
Fisher v. University of Texas –affirmative action3 cases involving death penalty issues.2 cases involving “one person, one vote” principle.2 cases involving class action issues.2 cases involving Indian lawExpunging criminal records & Rule 11 hearings?
More Numbers
2016 Ginsburg (83) Scalia (80) Kennedy (80) Breyer (78)
2020 Ginsburg (87) Scalia (84) Kennedy (84) Breyer (82) Thomas (72)
