Today in Supreme Court History: May 28, 1906

5/28/1906: Justice Henry Billings Brown retired.

Justice Henry Billings Brown

Comments

[Dan Schiavetta]

Home Depot U.S.A. v. Jackson, 587 U.S. --- (decided May 28, 2019): new party sued in third party class action can't remove case to federal court because statute allowing any class action to be removed can be invoked only by original defendant

Hoffman v. United States, 341 U.S. 479 (decided May 28, 1951): witness can "take the Fifth" before a grand jury even as to general questions about his background, occupation, etc. if he has a long criminal record and has been publicly associated with organized crime

Dewey v. United States, 178 U.S. 510 (decided May 28, 1900): plaintiff (this was Commodore Dewey, soon to become the only Admiral of the Navy in U.S. history) not entitled to full bounty for sinking ships during Spanish-American war because did not face superior enemy forces at sea (as is required for the full bounty) even though enemy had superior forces on land (note: Dewey was born into wealth and was rich already)

Deserant v. Cerillos C.R. Co., 178 U.S. 409 (decided May 28, 1900): mine operators sued for personal injuries after explosion cannot rely on "what a reasonable person would do" defense but are bound by specific ventilation requirements imposed by federal statute (i.e., violation of a relevant regulation is "negligence per se")

United States v. American Sugar Refining Co., 202 U.S. 563 (decided May 28, 1906): for the purposes of duties imposed on sugar imports, treaty signed by Presidents of Cuba and the United States went into effect on date as calculated by treaty language despite later amendment and ratification by act of Congress with a definite date ("It is not an unusual judicial problem to have to seek the meaning of a law expressed in words not doubtful of themselves, but made so by circumstances or the objects to which they come to be applied")

Reed v. County Comm'rs of Delaware County, 277 U.S. 376 (decided May 28, 1928): special Senate committee investigating Senatorial election could not sue to obtain subpoenaed materials from local election officials because enabling resolution did not authorize them to sue

Hernandez v. New York, 500 U.S. 352 (decided May 28, 1991): prosecutor successfully made a race-neutral showing of why he used peremptory challenges to strike Latino jurors (after long discussion with jurors in court presence, felt these native Spanish speakers would form their own understanding of Spanish language testimony instead of relying on the interpreter) (My wife is Dominican and I can tell you translation of the same words can vary greatly country to country)

Nieves v. Bartlett, 587 U.S. --- (decided May 28, 2019): 42 U.S.C. §1983 retaliatory arrest claim (man arrested after urging another person not to respond to police officer's questions) defeated by showing of probable cause (he was drunk and disorderly)

[John F. Carr]

The dissent in _Hoffman_:

"Mr. Justice REED dissents. He agrees with the conclusions reached by Judges Goodrich and Kalodner as expressed in the opinion below."

If only modern judges could write so briefly. Now we get long essays on why a case should or should not be heard initially en banc.

[John F. Carr]

In the coal mine case, on top of the numeric ventilation requirements the law required working areas to be kept free of "standing gas" (the exposive kind). As interpreted by the Supreme Court, this could be read to impose strict liability for mine explosions. If the mine exploded, there must have been an illegal accumulation of gas.

This case may predate the doctrine that mining, like everything else today, is interstate commerce subject to Congressional regulation. The mine was in New Mexico territory and Congress could legislate without the need for a pretext.

[Dan Schiavetta]

Thanks. I missed that about New Mexico being a territory then.

Standing gas might be "res ipsa loquitur".

[Purple Martin]

...and, perhaps, an excellent VC username.

[Dan Schiavetta]

Josh:

That is the date Billings retired. He died in 1913. I think this was pointed out to you last year.

[Dan Schiavetta]

Sorry, meant Brown. We all make mistakes!

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

"We all make mistakes!"

Some people make them nearly every day. They call it Today In Supreme Court History.

Do Prof. Blackman and Barnett ever tire of having their work mocked and shamed by captcrisis? I imagine the leaders at Georgetown have had their fill of it by now. South Texas? Not so much.

(A href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PB66rkEe3ZY">Another variation on that theme)

[Frank Drackman]

Eff Off (or "SMD") "Reverend" Old White Man (OWM), one word of "Today In Supreme Court History" is more interesting than the sum total of your "Contributions" to the Conspiracy to date (and future)
I've seen "The Paper Chase" Attorney's aren't that impressive

Frank "Expert Witness" (at least that's what they pay me (well) for"

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

" Attorney's aren't that impressive "

Perhaps not to illiterate, replacement-ready clingers.

Fortunately, the market does not respect your judgment, Mr. Drackman.

[Frank Drackman]

Illiterate? define "Illiterate" you Pompous Ass (and this is straight from my Internet Funk & Wagners
Pompous Ass (N) A person who seems full of themselves and who grabs every opportunity to let others know of their feelings of superiority. : Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland
"This professor sounds like a complete pompous ass."

Oooh, just popped you a (figurative) new asshole in your (figurative) forehead
and I'll save you calling your Honduran Comfort boy to assist,

il·lit·er·ate
ADJECTIVE
unable to read or write:

Almost want to accept your insult, but able to read and write in 2.1 languages (Amurican Engrish, German, my Hebrew's pretty weak (and I'm a lefty)

Frank "above your league"

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

You fail with the apostrophe, parentheses, sentence formation, and capitalization (repeatedly) in a five-line message.

You exhibit less familiarity with standard English than does a studious eighth-grader.

It won't hurt you, though. The half-educated bigots and downscale Republicans with whom you associate likely find your rejection of elitist education and fancy language norms endearing. The random capitalization, in particular, seems to constitute a gang signal among the dwindling population of disaffected, bitter clingers.

[Syd Henderson]

"5/28/1906: Justice Henry Billings Brown dies." He's still dead. I think.

[Syd Henderson]

Wait a second, he didn't die that day? (via captcrisis). Are we sure he's actually dead, or perhaps undead?

A couple of interesting cases there. Not major but interesting. The Dewey case is truly a blast from the past.

[Dan Schiavetta]

Thanks!

I don't think the bounty statute (Dewey) has been superseded. Could Adm. Gilday (current Chief of Naval Operations) bring such a suit today? And how would he split the winnings? Would he improve the McDonald's on the lower deck of the U.S.S. Intrepid? (My little kids loved it, but it seemed tacked-on to me.)

[John F. Carr]

According to the Supreme Court decision, the bounty law was repealed in 1899.

[John F. Carr]

There was a novel in the 1990s or 2000s where the President is too weak to smite those who need a good smiting so Congress issues a letter of marque to U.S. Navy forces to go hunt them down and dispense justice.