Today in Supreme Court History: July 5, 1867

7/5/1867: Justice James Wayne dies.

Justice James Wayne

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[Cal Cetín]

His friend Justice Garth died, heartbroken, some months later.

[apedad]

The first Georgian to serve on the Court, Wayne was just short of 45 when he became a justice. He was a strong nationalist, which was unusual for a southerner at the time. In the Passenger Cases, he opposed the exercise of state power, and in Cooley v. Board of Wardens of the Port of Philadelphia he wrote a nationalist dissent dealing with sovereignty and commerce. He supported the rights of corporations and opposed state attempts to remove their tax exemptions. Surprisingly, Wayne, a slave owner, was rather unsupportive of slavery. In his first assigned case, he ruled that if a slave owner gave a slave freedom in his will, that right to freedom was superior to a claim of a creditor if there were other property assets to meet the owner’s debts. Despite this decision, he did support the opinion in Dred Scott v. Sanford. Wayne played an influential role in this decision by refusing to let the Court issue a narrow holding. He advocated a broader approach, hoping to resolve the slavery question.

The Civil War began a few years after this controversial decision. During the war, Wayne refused to resign and remained an avid supporter of the Union. He believed that the Court needed a judicial voice on behalf of the south. In 1862, a Georgia court repealed his citizenship, branded him an enemy alien, and seized his property. After the war, he obtained a pardon for the judge who issued this ruling, and he became a voice for the south and opposed any measures that he thought sought to punish it. In 1867, Wayne contracted typhoid fever, and he died on July 5th at the age of 77. His southern support of nationalism during the Civil War make him an important justice in American history.
(oyez)

[Dan Schiavetta]

United States v. Leon, 468 U.S. 897 (decided July 5, 1984): evidence (here, drugs) can be admitted into evidence despite bad warrant if warrant was facially valid and police relied on it in good faith; warrant found not based on probable cause but purpose of exclusionary rule (to deter police misconduct) didn't apply

Marsh v. Chambers, 463 U.S. 783 (decided July 5, 1983): use of government funds to pay legislature's chaplain did not violate Establishment Clause (all he did was say a prayer to open the session)

Illinois v. Andreas, 463 U.S. 765 (decided July 5, 1983): defendant arrested when he emerged to pick up internationally shipped box containing marijuana addressed to him but delivered by policemen in disguise; no warrant needed to reopen box to get the evidence because no expectation of privacy (box had been lawfully opened at airport by customs inspector who had then alerted police)

Smith v. Robinson, 468 U.S. 992 (decided July 5, 1984): fees not awarded in successful suit to have mentally disabled child educated at state expense because claim was under Education of Handicapped Act of 1973 (which had no fee award provision) as opposed to 42 U.S.C. 1983 (which does) (holding superseded by Handicapped Children's Protection Act of 1986)

Selective Service System v. Minnesota PIRG, 468 U.S. 841 (decided July 5, 1984): upholding Constitutionality of Selective Service Act which denies federal financial aid for college if you don't register for the draft within 30 days of turning 18 (my generation knew that law very well)

Segura v. United States, 468 U.S. 796 (decided July 5, 1984): police validly entering premises can order everyone (and everything) to stay put until warrant is obtained to search premises (warrant came in the next day); earlier illegal entry not relevant because warrant based on independent information

Jones v. Barnes, 463 U.S. 745 (decided July 5, 1983): assigned counsel on oral argument of appeal of conviction who argued from his brief had no duty to argue points made by defendant himself in his pro se brief (why did the court accept the pro se brief in the first place?)

INS v. Lopez-Mendoza, 468 U.S. 1032 (decided July 5, 1984): past statements made by deportees in civil deportation hearings admissible despite lack of Miranda warnings; INS's own rules create adequate Fourth Amendment protections and fact that virtually all persons notified of deportation proceedings voluntarily submit to deportation means that few will challenge their arrest

[DaivdBehar]

Marsh v. Chambers, 463 U.S. 783 (decided July 5, 1983): use of government funds to pay legislature's chaplain did not violate Establishment Clause (all he did was say a prayer to open the session)

This Supreme Court is totally biased in favor of the government that issues its paychecks. They are as appeasing to government as any Russian or Chinese court. That means there is little or no recourse against the federal government.

[F.D. Wolf]

It appears that all those decisions are from 1983 and 1984. The Court must have been running behind those two years.

[Dan Schiavetta]

Yes. As July advances I'll be running out of cases to summarize.

[John F. Carr]

I knew a guy in the 1990s who was subject to the federal aid disqualification as a result of not registering for the draft. Say... what's the statute of limitations for failing to update your address when you officially move away from home after college? If the government can find people for jury duty without registration why can't it find people to draft without registration?

The drug package case reminds me of former Red Sox manager Butch Hobson, who said he didn't know a package addressed to him contained cocaine. He was given a non-criminal disposition and a jury never got to decide whether he was telling the truth. (https://apnews.com/article/c40b1170d781acaf2d1cd91bc8521d83)

[Dan Schiavetta]

It seems from the drug package case that police would never need a warrant to open an international delivery. Customs officials have the right to open anything that comes in, and even if they never opened the package in question, there is no expectation of privacy.

[John F. Carr]

While the court was careful to avoid that rule, limiting the holding to packages that were previously lawfully opened, it does seem like a natural extension.

[John F. Carr]

Echoes of _Smith v. Robinson_ in recent litigation over whether students have a right to have everybody else wear a mask. If that is an ADA or 1983 action the court can enjoin the universe immediately and wait months or years for the case to become moot. If it is an IDEA action the plaintiff must exhaust administrative remedies, which takes months or years. I think there is a circuit split on how to classify such claims.

[F.D. Wolf]

Wayne has the distinction of being the last justice to have no successor as his seat had been abolished by the Judicial Circuits Act of 1866.

Congress had passed the Tenth Circuit Act in 1863 which created a new Tenth Circuit consisting of California and Oregon and added a tenth justice to preside over the new judicial circuit. President Lincoln appointed Stephen Field, a Democrat and the Chief Justice of California to fill the new position.

After the death of Justice John Catron in 1865, Congress passed the Judicial Circuits Act of 1866, which would gradually reduce the size of the Court to seven (the Chief plus six associates). The chief purpose of the Act was to deny President Johnson any appointments. Johnson signed the Act into law on July 23, which effectively nullified his pending nomination of Henry Stanberry to succeed Catron. After the death of Justice Wayne in 1867, the size of the Court stood at eight.

The size of the Court would not drop again, however, as Congress would soon thereafter pass the Judiciary Act of 1869, again fixing the Court's membership at nine, which had the effect of immediately creating a new vacancy for new President Ulysses Grant to fill. Grant would appoint Joseph Bradley to the new position. The size of the Court has remained at nine ever since.

[Dan Schiavetta]

In line with my comment from yesterday, Wayne's death encouraged further overeating by Justices Davis and Clifford. With one less chair to fit behind that long bench, they had more room for "expansion".

[Mr. Bumble]

Thanks to apedad and F.D. Wolf for the history lessons. You're never too old to learn something new.

[Dan Schiavetta]

Looks like he was poked out of bed on a cold winter morning with a pitchfork.

[DaivdBehar]

Tell about your do, Rhoid.