Today in Supreme Court History: December 31, 1884

12/31/1884: Justice Stanley Forman Reed's birthday.

Justice Stanley Forman Reed

 

Comments

[Dan Schiavetta]

National League of Cities v. Brennan, 419 U.S. 1321 (decided December 31, 1974): the last two days of 1974 were busy. On December 30 a three-judge panel heard arguments made by several cities and states that Fair Labor Standards Act amendments setting wage/hour standards for state and municipal employees (set to take effect on January 1) violated the Tenth Amendment. On December 31 the panel rejected those arguments. Later that day, "after the close of business", Burger was presented with a motion by plaintiffs for an interim stay pending cert. (Also around that hour Douglas, vacationing in the Bahamas with his newest and youngest wife, suffered a debilitating stroke.) Burger granted the stay; after months of partial awareness Douglas resigned on November 12, 1975; and the Court ended up siding with the cities and states, 429 U.S. 833, 1976. (My Con Law professor called that holding the "temporary resurrection of the Tenth Amendment", temporary because it was overruled nine years later by Garcia v. San Antonio MTA.)

[F.D. Wolf]

For those speaking score: can the Congress decree what wages state and municipal governments must pay their employees?

In 1968, the Supreme Court said “yes”. Maryland v. Wirtz, 392 U.S. 183 (1968). Who, of all justices, would dissent? None other than noted states’ rights champion Bill Douglas (joined by Stewart), who wrote, “what is done here is… such a serious invasion of state sovereignty protected by the Tenth Amendment that it is, in my view, not consistent with our constitutional federalism.” Id. at 201 (Douglas, J., dissenting).

Then, as captcrisis noted, all of six years later, the Court reversed itself in a 5-4 decision. National League of Cities v. Usery, 419 U.S. 1321 (1974).

And in 1985, it reversed itself yet again in a 5-4 decision. Garcia v. San Antonio Metropolitan Transit Authority, 469 U.S. 528 (1985). The only membership change on the Court in the interim had been the replacement of Potter Stewart with Sandra Day O’Connor, but the different result was due to Harry Blackmun changing his mind. (The progression of Blackmun from relatively reliable conservative vote to reliable staunch liberal by the late 1970s is, I believe, well attested). On initial hearing, the vote was 5-4 to uphold National League of Cities. Chief Justice Burger was in the practice of assigning opinions to the least persuaded justice in order to produce the narrowest opinion and assigned the opinion to Blackmun. Blackmun soon thereafter informed the Court that he was changing his vote. The case was scheduled for reargument, and the new result was 5-4 in favor of the federal government.

[Dan Schiavetta]

Thanks!

[F.D. Wolf]

And thank you as always for your daily dose of Supreme Court cases, which often intrigue me enough to go read (or at least skim) the opinion.

[wolfefan]

Yes indeed! I don't comment every day, but I read captcrisis entries every day. I appreciate Josh's daily posts, and enjoyed learning more via F. D. Wolf too! Thanks to all.

[F.D. Wolf]

Reed would retire from the Court in 1957, citing his advanced age. He would live another 23 years, passing away in 1980 at the age of 95. He was the last of Roosevelt's nine Court appointees to die, surviving William Douglas by two months. He was also the last surviving justice to have served on the Court under Chief Justices Hughes, Stone, or Vinson.

[Jerry B.]

No big revelations from Trump’s tax returns yet. Lots of unverifiable claims from Democrats.

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

Blatant lies have been exposed (check the video of Trump denying he paid $750 in income taxes for a couple of specific years, telling an interviewer (Wallace?) he instead paid millions and millions). More instances of apparent tax fraud. Enough information to put his children into a tax fraud investigation, too. No evidence vindicating his claims to have donated his presidential salaries to charities. Also scant evidence he is a billionaire, or accomplished much more than being an exceptional inheritor. We should know more after investigators and prosecutors have had a reasonable opportunity to examine the documents. We have seen enough already to sense why Trump fought so hard and lied so profoundly and repeatedly rather than release the information voluntarily. Fortunately, others have imposed adult supervision, despite the whining of Trump’s downscale supporters.

[Bored Lawyer]

"More instances of apparent tax fraud."

Name one such instance. Should not be hard, since it's "apparent."