Today in Supreme Court History: January 15, 1908

1/15/1908: Muller v. Oregon argued.

Comments

[Dan Schiavetta]

Berry v. Davis, 242 U.S. 468 (decided January 15, 1917): An Iowa statute authorized vasectomies on "idiots, feeble-minded, drunkards, drug fiends, epileptics, syphilitics, moral and sexual perverts" and made it mandatory as to "criminals who have been twice convicted of a felony" (defendant here). Here the Court dismisses the case because the statute had been repealed (decision is written by Holmes . . .)

Iowa v. Illinois, 151 U.S. 238 (decided January 15, 1894): Court vacates holding as to boundary dispute because of procedural error in referring to special master (at issue was where on the Keokuk-Hamilton bridge the border was; the opinion says the boundary is the midpoint of the Mississippi, though current maps show it very close to the Iowa side, but that could be due to accretion)

New Prime, Inc. v. Oliveira, 586 U.S. --- (decided January 15, 2019): it is for court, not arbitrator, to decide whether Federal Arbitration Act exception for interstate commerce employment contracts applies (here, trucker brought suit alleging unfair wage practices; Court holds that the exception applies, and denies the employer's motion under the FAA to order arbitration) (Gorsuch, who wrote the opinion, is a good writer)

Caminetti v. United States, 242 U.S. 470 (decided January 15, 1917): upholds Constitutionality of White Slave Traffic Act of 1910 (that phrase sounds so quaint now) as affecting "interstate commerce" even if no pecuniary gain intended (man had transported woman across state lines to make her his "mistress and concubine")

Stoneridge Investment Partners v. Scientific-Atlanta, Inc., 552 U.S. 148 (decided January 15, 2008): outside parties who colluded in sham transactions with corporation leading to illegal inflating of profits could not be joined as defendants in shareholders' securities fraud suit against corporation under Securities and Exchange Act of 1934

[Dan Schiavetta]

In May of 1979 my girlfriend and I drove from her mother's house in Port Jervis, N.Y. (Orange County) to our new apartment in Fredonia, N.Y. (Chautauqua County). Our purpose was to live together, unmarried, and of course have sex, sex, sex (given our ages). We took New York State Route 17 which at the town of Waverly deviates a couple hundred feet into Pennsylvania, i.e., across state lines.

1. Which of us violated the White Slave Traffic Act? Just me, or both of us?
2. Which prosecutor would have jurisdiction? Sullivan County, Chautauqua County, or Bradford County, Pennsylvania?
3. Can the penalty be house arrest (or even bed arrest -- fine with us -- ha)?

[The Margrave of Azilia]

I see that two conservatives (McKenna and White) and one liberal (Clarke) dissented.

Anyway, it's not as if they were prosecuting the guy for selling home-grown sex on his own farm.

The closest case to that was this one from 1909 -

https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/213/138/

...where punishing brothel owners for harboring alien prostitutes was held to be in the states' police power, not Congressional power.

[David Nieporent]

2. Which prosecutor would have jurisdiction? Sullivan County, Chautauqua County, or Bradford County, Pennsylvania?

It's a federal law.

[Dan Schiavetta]

So: Southern District of New York, Western District of New York, or Middle District of Pennsylvania?

[Dan Schiavetta]

Thanks!

I suppose the main issue was that defendants in that case were not involved in Ms. Bodi’s overseas travel. Would that case be decided differently post-Wickard?