Today in Supreme Court History: March 22, 1957

3/22/1957: Justice Charles Whittaker takes oath.

Comments

[Dan Schiavetta]

Eisenstadt v. Baird, 405 U.S. 438 (decided March 22, 1972): Massachusetts statute prohibiting sale of contraceptives to single people (but not married people) violates Equal Protection

Star Athletica LLC v. Varsity Brands, Inc., 580 U.S. 405 (decided March 22, 2017): issue of fact as to whether arrangement of lines, chevrons, and colorful shapes on cheerleading uniform are "original works of art" (copyrightable) or just "industrial designs" (not) -- unfortunately we don't get pics of cheerleaders, but Breyer's dissent appends photos of objects that illustrate the distinction, e.g., two versions of siamese cat lamp

Czyzewski v. Jevic Holding Corp., 580 U.S. 451 (decided March 22, 2017): bankruptcy court needs creditors' consent before it changes normal order of distribution (here, former employees with wage claims found themselves getting nothing, while leveraged buyout beneficiaries got paid)

Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District, 580 U.S. 386 (decided March 22, 2017): parents of autistic child could get reimbursement of private school expenses if public school did not provide services tailored to child's needs in accordance with Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (for which it gets federal funds); judgment for defendant vacated and remanded for trial (from the description of the facts it seems that the adjustments would have been considerable; the private school was a small academy specializing in educating autistic children)

Kasten v. Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corp., 563 U.S. 1 (decided March 22, 2011): even if it's just a verbal complaint, not a written one (worker complained about time clocks which were placed so that they could be punched only after protective gear was put on, and threatened to sue), you can't be discharged in retaliation under the Fair Labor Standards Act

Matrixx Initiatives, Inc. v. Siracusano, 563 U.S. 27 (decided March 22, 2011): securities fraud case could go forward: company told investors it had concluded that its nasal spray did not cause loss of smell when in fact it had not done any studies on it (by 2006 hundreds of lawsuits from anosmic users had been filed)

Georgia v. Randolph, 547 U.S. 103 (decided March 22, 2006): can't search apartment based on wife's consent if husband refuses (cocaine found is suppressed)

Muehler v. Mena, 544 U.S. 93 (decided March 22, 2005): officers conducting search (based on warrant alleging involving in gang-related drive-by shooting) were justified in handcuffing defendant and asking about her immigration status (5 - 4 decision)

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Samara Bros., 529 U.S. 205 (decided March 22, 2000): Wal-Mart took photos of Samara flowery dresses being sold to J.C. Penney and arranged for knock-offs that looked the same. "Trade dress" (ha) infringement? Only if the public thought it was a Samara dress. Remanded for new trial

Board of Estimate of City of New York v. Morris, 489 U.S. 688 (decided March 22, 1989): When I was a kid I calculated that if NYC's governing body was apportioned by population, it would have to have 43 members before Staten Island deserved a single seat. The Board of Estimate, ruling "Greater New York" since its founding in 1898 and consisting of three citywide officers and the five borough presidents, grossly violated "one person, one vote". This case finally put an end to that.

[John F. Carr]

The thought of Supreme Court justices ogling cheerleaders got me to rewatch a great Saturday Night Live skit, Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings from 1991. Al Franken plays a Senator.

[Frank Drackman]

the actual hearings were funnier

[Mr. Bumble]

"Al Franken plays a Senator."
Something he did in real life later on. Emphasis on "played".

[The Margrave of Azilia]

Eisenstadt v. Baird had the effect of a bait and switch.

The Griswold case focused on the importance of marriage and the supposed importance of married couple using contraception.

Then Eisenstadt was like, “you took us seriously about the special status of marriage? That’s unconstitutional!”

And I'm told they slipped in language about "the right to bear or beget a child" so that it could be used soon thereaferter in the abortion decision.

[Dan Schiavetta]

Much happened between 1962 and 1972. Notably, Paul VI’s unexpected 1968 encyclical prohibiting contraceptive use by (married) Catholics. Before that, “the Pill” was associated with responsible married couples. After that, it became associated with single people and sexual freedom.

[Syd Henderson]

So Staten Island has no representative now? Or does the board have 43 members?

[Mr. Bumble]

The Board of Estimate no longer exists:

"In response to the Supreme Court's decision, the New York City Charter Revision Commission drew up changes to the municipal government, which were approved 55% to 45% in a citywide referendum on election day November 1989.[5] A month later, the changes were approved by the U.S. Department of Justice[6] and they were implemented as planned the following year according to the 1990 City Charter, which abolished the Board of Estimate and assigned most of its responsibilities to an enlarged New York City Council."
Wiki

[SMP0328]

Mr. Bumble is correct as to the immediate aftermath of the Morris decision, but Syd Henderson is correct as to the practical reality: Staten Island has no meaningful representation in the NYC government.

[defaultdotxbe]

The City Council currently has 51 members, 3 of which are from Staten Island. (back in 1989 it had 35, I don’t know how many, if any, exclusively represented Staten Island at that time). The City Council was separate from the Board of Estimates, which had equal representation from all 5 Burroughs.

[Commenter_XY]

Czyzewski v. Jevic Holding Corp

This case would have been useful back in 2008 with GM bondholders (I think, if I am following this correctly). Didn't the bankruptcy court change the payout order when GM went down?

[SRG]

I recall a midwest S&L case from the early 90s, though I can't remember the S&L, which had a complex corporate liability structure, and the judge basically said, "just divide the assets up pro rata". I imagine an appeal was filed in a nanosecond.

[Drbusybody]

Whitaker was someone who absolutely didn't belong on the Supreme court. He wasn't intellectually up to the job. He would come from conference with the other justices and actually cry to his secretary, "Frankfurter uses words I've never even seen before."

There was one particular opinion he was assigned that he just wasn't able to write. A complete mental block. He didn't even want to tell his clerk he couldn't write it. (Justices only had one clerk in those days.) He didn't want to tell the Chief Justice he couldn't write it. So with no other ideas, he went to Justice William O. Douglas, who was writing the dissent in the case. Douglas agreed to ghostwrite the majority opinion for him.

Whitaker resigned from the court after 5 years and was replaced by Byron White.

[The Margrave of Azilia]

It's like when they sent Bart Simpson to that gifted class in school.

[SMP0328]

He would come from conference with the other justices and actually cry to his secretary, “Frankfurter uses words I’ve never even seen before.”

What's the source for his crying after conferences? If true, makes you wonder why he took the job. He couldn't have thought it would be an easy job.