Published opinions from 2018. The case name opens the case page.
December 10, 2018586 U.S. 27
The Court held that under the Armed Career Criminal Act, burglary of a non‑permanent or mobile structure adapted or customarily used for overnight accommodation qualifies as “burglary” within the statute’s generic definition, and therefore such prior convictions trigger the ACCA’s mandatory fifteen‑year minimum.
November 27, 2018586 U.S. 9
The Court held that under the Endangered Species Act, "critical habitat" must be a subset of "habitat," and that the Service's decision not to exclude an area from critical habitat is subject to judicial review for abuse of discretion.
Justice Gorsuch, joined by Justice Sotomayor, dissented from the denial of a petition for a writ of certiorari, arguing that the forensic blood‑alcohol report used against Vanessa Stuart was testimonial and that the Sixth Amendment right to confrontation was violated.
The Court held that the Age Discrimination in Employment Act’s definition of “employer” includes states and political subdivisions regardless of the number of employees, so the Mount Lemmon Fire District is an employer under the ADEA; the Ninth Circuit’s judgment was affirmed.
The Supreme Court denied the Government's request for a stay of the district‑court climate‑change lawsuit and vacated the Chief Justice's order. The Court held that the Government lacked a fair prospect of success on its mandamus petition because adequate relief remains available in the Ninth Circuit, and that…
Justice Sotomayor denied the petition for certiorari, finding Townes had not shown a constitutional error in the jury instruction and that the record was insufficient to assess the claim.
The Supreme Court denied the application for a stay of execution and denied the petition for a writ of certiorari. Justice Sotomayor dissented, arguing that the state’s execution protocol using midazolam raises Eighth Amendment concerns and that prisoners should be allowed to prove the availability of a less‑painful…
Justice Sotomayor dissents from the denial of Billy Ray Irick’s application for a stay of execution, arguing that the three‑drug lethal‑injection protocol likely inflicts severe pain and that the state has not shown an available, less‑painful alternative, raising serious Eighth Amendment concerns.
The Court held that the Government’s acquisition of historical cell-site location information (CSLI) constitutes a Fourth Amendment search requiring a warrant supported by probable cause.
The Supreme Court affirmed the district court’s remedial order for the racially gerrymandered Senate Districts 21 and 28 and House Districts 21 and 57, finding the lower court had jurisdiction, correctly applied the Miller test, and did not abuse discretion in appointing a special master or adopting its race‑neutral…
Justice Thomas, joined by Justice Gorsuch, dissented from the Court’s denial of a petition for a writ of certiorari, arguing that the Fourth Circuit’s decision striking down Rowan County’s legislator‑led prayer practice conflicts with established Supreme Court precedent and historical tradition, and that the Court…
The Court summarily affirmed in part and reversed in part the District Court's remedial redistricting order. It held that the District Court properly retained jurisdiction because plaintiffs alleged continued racial segregation in new maps, and that circumstantial evidence supported the racial gerrymandering finding…
Justice Alito, joined by Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Kennedy, Thomas, and Gorsuch, held that compulsory public-sector union agency fees violate nonmembers’ First Amendment rights.
Florida challenged Georgia's upstream water consumption under the equitable apportionment doctrine, claiming harm to its Apalachicola oyster industry. The Special Master recommended dismissal, concluding Florida had not proven by clear and convincing evidence that a cap on Georgia's use would redress its injury…
The Supreme Court reversed the Ninth Circuit's affirmance of a nationwide preliminary injunction against Presidential Proclamation No. 9645, which imposes tailored entry restrictions on nationals of eight countries found deficient in information-sharing.
The Supreme Court reversed the Ninth Circuit, holding that California's FACT Act notice requirements likely violate the First Amendment. The licensed notice compels speech about abortion, a topic petitioners oppose, and is content-based without sufficient justification.
The Supreme Court held that it has appellate jurisdiction to review the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (CAAF) decisions under Article III, and that Judge Mitchell’s concurrent service on the Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA) and the Court of Military Commission Review (CMCR) did not violate the statute governing…
The Supreme Court affirmed the Second Circuit’s judgment, holding that American Express’s antisteering provisions did not violate §1 of the Sherman Act. The Court ruled that the relevant antitrust market is a two-sided platform including both merchants and cardholders.
The Supreme Court denied the petition for a writ of certiorari filed by Robert Peede. The Court declined to intervene in the Eleventh Circuit’s application of the “double‑edged” evidence rule in an ineffective‑assistance claim, noting that the case did not meet the threshold for review under the AEDPA.
Justice Thomas delivered the Court's opinion holding that §§ 271(f)(2) and 284 permit recovery of lost foreign profits resulting from domestic infringement. Because the relevant statutory focus was the domestic act of supplying components from the United States, WesternGeco's lost-profits award constituted a…
The Court holds it has appellate jurisdiction to review decisions of the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (CAAF). It further affirms that a military judge's simultaneous service on the Court of Criminal Appeals and the Court of Military Commission Review did not violate 10 U.S.C.
The Supreme Court held that the Government's acquisition of Timothy Carpenter's historical cell-site location information (CSLI) from his wireless carriers—12,898 location points spanning 127 days, obtained under Stored Communications Act §2703(d) orders rather than a warrant—was a search under the Fourth Amendment.
The Supreme Court held, on unambiguous statutory text and expressly without resorting to Chevron deference, that a putative notice to appear that fails to specify the time or place of the noncitizen's removal proceedings is not a "notice to appear under section 1229(a)" and therefore does not trigger the stop-time…
The Court overruled Quill Corp. v. North Dakota and National Bellas Hess, Inc. v. Department of Revenue of Ill., holding that a seller’s physical presence in a State is not required to satisfy the Commerce Clause’s substantial nexus requirement.
The Supreme Court held that the plaintiffs lack Article III standing to challenge Wisconsin’s 2011 legislative redistricting plan, vacating the district court’s judgment and remanding for further proceedings to allow proof of a particularized injury.
The Supreme Court held that a district judge who reduced a defendant's sentence from 135 to 114 months under 18 U.S.C. §3582(c)(2)—rather than to the 108-month bottom of the amended Guidelines range—adequately explained the reduction, because the record as a whole, including the same judge's original-sentencing…
The Supreme Court affirmed the district court’s denial of a preliminary injunction challenging Maryland’s 2011 congressional map, finding no abuse of discretion. The Court held that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate the requisite likelihood of success, irreparable harm, and favorable balance of equities, and that…
The Court held that Minnesota's ban on political apparel in polling places violates the First Amendment because the term 'political' is too indeterminate and gives election judges unbridled discretion.
The Court reversed the Colorado Court of Appeals, holding that the Colorado Civil Rights Commission violated the Free Exercise Clause by showing hostility toward Phillips' religious beliefs through disparaging comments and inconsistent treatment compared to other bakers who had declined requests to create cakes…
The Court held that the tolling rule from American Pipe does not extend to successive class actions filed after the statute of limitations has expired, reversing the Ninth Circuit and remanding for further proceedings.
The Supreme Court held that the Colorado Civil Rights Commission’s enforcement of the Colorado Anti‑Discrimination Act against Masterpiece Cakeshop violated the Free Exercise Clause because the Commission acted with hostility toward the baker’s sincerely held religious beliefs.
Justice Dennis dissents from the Supreme Court’s denial of certiorari, arguing that the Fifth Circuit misapplied precedent by evaluating new mitigating evidence in isolation rather than holistically.
The Court held that a sentence imposed under a Federal Rule 11(c)(1)(C) Type‑C plea agreement is “based on” the defendant’s Sentencing Guidelines range when that range informed the court’s decision, and therefore Hughes was eligible for a sentence reduction under 18 U.S.C.
June 4, 2018584 U.S. 700
The Supreme Court held that the petitioners were ineligible for sentence reductions under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2) because their sentences were not "based on" the Sentencing Commission’s lowered advisory Guidelines ranges but rather on mandatory minimums and substantial assistance.
The Court held that the automobile exception does not allow police to enter a home’s curtilage without a warrant to search a vehicle parked there, and therefore the warrantless search of the motorcycle was unconstitutional.
The Supreme Court reversed the Third Circuit, holding that PASPA’s prohibition on state authorization (and by extension licensing) of sports gambling violates the anticommandeering principle of the Tenth Amendment and that no provision of PASPA is severable from the invalid portions.
The Supreme Court held that the Ninth Circuit’s decision striking down the Marshals Service’s full‑restraint policy was barred by mootness because the defendants’ individual claims had become moot and neither the “functional class action” doctrine nor the “capable of repetition, yet evading review” exception applied.
The Court affirmed dismissal of Alien Tort Statute claims against Arab Bank, holding that foreign corporations may not be defendants in ATS suits absent congressional authorization.
Justice Thomas, writing for seven Justices, held that inter partes review violates neither Article III nor the Seventh Amendment. Issuing a patent involves granting a public franchise, and Congress may authorize the Patent Office to reconsider that grant through inter partes review under the public-rights doctrine.
Justice Gorsuch, joined by Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Kennedy, Thomas, and Alito, held that once the Patent Office institutes inter partes review, it must decide every patent claim the petitioner challenges, subject to the statute’s mechanisms for cancellation or dismissal.