Volume 400 — United States Reports

This is a list of all the United States Supreme Court cases from volume 400 of the United States Reports:

North Carolina v. Alford, 400 U.S. 25 (1970), was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States affirmed that there are no constitutional barriers in place to prevent a judge from accepting a guilty plea from a defendant who wants to plead guilty, while still protesting his innocence, under duress, as a detainee status. This type of plea has become known as an Alford plea, differing slightly from the nolo contendere plea in which the defendant agrees to being sentenced for the crime, but does not admit guilt. Alford was paroled in 1974 and killed in a traffic accident about eight months later.

Held: violated 'the due process clause of the federal constitution'—without saying whether the Fifth of the Fourteenth Amendment was involved. 3 423 F.2d, at 566—567. 6 Whether the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico would give the same broad sweep to 'just cause' as did the Court of Appeals is something we do not know.

The General Mining Act of 1872 provided that until a patent issued for a mineral location on lands belonging to the United States 'not… Held: The Saving Clause of the Mineral Leasing Act makes the United States the beneficiary of all claims that are invalid for lack of assessment work or otherwise, and the Department of the Interior had subject matter jurisdiction to determine whether respondents' claims were 'maintained' within the meaning of that clause, including the…

Petitioner Terminal Association, a maritime terminal operators conference operating under an agreement approved by the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC), pursuant to § 15 of the Shipping Act, 1916, revised a tariff on file with the agency by shifting the incidence of a wharf demurrage charge from consignees to carriers.

Appellee was convicted of first-degree murder following a trial in which one Shaw testified, over objection, concerning a statement Williams (an alleged accomplice) had made in the prison where both… Held: The judgment is reversed. Pp. 80-90; 93-100. 5 Cir., 400 F.2d 826, reversed. Mr. Justice STEWART, joined by THE CHIEF JUSTICE, Mr. Justice WHITE, and Mr. Justice BLACKMUN, concluded that: 1 1.

Oregon v. Mitchell, 400 U.S. 112 (1970), was a U.S. Supreme Court case in which the states of Oregon, Texas, Arizona, and Idaho challenged the constitutionality of Sections 201, 202, and 302 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) Amendments of 1970 passed by the 91st United States Congress, and where John Mitchell was the respondent in his role as United States Attorney General.

A general contractor (Burns) subcontracted construction work to three companies, all of which employed operating engineers who belonged to… Held: In seeking to force Burns to bind all the subcontractors on the project to a particular form of job assignments and implying by its demands that Burns would have to force a change in White's policy or terminate White's contract, respondent union engaged in flagrant secondary conduct within the prohibition of § 8(b)(4)(B).

New York's Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program, stressing 'close contact' with beneficiaries, requires home visits by caseworkers as a condition for assistance 'in order that any… Held: The home visitation provided for by New York law in connection with the AFDC program is a reasonable administrative tool and does not violate any right guaranteed by the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments, Pp. 315—326.

The enactment of 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act, which provides for the enforcement of grievance and arbitration provisions of collective-bargaining agreements in industries affecting commerce, did not abrogate, but merely added an optional remedy to, the remedy of 46 U.S.C. § 596, which permits seamen to sue for wages in federal court. 408 F.2d 1065, affirmed. George W. Sullivan, New York City, for petitioner. I. Duke Avnet, Baltimore, Md., for respondent.

Appellants, voters and candidates for city offices, sought to enjoin the 1969 election in Canton, Mississippi, alleging that the 1969 requirements differed from those in effect on November 1,… Held: The three-judge court should have considered only the issue of 'whether a particular state enactment is subject to the provisions of the Voting Rights Act, and therefore must be submitted for approval before enforcement.' Allen, supra, at 559, 89 S.Ct. at 828. Pp. 383—387. 2.

Title 39 U.S.C. § 4006 permits the Postmaster General to stamp as 'Unlawful' and return to the sender letters addressed to any person and to prohibit the payment of postal money orders to that person… Held: The administrative censorship scheme created by 39 U.S.C. §§ 4006, 4007 violates the First Amendment since it lacks adequate safeguards against undue inhibition of protected expression. Freedman v. Maryland, supra, Pp. 416—422.

The police chief of Hartford, Wisconsin, pursuant to a state statute caused to be posted a notice in all retail liquor outlets in Hartford that sales or gifts of liquor to appellee, a resident of… Held: The label or characterization given an individual by 'posting,' though a mark of serious illness to some, is to others such a stigma or badge of disgrace that procedural due process requires notice and an opportunity to be heard. Pp. 436—437. 2.

Respondent was convicted in 1959 of murdering his wife. Held: An applicant for federal habeas corpus relief is not entitled to a new hearing on the voluntariness of a statement introduced at his trial merely because he can point to shortcomings in the state court procedure used to decide the voluntariness issue, as he must also show (which respondent did not do in this case) that his version of…

Under the facts of this case, a defendant in a state criminal contempt proceeding who vilified the judge during the course of the defendant's trial in the state court and was sentenced by that judge to 11 to 22 years for the contempt was entitled under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to a public trial before another judge. Pp. 462—466. 434 Pa. 478, 255 A.2d 131, vacated and remanded. Curtis R. Reitz, Philadelphia, Pa., for petitioner.

United States v. Jorn, 400 U.S. 470 (1971), was a United States Supreme Court decision clarifying when a criminal defendant may be retried after a mistrial. In this case, where a trial judge abruptly declared a mistrial to prevent the prosecution's witness from incriminating himself, a second trial was barred by the Double Jeopardy Clause.

Isolated, personal act of negligence by a fellow longshoreman resulting in injury to petitioner did not make shipowner liable on ground of unseaworthiness of vessel, as injury was not caused by ship's condition, appurtenances, cargo, or crew. There is a 'complete divorcement of unseaworthiness liability from concepts of negligence.' Mitchell v. Trawler Racer, Inc., 362 U.S. 539, 550, 80 S.Ct. 926, 933, 4 L.Ed.2d 941. Pp. 496—500. 413 F.2d 984, affirmed.

State law that categorically prevents a change of venue for a jury trial in a criminal case, regardless of the extent of local prejudice against the defendant, solely on the ground that the crime with which he is charged is a misdemeanor held violative of the right to trial by an impartial jury guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment. Pp. 507—512. 41 Wis.2d 312, 164 N.W.2d 266, vacated and remanded. Elizabeth B. DuBois, New York City, for appellant. Sverre O.

Held: the defenses that the material is sought for the improper purpose of obtaining evidence for use in a criminal prosecution, Boren v. Tucker, 239 F. 2d 767, 772-773 , as well as that it is protected by the attorney-client privilege . . . ." We note initially that, despite the dictum, the courts of appeals in opinions issued since Reisman was decided, appear uniformly to approve the use of a summons in an investigation…

Phillips v. Martin Marietta Corp., 400 U.S. 542 (1971), was a United States Supreme Court landmark case in which the Court held that under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, an employer may not, in the absence of business necessity, refuse to hire women with pre-school-age children while hiring men with such children. It was the first gender-discrimination case under Title VII to reach the Court.

Massachusetts v. Laird, 400 U.S. 886 (1970), was a case dealing with the conscription aspect of the Vietnam War that the Supreme Court declined to hear by a 6–3 vote.

Held: however, that the. error was harmless. One of the summaries concerned E. S. and the Court of Appeals made the following statement concerning him: “E. S. was not available for induction on June 8, 1967. He was a registrant who had already signed up for the Reserves..