Volume 486 — United States Reports

This is a list of all United States Supreme Court cases from volume 486 of the United States Reports:

Appellant, a Louisiana corporation which operates 13 department stores realizing over $100 million in annual sales in that State, contracted with several out-of-state companies to design, print, and… Held: The application of Louisiana's use tax to appellant's catalogs does not violate the Commerce Clause.

California v. Greenwood, 486 U.S. 35 (1988), was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that the Fourth Amendment does not prohibit the warrantless search and seizure of garbage left for collection outside the curtilage of a home.

In 1974, after two years of unsatisfactory experience with conflicting federal and local technical standards governing the transmission of cable television broadcast signals, the Federal… Held: The FCC did not exceed its statutory authority by forbidding local authorities to impose technical cable signal quality standards more stringent than those set forth in the Commission's regulations. Pp. 63-70.

In a state-court suit upon an insurance claim for loss of a limb, the jury awarded appellee the $20,000 provided by his policy and punitive damages of $1.6… Held: This Court will not reach appellant's claims that the punitive damages award violated the Due Process, Contract, and Excessive Fines Clauses of the Federal Constitution, since those claims were not raised and passed upon in state court. Hathorn v. Lovorn, 457 U.S. 255, 102 S.Ct. 2421, 72 L.Ed.2d 824, distinguished.

Petitioner, an Astoria, Oregon, surgeon, declined an invitation by respondents to join them as a partner in the Astoria Clinic, and instead began an independent practice in competition with the… Held: The state-action doctrine does not protect Oregon physicians from federal antitrust liability for their activities on hospital peer-review committees.

Under § 706(e) of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Act), a complainant must file a discrimination charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) within 180 days of the… Held: The judgment is reversed, and the case is remanded. 803 F.2d 581, reversed and remanded.

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires that a civil enforcement action be commenced within two years after the cause of action accrued, except that a cause of action arising out of a "willful"… Held: The standard of willfulness adopted in Thurston —that the employer either knew or showed reckless disregard as to whether its conduct was prohibited by the FLSA—must be satisfied in order for the 3-year statute of limitations to apply.

Chick Kam Choo v. Exxon Corp., 486 U.S. 140 (1988), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that a federal court's dismissal of a civil action on the ground that it should be heard in a foreign court, under the doctrine of forum non conveniens, does not preclude the plaintiff from filing the same action in a state court that applies different forum non conveniens rules.

Wheat v. United States, 486 U.S. 153 (1988), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the court held that, notwithstanding the right to choice of counsel, the trial court has significant discretion to deny a criminal defendant's waiver of a conflict of interest with their chosen lawyer.

Appellee Miller, an employee of appellant at an Ohio nuclear production facility owned by the United States but operated by appellant, a private contractor, received a workers'… Held: This Court has jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1257(2), since the Ohio Supreme Court upheld the application of the State's additional-award provision to the facility in question as against the contention that such application violated the Supremacy Clause of the Federal Constitution.

In petitioner's employment compensation action, which respondent removed from a Colorado state court to the Federal District Court on the basis of diversity of… Held: The question whether the District Court's decision on the merits was appealable before the attorney's fees determination was made is governed by federal law—specifically 28 U.S.C. § 1291, which provides that all district court "final decisions" are appealable to the courts of appeals—and not by Colorado law.

To cover the situation of overlapping provisions of the Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978 fixing price ceilings for sales of various categories of natural gas and providing for phased deregulation, §… Held: The Court of Appeals erred in rejecting FERC's interpretation of § 101(b)(5). The statute's plain meaning governs.

Amadeo v. Zant, 486 U.S. 214 (1988), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that a convicted person may use habeas corpus to challenge their conviction if they later learn that the prosecution racially discriminated in jury selection.

Title 12 U.S.C. § 1818(g)(1) authorizes the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to suspend from office an indicted official of a federally insured bank if his continued service poses a… Held: Section 1818(g)(3)'s post-suspension procedure is not unconstitutional on its face. Pp. 240-248.

After petitioner was charged with the capital crime of murder committed during a robbery, but before he was represented by counsel, he was subjected to a court-ordered examination by a… Held: The use, at the capital sentencing proceeding, of Dr. Grigson's testimony on the issue of future dangerousness violated the Sixth Amendment. The Court of Criminal Appeals properly determined that there had been no compliance with the Sixth Amendment requirement, set out in Estelle v.

An Ohio statute awards a tax credit against the Ohio motor vehicle fuel sales tax for each gallon of ethanol sold (as a component of gasohol) by fuel dealers, but only if the ethanol is produced in… Held: The Ohio statute discriminates against interstate commerce in violation of the Commerce Clause. Pp. 273-280.

A gray-market good is a foreign-manufactured good, bearing a valid United States trademark, that is imported without the consent of the United States trademark holder. Held: The judgment is affirmed in part and reversed in part. 252 U.S.App.D.C. 342, 790 F.2d 903 (CADC 1986), affirmed in part and reversed in part.

Appellee suffered a permanent back injury while working as a brakeman and conductor for appellant railroad. Held: State courts may not award prejudgment interest pursuant to local practice in FELA actions. Pp. 334-339.

Maynard v. Cartwright, 486 U.S. 356 (1988), is a United States Supreme Court case in which a unanimous Court found that the "especially heinous, atrocious or cruel" standard for the application of the death penalty as defined by the Eighth Amendment was too vague. As such, Oklahoma's law was overturned based on Furman v. Georgia (1972).

Petitioner, a Maryland prison inmate, was tried by a state-court jury and convicted of the first-degree murder of his cellmate. Held: In a capital case, the sentencer may not be precluded from considering, as a mitigating factor, any relevant circumstance, including any aspect of the defendant's character or record and any of the circumstances of the offense that the defendant proffers as a basis for a sentence less than death.

After petitioner notified her employer (respondent) that she had been injured in the course of her employment and requested compensation for her medical expenses pursuant to the Illinois Workers'… Held: Application of petitioner's state tort remedy was not pre-empted by § 301. An application of state law is pre-empted by § 301 only if such application requires the interpretation of a collective-bargaining agreement. Pp. 403-413.

Meyer v. Grant, 486 U.S. 414 (1988), was an important decision by the United States Supreme Court on paid petition circulation. Colorado was one of several states with a process for citizens to propose initiatives for the ballot, which if passed became law. One of the requirements was to get the signatures of a significant number of registered Colorado electors. Colorado prohibited initiative sponsors from paying for the circulation of these petitions. The state argued this was necessary to "protect[...] the integrity of the initiative." In 1984, Coloradans for Free Enterprise, an interest group, proposed an initiative to deregulate the motor industry by removing it from the jurisdiction of the Public Utilities Commission.

Under Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 87 S.Ct. 1396, 18 L.Ed.2d 493, if court-appointed appellate counsel wishes to withdraw on the ground that his or her client's appeal is wholly frivolous, he… Held: The discussion requirement—as construed by the State Supreme Court to require a brief statement of why particular cases, statutes, or facts in the record lead the attorney to believe that the appeal lacks merit—is constitutional under the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments.

Ten years after her illegitimate daughter's birth, petitioner filed a support complaint on the daughter's behalf in a Pennsylvania state court,… Held: Petitioner's contention that the 6-year statute of limitations is invalid because it conflicts with an asserted retroactivity requirement in the federal Act will not be addressed by this Court, since the question of federal pre-emption was not adequately presented to the Superior Court by petitioner's state-law retroactivity…

Petitioner, a member of the Kentucky Bar, applied to that State's Attorneys Advertising Commission for approval of a letter that he proposed to send "to potential clients who have had a foreclosure… Held: The judgment is reversed, and remanded. 726 S.W.2d 299 (Ky.1986), reversed and the case is remanded.

The National Fire Protection Association—a private organization that includes members representing industry, labor, academia, insurers, organized… Held: petitioner, the Nation's largest producer of steel conduit, members of the steel industry, other steel conduit manufacturers, and independent sales agents collectively agreed to exclude respondent's product from the 1981 Code by packing the annual meeting with new Association members whose only function was to vote against…

The courts of appeals have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 of appeals "from all final decisions of the district courts." Under Cohen v. Held: Neither an order denying a motion to dismiss on the ground that an extradited person is immune from civil process, nor an order denying such a motion on forum non conveniens grounds, is a collateral order subject to immediate appeal as a final judgment under § 1291. Pp. 521-530.

Berkovitz v. United States, 486 U.S. 531 (1988), is a decision of the Supreme Court of the United States clarifying the scope of the discretionary function exception under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA). The Court held that the United States may be liable for negligence when federal employees violate mandatory duties imposed by statute or regulation, even in the context of a regulatory program.

Petitioner was discharged from his position with the United States Postal Service. Held: Prejudgment interest may be awarded in a suit against the Postal Service brought under Title VII. Pp. 554-565.

Observing the approach of a police car on routine patrol, respondent began to run. Held: The officers' pursuit of respondent did not constitute a "seizure" implicating Fourth Amendment protections. Thus, the charges against him were improperly dismissed. Pp. 572-576. (a) No bright-line rule applicable to all investigatory pursuits can be fashioned.

Petitioner was convicted in a Mississippi court of murder. Held: By allowing petitioner's death sentence to stand despite the fact that it was based in part on the vacated New York conviction, the Mississippi Supreme Court violated the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. Pp. 584-590.

Webster v. Doe, 486 U.S. 592 (1988), is a case decided by the United States Supreme Court that presented statutory and constitutional claims by a former CIA employee who alleged that his termination was the result of discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Petitioner Pinter, an oil and gas producer and registered securities dealer, sold unregistered securities consisting of fractional undivided interests in oil and gas leases to respondent Dahl, a real… Held: The in pari delicto defense is available in a § 12(1) private rescission action. Pp. 632-641. (a) Bateman Eichler is not limited to § 10(b) claims, to cases involving willful or negligent misconduct, or to implied, as opposed to express, private causes of action.

Section 161(v) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 authorizes the Department of Energy (DOE) to offer its services, for a fee, to convert natural uranium into the… Held: Section 161(v) does not require DOE to restrict the enrichment of foreign uranium where such restriction would not achieve the statutory goal of "assur[ing] the maintenance of a viable domestic uranium industry," for the statute ties the amount of restriction to be imposed to the achievement of that goal.

Arizona v. Roberson, 486 U.S. 675 (1988), is a decision by the United States Supreme Court that clarified and extended the protections provided under Edwards v. Arizona. The Court held that once a suspect in police custody invokes their right to counsel under the Fifth Amendment, law enforcement may not initiate further custodial interrogation about any offense—related or unrelated—unless the suspect initiates the conversation. The ruling reinforced the requirement that all questioning cease until an attorney is present, emphasizing the importance of protecting suspects from coercive police practices after requesting legal representation.

After his parents were killed in an automobile accident, respondent filed a wrongful death action in an Illinois court, alleging that defects in the automobile designed and sold by Volkswagen of… Held: The Hague Service Convention does not apply when process is served on a foreign corporation by serving its domestic subsidiary which, under state law, is the foreign corporation's involuntary agent for service. Pp. 698-708.

Sun Oil Co. v. Wortman, 486 U.S. 717 (1988), was a conflict of laws case decided by the United States Supreme Court.

In federal-court proceedings, appellee newspaper publisher challenged, on First Amendment grounds, the facial constitutionality of appellant city's ordinance authorizing the mayor to grant or deny… Held: Appellee may bring a facial challenge to the ordinance without first applying for, and being denied, a permit. Pp. 755-769.

The principal statutes involved in this case, which arises from a jurisdictional dispute between Courts of Appeals, are 28 U.S.C. § 1295(a)(1)—granting the Federal Circuit exclusive jurisdiction over… Held: The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit would not have jurisdiction of the appeal of a final judgment in this case under 28 U.S.C. § 1295(a)(1), since the action is not one "arising under" the patent statutes for purposes of § 1338(a). Pp. 807-813.

After respondent collection agency obtained money judgments against participants in an "employee welfare benefit plan" covered by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974… Held: Section 18-4-22.1, which singles out ERISA employee welfare benefit plans for different treatment than non-ERISA welfare plans under state garnishment procedures, is pre-empted under § 514(a) of ERISA, which supersedes any state law insofar as it "relate[s] to" ERISA-covered plans.

In 1977, pursuant to a plan to construct and operate a hospital in Kenner, Louisiana, petitioner formed a corporation (St. Jude) to apply… Held: A violation of § 455(a)—which requires a judge to disqualify himself in any proceeding in which his impartiality might reasonably be questioned—is established when a reasonable person, knowing the relevant facts, would expect that a judge knew of circumstances creating an appearance of partiality, notwithstanding a finding that the…

Respondents, 16 Filipino nationals, who served with the United States Armed Forces during World War II, seek United States citizenship pursuant to §§ 701 through 705 of the… Held: Neither by application of the doctrine of estoppel, nor by invocation of equitable powers, nor by any other means does a court have the power to confer citizenship in violation of the limitations imposed by Congress in the exercise of its exclusive constitutional authority over naturalization.

In 1974, appellant, a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business in Ohio, and appellee Midwesco Enterprises (appellee), an Illinois corporation with its principal place of business in… Held: The Ohio tolling statute violates the Commerce Clause, since it imposes an impermissible burden on interstate commerce.