Volume 491 — United States Reports

Pennsylvania v. Union Gas Co., 491 U.S. 1 (1989), was a 1989 United States Supreme Court case in which the court held that the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (SARA) rendered states liable for monetary damages in federal court. Furthermore, the Court held that Congress could constitutionally abrogate the immunity from suit conferred to each state by the Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution, provided that it legislated under its Article I powers. This decision was overruled seven years later in Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida (1996).

The Education of the Handicapped Act (EHA)—which enacts a comprehensive scheme to assure that handicapped children may achieve a free public education appropriate for their needs provides, inter… Held: The EHA does not abrogate the States' Eleventh Amendment immunity from suit, and, thus, the Amendment bars respondent's attempt to collect tuition reimbursement from Pennsylvania. Pp. 227-232.

Will v. Michigan Dept. of State Police, 491 U.S. 58 (1989), was a case decided by the United States Supreme Court, in which the Court held that States and their officials acting in their official capacity are not persons when sued for monetary damages under the Civil Rights Act of 1871.

Article VI, § 30, of the Missouri Constitution (hereafter § 30) provides that the governments of the city of St. Louis and St. Louis County may be reorganized by a vote of the… Held: This Court has jurisdiction over the appeal. Pp. 101-104. 2. The Missouri Supreme Court's ruling that the Equal Protection Clause had no relevancy to the case because the board of freeholders exercises no general governmental power reflects a significant misreading of this Court's precedents.

Michael H. v. Gerald D., 491 U.S. 110 (1989), was a case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States involving substantive due process in the context of paternity law. Splitting five to four, the Court rejected a challenge to a California law that presumed that a married woman's child was a product of that marriage. The Court held that the due-process rights of a man who claimed to be a child's biological father had not been violated.

Held: over two dissenting votes, that § 1982 bars private, as well as public, racial discrimination, and that the statute was a valid exercise of Congress’ power under § 2 of the Thirteenth Amendment to identify the badges and incidents of slavery and to legislate to end them.

Insurance companies commonly enter into reinsurance agreements, whereby the reinsurer pays the primary insurer, or "ceding company," an up-front fee—a "ceding commission"—and agrees to assume the… Held: Ceding commissions paid under an indemnity reinsurance agreement must be amortized over the anticipated life of the agreement. Pp. 249-260.

In this major school desegregation litigation in Kansas City, Missouri, in which various desegregation remedies were granted against the State of Missouri and other defendants, the plaintiff class… Held: The Eleventh Amendment does not prohibit enhancement of a fee award under § 1988 against a State to compensate for delay in payment.

Since its formation in 1976, petitioner Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail) has required its employees to undergo physical examinations… Held: Where an employer asserts a contractual right to take a contested action, the ensuing dispute is minor if the action is arguably justified by the terms of the parties' collective-bargaining agreement. Where, in contrast, the employer's claims are frivolous or obviously insubstantial, the dispute is major. Pp. 302-307. 2.

A Connecticut statute requires out-of-state shippers of beer to affirm that their posted prices for products sold to Connecticut wholesalers are, as of the moment of posting, no higher than the… Held: Connecticut's beer-price-affirmation statute violates the Commerce Clause. Pp. 335-343. (a) The statute has the impermissible practical effect of controlling commercial activity wholly outside Connecticut.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) allocated the cost of the Grand Gulf 1 nuclear reactor among several jointly owned companies, including petitioner New Orleans Public Service, Inc.… Held: The District Court erred in abstaining from exercising jurisdiction. Pp. 358-373.

Respondent Thomas was convicted of both attempted robbery and first-degree felony murder arising out of the same incident and was sentenced to… Held: The state-court remedy fully vindicated Thomas' double jeopardy rights. In the multiple punishments context, the Double Jeopardy Clause does no more than prevent the sentencing court from prescribing greater punishment than the legislature intended. Missouri v. Hunter, 459 U.S. 359, 366, 103 S.Ct. 673, 678, 74 L.Ed.2d 535.

Texas v. Johnson, 491 U.S. 397 (1989), is a landmark decision by the Supreme Court of the United States in which the Court held, 5–4, that burning the flag of the United States was protected speech under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, as doing so counts as symbolic speech and political speech.

Public Citizen v. Department of Justice, 491 U.S. 440 (1989), is a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court interpreted the Federal Advisory Committee Act as well as Article II of the United States Constitution.

Faced with heavy losses, petitioner Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad Co. (P & LE) agreed to sell its assets to P & LE Rail Co., Inc. (Railco), a newly formed subsidiary of another railroad. Held: The RLA did not require or authorize an injunction against the sale of P & LE's assets to Railco. Pp. 502-512. (a) The RLA did not require P & LE itself to give notice of its decision to sell and thereafter to bargain about the effects of the sale.

Florida Star v. B.J.F., 491 U.S. 524 (1989), is a United States Supreme Court case involving freedom of the press and privacy rights. After The Florida Star newspaper revealed the full name of a rape victim it got from a police report, the victim sued for damages. State law made it illegal for a publication to print a rape victim's name, and the victim was awarded damages. On appeal, the Supreme Court ruled the imposition of damages for truthfully publishing public information violates the First Amendment.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS), as part of its investigation of the tax returns of L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Church of Scientology (the Church), filed in the Federal District Court a… Held: Insofar as it upheld the District Court's conditional-enforcement order, the Court of Appeals' judgment is affirmed by an equally divided Court. P. 561. 2.

In 1984, respondent Oakes took color photographs of his partially nude and physically mature 14-year-old stepdaughter, L.S. Held: The judgment is vacated, and the case is remanded. 401 Mass. 602, 518 N.E.2d 836, vacated and remanded. Justice O'CONNOR, joined by THE CHIEF JUSTICE, Justice WHITE, and Justice KENNEDY, concluded that: 1 1. As a practical matter, the intervening amendment of the statute moots the overbreadth question in this case.

Held: any fees paid to an attorney would be exempt from forfeiture irrespective of the final outcome at respondent’s trial. 836 F. 2d 74, 84 (1987). Pursuant to this mandate, on remand, the District Court held a 4-day hearing on whether continuing the restraining order was proper.

Christopher Reckmeyer was charged with running a massive drug importation and distribution scheme alleged to be a continuing criminal… Held: For the reasons stated in United States v. Monsanto, 491 U.S. 600, 611-614, 109 S.Ct. 2657, 105 L.Ed.2d 512 (1989), whatever discretion § 853(e) does provide district court judges to refuse to issue pretrial restraining orders on potentially forfeitable assets, it does not grant them equitable discretion to allow a defendant to…

Harte-Hanks Communications Inc. v. Connaughton, 491 U.S. 657 (1989), was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States supplied an additional journalistic behavior that constitutes actual malice as first discussed in New York Times Co. v. Sullivan (1964). In the case, the Court held that departure from responsible reporting and unreasonable reporting conduct alone were not sufficient to award a public figure damages in a libel case. However, the Court also ruled that if reporters wrote with reckless disregard for the truth, which included ignoring obvious sources for their report, plaintiffs could be awarded compensatory damages on the grounds of actual malice.

Petitioner Jett, a white male, was employed by respondent Dallas Independent School District (DISD) as a teacher, athletic director, and head football coach at a predominantly black high school. Held: The judgment is affirmed in part, and the cases are remanded. 798 F.2d 748 (CA5 1986), and 837 F.2d 1244 (CA5 1988), affirmed in part and remanded. Justice O'CONNOR delivered the

After protracted litigation, respondents, a class of female flight attendants alleging that Trans World Airlines' policy of dismissing flight attendants who became mothers constituted sex… Held: District courts may award Title VII attorney's fees against those who are not charged with Title VII violations but intervene to protect their own rights only where the intervention is frivolous, unreasonable, or without foundation.

Ward v. Rock Against Racism, 491 U.S. 781 (1989), was a United States Supreme Court case. In an opinion by Justice Kennedy, the Court rejected a First Amendment challenge to a New York City regulation that mandated the use of city-provided sound systems and technicians to control the volume of concerts in New York City's Central Park. The Court found that the city had a substantial interest in limiting excessive noise and the regulation was "content neutral". The court found that "narrow tailoring" would be satisfied if the regulation promoted a substantial government interest that would be achieved less effectively without the regulation. Justices Marshall, Brennan, and Stevens dissented.