Volume 513 — United States Reports

This is a list of all the United States Supreme Court cases from volume 513 of the United States Reports:

United States v. Shabani, 513 U.S. 10 (1994), was a court case in which the Supreme Court of the United States clarified standards for conspiracy liability under a federal drug conspiracy statute. In a unanimous opinion written by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the Court held that government prosecutors need not prove evidence of an overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy when prosecuting individuals under the drug conspiracy statute codified at 21 U.S.C. § 846. Justice O'Connor wrote that Congress intended to "adopt the common law definition" of conspiracy for section 846, which did not require an overt act as a precondition of liability.

* After this Court granted the petition for a writ of certiorari and received briefing on the merits, the parties entered into a settlement and agreed… Held: This Court does not lack the power to entertain petitioner's motion to vacate. Section 2106 supplies the vacatur power, and respondent's suggestion is rejected that Article III's case or controversy requirement prohibits the exercise of that power when no live dispute exists due to a settlement that has mooted the case.

Hess v. Port Authority Trans-Hudson Corp., 513 U.S. 30 (1994), was a United States Supreme Court case regarding the nature of "arms of the state" that are entitled to sovereign immunity under the Eleventh Amendment.

United States v. X-Citement Video, Inc., 513 U.S. 64 (1994), was a federal criminal prosecution filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California in Los Angeles against X-Citement Video and its owner, Rubin Gottesman, on three charges of trafficking in child pornography, specifically videos featuring the underaged Traci Lords. In 1989, a federal judge found Gottesman guilty and later sentenced him to one year in jail and a $100,000 fine. The defense challenged the constitutionality of certain sections of the federal laws against child pornography, claiming they were unconstitutionally vague. On appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit agreed and reversed the district decision in 1992.

* Petitioner Federal Election Commission (FEC) brought this civil action against respondents seeking to enforce a provision of the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA). Held: The FEC may not independently file a petition for certiorari in this Court under 2 U.S.C. § 437d(a)(6).

* Georgia taxed retirement benefits paid by the Federal Government, but exempted those paid by the State, until this Court held, in 1989, that such a scheme violates the Federal Constitution. Held: in 1989, that such a scheme violates the Federal Constitution. Georgia then repealed its state retiree tax exemption, but did not offer federal retirees refunds for the unconstitutional taxes they had paid before the Court's 1989 decision.

* After respondent veteran had back surgery in a Department of Veterans Affairs facility for a condition unrelated to his military service, he developed pain and weakness in his left leg, which he… Held: Section 3.358(c)(3) is not consistent with the plain language of § 1151, which contains not a word about fault-or-accident.

* Respondent, a Nebraska resident, owns shares in mutual funds (Trusts) that earn some of their income by participating in "repurchase agreements" (repos) involving federal debt securities. Held: Nebraska's taxation of the income respondent derived from the repos does not violate § 3124(a). Pp. __.

* Co., 456 U.S. 336, 352, 349, 102 S.Ct. 1815, 1825, 1823, 72 L.Ed.2d 114. Held: The filed rate doctrine does not bar the injunction the ICC seeks. The Act grants the ICC broad authority to bring civil actions to enforce the statute and regulations or orders issued under it.

Tome v. United States, 513 U.S. 150 (1995), was a case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States that held that under Federal Rules of Evidence Rule 801(d)(1)(B), a prior consistent statement is not hearsay only if the statement was made before the motive to fabricate arose.

* Petitioner Asgrow Seed Company has protected two varieties of soybean seed under the Plant Variety Protection Act of 1970 (PVPA), which extends patent-like protection to novel varieties of sexually… Held: A farmer who meets the requirements set forth in § 2543's proviso may sell for reproductive purposes only such seed as he has saved for the purpose of replanting his own acreage. Pp. __.

* Respondent was convicted on federal drug charges after being cross-examined, over his counsel's objection, about inconsistent statements that he had made during an earlier plea discussion. Held: An agreement to waive the plea-statement Rules' exclusionary provisions is valid and enforceable absent some affirmative indication that the defendant entered the agreement unknowingly or involuntarily. Pp. __.

* In consolidated state-court class actions brought in Illinois, plaintiffs (respondents here), as participants in American Airlines' frequent flyer program, challenged… Held: The ADA's preemption prescription bars state-imposed regulation of air carriers, but allows room for court enforcement of contract terms set by the parties themselves. Pp. __. (a) Morales does not countenance the Illinois Supreme Court's separation of "essential" operations from unessential programs.

* Petitioner national bank and its brokerage subsidiary applied to the Comptroller of the Currency, charged by Congress with superintendence of national banks, to allow the subsidiary to act as an… Held: The Comptroller's determination that national banks may serve as agents in the sale of annuities is a reasonable construction of the Act and therefore warrants judicial deference. Pp. 3-13.

* The termite prevention contract between petitioner exterminators and respondent Gwin, a homeowner, specified that any controversy thereunder would be settled… Held: Section 2's interstate commerce language should be read broadly to extend the Act's reach to the limits of Congress' Commerce Clause power. The use of the words "evidencing" and "involving" does not restrict the Act's application and thereby allow a State to apply its antiarbitration law or policy. Pp. __.

Schlup v. Delo, 513 U.S. 298 (1995), was a case in which the United States Supreme Court expanded the ability to reopen a case in light of new evidence of actual innocence.

* Alleging that her discharge by respondent Nashville Banner Publishing Company violated the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), petitioner McKennon filed suit seeking a variety… Held: An employee discharged in violation of the ADEA is not barred from all relief when, after her discharge, her employer discovers evidence of wrongdoing that, in any event, would have led to her termination on lawful and legitimate grounds had the employer known of it. Pp. __.

Lebron v. National Railroad Passenger Corporation, 513 U.S. 374 (1995), is a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that Amtrak is a government agency and is thus subject to the First Amendment. The Court issued its decision in a 8–1 vote, with seven justices joining the majority opinion authored by Antonin Scalia. The lone dissent came from Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

* The Multiemployer Pension Plan Amendments Act of 1980 (MPPAA), 29 U.S.C. §§ 1381-1461, permits an employer withdrawing from an underfunded multiemployer pension plan to "amortize" the charge it is… Held: MPPAA calculates its installment schedule on the assumption that interest begins accruing on the first day of the plan year following withdrawal. Pp. 7-17.

* In proceedings on Robert O'Neal's federal habeas corpus petition challenging his state-court convictions for murder and other crimes,… Held: When a federal habeas court finds a constitutional trial error and is in grave doubt about whether the error had a "substantial and injurious effect or influence in determining the jury's verdict," the error is not harmless, and the petitioner must win. Pp. ___-___. (a) The foregoing legal conclusion rests upon three considerations.

United States v. National Treasury Employees Union, 513 U.S. 454 (1995), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that Section 501(b) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 violates the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.

Harris v. Alabama, 513 U.S. 504 (1995), was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that allowing the judge to impose a death sentence and making the jury recommendation non-binding even when it calls for life imprisonment is constitutional.

* After the Chicago River flooded a freight tunnel under the river and the basements of numerous buildings, petitioner corporation and other victims brought tort actions in state court against… Held: The District Court has federal admiralty jurisdiction over Great Lakes's Limitation Act suit. Pp. __. (a) A party seeking to invoke such jurisdiction over a tort claim must satisfy conditions of both location and connection with maritime activity.

* Petitioners (collectively Gustafson), the sole shareholders of Alloyd, Inc., sold substantially all of its stock to respondents and other buyers in a private sale agreement. Held: Section 12(2) does not extend to a private sale contract, since a contract, and its recitations, that are not held out to the public are not a "prospectus" as the term is used in the 1933 Act. Pp. __.