Volume 523 — United States Reports

This is a list of all United States Supreme Court cases from volume 523 of the United States Reports:

Lexecon Inc. v. Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach, 523 U.S. 26 (1998), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court unanimously held that a district court conducting coordinated pretrial proceedings in multiple cases by designation of the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation under 28 U.S.C. § 1407(a) has no authority to reassign a transferred case to itself for the actual trial of the case. The Court's decision overturned numerous lower-court decisions upholding what had become a common practice in multi-district cases.

Bogan v. Scott-Harris, 523 U.S. 44 (1997), is a ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States where the court decided unanimously local legislators are entitled to the same absolute immunity from civil liability under Section 1983 for their legislative activities as are federal, state and regional legislators regardless of motive or intent.

Kawaauhau v. Geiger, 523 U.S. 57 (1998), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court ruled that debt arising from a medical malpractice judgment, attributable to negligent or reckless conduct is dischargeable under the Bankruptcy Code.

United States v. Ramirez, 523 U.S. 65 (1998), was a case before the United States Supreme Court in which the Court held that property damage during a no-knock warrant is irrelevant as long as law enforcement has reasonable suspicion that knocking and announcing would be a dangerous move.

Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, 523 U.S. 75 (1998), is a landmark decision of the US Supreme Court. The case arose out of a suit for sex discrimination by a male oil-rig worker, who claimed that he was repeatedly subjected to sexual harassment by his male co-workers with the acquiescence of his employer. The Court held that the protection of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 against workplace discrimination "because of... sex" applied to harassment in the workplace between members of the same sex.

Held: that a citizen only has the right to sue for a “failure ... to complete and submit” the required forms. Under this reading, once the owner or operator has filed the forms, the district court no longer has jurisdiction. Atlantic States Legal Foundation v. United Musical, 61 F. 3d 473, 475 (1995).

* Respondent L'anza, a California manufacturer, sells its hair care products in this country exclusively to distributors who have… Held: The first sale doctrine endorsed in §109(a) is applicable to imported copies. Pp. ____-____. (a) In Bobbs-Merrill Co. v. Straus, 210 U.S. 339, 349-350, 28 S.Ct. 722, 725-26, 52 L.Ed. 1086, this Court held that the exclusive right to "vend'' under the copyright statute then in force applied only to the first sale of a copyrighted work.

Quality King Distributors, Inc. v. L'anza Research International, Inc., 523 U.S. 135 (1998), was a decision by the United States Supreme Court over whether a copyright holder could restrict redistribution of material containing copyrighted content (authorized by the copyright holder) which is imported into the United States as so-called "grey market" goods.

Gray v. Maryland, 523 U.S. 185 (1998), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the court held that the Bruton rule does not allow the admission of an out-of-court confession by a defendant to be entered against a jointly-tried co-defendant with the defendant's name redacted.

* After the local rent control administrator ordered petitioner to refund $31,382.50 in excessive rents he had charged respondent tenants, he sought to discharge his debts under Chapter 7 of the… Held: Because §523(a)(2)(A) excepts from discharge all liability arising from fraud, treble damages (plus attorney's fees and costs) awarded on account of the debtor's fraud fall within the scope of the exception.

Almendarez-Torres v. United States, 523 U.S. 224 (1998), was a decision by the United States Supreme Court written by Justice Stephen Breyer which confirmed that a sentencing enhancement for a prior felony conviction was not subject to the Sixth Amendment requirement for a jury to determine the fact beyond a reasonable doubt.

Ohio Adult Parole Authority v. Woodard, 523 U.S. 272 (1998), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the court held that Ohio's clemency procedure is constitutional because the minimum required by the Due Process Clause is notice and an opportunity to be heard. The court also held that a clemency process that did not offer the petitioner immunity for anything said during interviews for the process did not violate self-incrimination principles.

* In 1995, the Texas Legislature enacted a comprehensive scheme (Chapter 39) that holds local school boards accountable to the State for student">student achievement in the… Held: Texas's claim is not ripe for adjudication. A claim resting upon ""contingent future events that may not occur as anticipated, or indeed may not occur at all,''' is not fit for adjudication. Thomas v. Union Carbide Agricultural Products Co., 473 U.S. 568, 581, 105 S.Ct. 3325, 3333, 87 L.Ed.2d 409.

United States v. Scheffer, 523 U.S. 303 (1998), was the first case in which the Supreme Court issued a ruling with regard to the highly controversial matter of polygraph, or "lie-detector," testing. At issue was whether the per se exclusion of polygraph evidence offered by the accused in a military court violates the Sixth Amendment right to present a defense.

Feltner v. Columbia Pictures Television, Inc., 523 U.S. 340 (1998), was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that if there is to be an award of statutory damages in a copyright infringement case, then the opposing party has the right to demand a jury trial.

* The Harbor Maintenance Tax (HMT) obligates exporters, importers, and domestic shippers, 26 U.S.C. §4461(c)(1), to pay 0.125 percent of the value of the commercial cargo they ship through the… Held: 1.The CIT properly entertained jurisdiction in this case.

Breard v. Greene, 523 U.S. 371 (1998), is a United States Supreme Court decision decided on April 14, 1998. The Court held that Ángel Francisco Breard would not receive a stay of execution and/or other relief under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, thus confirming the constitutional law principle that a Senate-ratified treaty may be overridden by a later domestic statute enacted by Congress.

* Before enactment of the Tax Reform Act of 1986, the Internal Revenue Code gave property and casualty (PC) insurers a full deduction for "loss reserves'': estimated amounts of losses reported but… Held: The Treasury regulation represents a reasonable interpretation of the term "reserve strengthening.'' Neither prior legislation nor industry use establishes the plain meaning Atlantic ascribes to that term: reserve increases attributable to changes in methods or assumptions.

* A grand jury in Evangeline Parish, Louisiana, indicted petitioner Campbell for second-degree murder. Held: 1.A white criminal defendant has the requisite standing to raise equal protection and due process objections to discrimination against black persons in the selection of grand jurors. Pp. ____-____. (a) This case must be treated as one alleging discriminatory selection of grand jurors, not just of a grand jury foreperson.

* Petitioners David and Linda Beach refinanced their Florida house in 1986 with a loan from Great Western Bank. Held: A borrower may not assert the §1635 right to rescind as an affirmative defense in a collection action brought by the lender after §1635(f)'s 3-year period has run. Absent "the clearest congressional language'' to the contrary, Reiter v.

Miller v. Albright, 523 U.S. 420 (1998), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court upheld the validity of laws relating to U.S. citizenship at birth for children born outside the United States, out of wedlock, to an American parent. The Court declined to overturn a more restrictive citizenship requirement applying to an illegitimate foreign-born child of an American father, as opposed to a child born to an American mother under similar circumstances.

* The S.S. Brother Jonathan and its cargo sank off the coast of California in 1865. Held: 1.The Eleventh Amendment does not bar a federal court's jurisdiction over an in rem admiralty action where the res is not within the State's possession. Pp. ____-____. (a) The federal courts have a unique role in admiralty cases as conferred by Article III, §2, cl. 1, of the Constitution.

* At petitioners' trial under 21 U.S.C. §§841 and 846 for "conspir[ing]'' to "possess with intent to . . . distribute [mixtures containing two] controlled substance[s],'' namely, cocaine and cocaine… Held: Because the Guidelines instruct the judge in a case like this to determine both the amount and kind of controlled substances for which a defendant should be held accountable, and then to impose a sentence that varies depending upon those determinations, see, e.g., Witte v.

* After a third party perfected a $400,000 judgment lien under Pennsylvania law on Francis Romani's Cambria County real property, the Internal Revenue Service filed notices of tax liens on the… Held: Section 3713(a) does not require that a federal tax claim be given preference over a judgment creditor's perfected lien on real property. Pp. ____-____. (a) There is no dispute about the meaning of either the Pennsylvania lien statute or the Tax Lien Act.

Held: counsel failed to contest certain of the conclusions offered by the State’s forensic expert at trial. Second, the court determined, counsel should have impeached the credibility of two jailhouse informants to a greater extent than he did. In the District Court’s view, these failings prejudiced Thompson under the rule of Strickland v. Washington, 466 U. S. 668 (1984).

Petitioner is a litigious and outspoken prisoner in the District of Columbia's correctional system. Held: The Court of Appeals erred in fashioning a heightened burden of proof for unconstitutional-motive cases against public officials. Pp. ____-____.

* Petitioner pleaded guilty to drug possession with intent to distribute, 18 U.S.C. §841(a)(1), and to "using'' a firearm "during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime,'' §924(c)(1), but… Held: Although petitioner's claim was procedurally defaulted, he may be entitled to a hearing on its merits if he makes the necessary showing to relieve the default. Pp. ____-____. 2 (a) Only a voluntary and intelligent guilty plea is constitutionally valid. Brady v.

Stewart v. Martinez-Villareal, 523 U.S. 637 (1998), was a decision by the United States Supreme Court, which held that 28 U.S.C. § 2244(b) did not apply to a petition that raises only a competency to be executed claim and that respondent did not, therefore, need authorization to file his petition in the District Court.

* Petitioner Textron Lycoming Reciprocating Engine Division (Textron) and respondents-an international union and one of its locals (hereinafter… Held: Because the Union's complaint alleges no violation of the collective-bargaining agreement, neither this Court nor the federal courts below have subject-matter jurisdiction under §301(a), which confers jurisdiction only over " [s]uits for violation of contracts.'' While a federal court may, in the course of resolving a dispute…

Arkansas Educational Television Commission v. Forbes, 523 U.S. 666 (1998), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the court held that state-owned public television networks are not required to invite minor-party candidates with few supporters to major-party debates because the networks are not public forums.

Held: were both “preempted by federal law and policies,” as reflected in the IMLA, and “void for interfering with tribal self-government.” Id., at 903.

* Pursuant to the National Forest Management Act of 1976 (NFMA), the United States Forest Service developed a Land and Resource Management Plan (Plan) for Ohio's Wayne National Forest. Held: This dispute is not justiciable, because it is not ripe for court review. Pp. ____-____. (a) In deciding whether an agency decision is ripe, this Court has examined the fitness of the particular issues for judicial decision and the hardship to the parties of withholding review.

Calderon v. Ashmus, 523 U.S. 740 (1998), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the court held that the Declaratory Judgment Act cannot be used to seek an advance ruling on a collateral issue. Therefore, the question posed by this case was nonjusticiable under Article III.

Kiowa Tribe v. Manufacturing Technologies, 523 U.S. 751 (1998), was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that a Native Nation is entitled to sovereign immunity from contract lawsuits, whether made on or off reservation, or involving governmental or commercial activities.

New Jersey v. New York, 523 U.S. 767 (1998), was a U.S. Supreme Court case that determined that roughly 83% of Ellis Island was part of New Jersey, rather than New York State.

Sacramento v. Lewis, 523 U.S. 833 (1998), was a decision of the Supreme Court of the United States involving police action in a high-speed car chase.

* Petitioner Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA or Union), a private-sector labor organization covered by the Railway Labor Act (RLA), represents, as exclusive bargaining… Held: When a union adopts an arbitration process to comply with Hudson 's "impartial decisionmaker'' requirement, agency-fee objectors who have not agreed to the procedure may not be required to exhaust the arbitral remedy before challenging the union's calculation in a federal-court action. Pp. ____-____.