Volume 554 — United States Reports

This is a list of all the United States Supreme Court cases from volume 554 of the United States Reports:

After respondent (Piccadilly) declared bankruptcy under Chapter 11, but before its plan was submitted to the Bankruptcy Court, that court au thorized Piccadilly to sell its assets, approved its… Held: Because § 1146(a) affords a stamp-tax exemption only to transfers made pursuant to a Chapter 11 plan that has been confirmed, Piccadilly may not rely on that provision to avoid Florida’s stamp taxes.

Chamber of Commerce v. Brown, 554 U.S. 60 (2008), is a United States labor law case, concerning the scope of federal preemption against state law for labor rights.

Meacham v. Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory, 554 U.S. 84 (2008), was a case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States on June 19, 2008. The Court decided that an employer bears both the burden of production and burden of persuasion when defending a disparate impact claim using the "reasonable factors" defense under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA).

Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. v. Glenn, 554 U.S. 105 (2008), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the court held that a company that both administers and funds a benefit plan operates under a conflict of interest that must be considered when a court reviews its claim denials.

Kentucky permits “hazardous position” workers, e. g., policemen, to re ceive normal retirement benefits after working either 20 years or 5 years and attaining age 55 and pays “disability retirement”… Held: Kentucky’s system does not discriminate against workers who be come disabled after becoming eligible for retirement based on age. Pp. 141–150.

Indiana v. Edwards, 554 U.S. 164 (2008), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that the standard for competency to stand trial was not linked to the standard for competency to represent oneself.

Rothgery v. Gillespie County, 554 U.S. 191 (2008), is a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that a criminal defendant's initial appearance before a magistrate judge, where he learns the charge against him and his liberty is subject to restriction, marks the initiation of adversary judicial proceedings that trigger attachment of the Sixth Amendment right to counsel. Attachment does not also require that a prosecutor (as distinct from a police officer) be aware of that initial proceeding or involved in its conduct.

Greenlaw v. United States, 554 U.S. 237 (2008), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that a federal appeals court may not sua sponte increase a defendant's sentence unless the government first files a notice of appeal.

Sprint Communications Co. v. APCC Services, Inc., 554 U.S. 269 (2008), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the court held that an assignee of a legal claim for money owed has standing to pursue that claim in federal court even when the assignee has promised to remit the proceeds of the litigation to the assignor.

Plains Commerce Bank v. Long Family Land and Cattle Co., Inc., 554 U.S. 316 (2008), is a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States holding that a tribal court had no jurisdiction to hear a case for discrimination against an Indian in the sale of non-Indian fee land located on a reservation.

Giles v. California, 554 U.S. 353 (2008), was a case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States that held that for testimonial statements to be admissible under the forfeiture exception to hearsay, the defendant must have intended to make the witness unavailable for trial.

Kennedy v. Louisiana, 554 U.S. 407 (2008), is a landmark decision by the Supreme Court of the United States which held that the Eighth Amendment's Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause prohibits the imposition of the death penalty for a crime in which the victim did not die and the victim's death was not intended.

Exxon Shipping Co. v. Baker, 554 U.S. 471 (2008), was a case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States. The Court ruled in a 5-3 decision that the punitive damages awarded to the victims of the Exxon Valdez oil spill should be reduced from $2.5 billion to $500 million.

Morgan Stanley Capital Group, Inc. v. Public Utility District No. 1, 554 U.S. 527 (2008), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the court held that the Mobile–Sierra presumption that a negotiated rate is "just and reasonable" applies to all contract rates even if it was not actually reviewed for reasonableness, and the presumption applies regardless of whether the rate is considered too high or too low.

District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 (2008), is a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States. It ruled that the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects an individual's right to keep and bear arms—unconnected with service in a militia—for traditionally lawful purposes such as self-defense within the home, and that the District of Columbia's handgun ban and requirement that lawfully owned rifles and shotguns be kept "unloaded and disassembled or bound by a trigger lock" violated this guarantee. It also stated that the right to bear arms is not unlimited and that certain restrictions on guns and gun ownership were permissible.

Federal-law limits on the amount of contributions a House of Representa tives candidate and his authorized committee may receive from an indi… Held: This Court has jurisdiction to hear Davis’ appeal. Pp. 732–736. (a) Davis has standing to challenge § 319(b)’s disclosure require ments. When he filed suit, he had already declared his 2006 candidacy and had been forced by § 319(b) to disclose to his opponent that he in tended to spend more than $350,000 in personal funds.

Held: The applications and petition for a writ of habeas corpus are denied. Under settled principles, the possibility of congressional or state legisla tive intervention is too remote to justify a stay, especially given that Congress has not progressed beyond the bare introduction of a bill in the four years since the ICJ ruling and the four months since this Court ruled in Medellı´n v. Texas, 552 U. S. 491.