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Supreme Court Case TrackerThe Court, in plain English

By term

October Term 2014 (2014–2015)

30 casesRecap
  • Before Arguments0
  • Awaiting Decision0
  • Decided30
  • Dismissed0
30 of 30 tracked cases in October Term 2014 (2014–2015) have a decision on the record.

Term tracker

Every published case, by stage

Decided Cases

30
DecidedSame-sex marriage rightsJames Obergefell v. Richard Hodges, Director, Ohio Department of HealthJames Obergefell challenged Ohio’s refusal to recognize his same-sex marriage, which was performed in another state. The Supreme Court overturned the Sixth Circuit and decided that the Fourteenth Amendment requires states to license same-sex marriages and recognize those lawfully performed elsewhere.Decided 14-556DecidedWhat counts as violent crimeSamuel James Johnson v. United StatesThe Supreme Court ruled that the Armed Career Criminal Act’s residual clause was too vague to support an increased sentence for Samuel Johnson, violating due process. It overturned the Eighth Circuit’s decision and sent the case back to the lower court (remanded).Decided 13-7120DecidedHealth insurance tax creditsDavid King v. Sylvia Burwell, Secretary of Health and Human ServicesDavid King challenged an IRS rule extending Affordable Care Act tax credits to people in states using federally run exchanges. The Supreme Court agreed with the Fourth Circuit that the law makes those credits available in those states.Decided 14-114DecidedHousing discrimination without intentTexas Dept. of Housing and Community Affairs v. Inclusive Communities Project, Inc.The Inclusive Communities Project challenged the Texas housing agency’s distribution of federal housing tax credits, arguing that its effects violated the Fair Housing Act even without proof of intent to discriminate. The Supreme Court ruled that the Act allows claims based on discriminatory effects, agreed with the appeals court and sent the case back to the lower court (remanded).Decided 13-1371DecidedPatent royalties after expirationStephen Kimble v. Marvel Entertainment, LLC, Successor to Marvel Enterprises, Inc.Stephen Kimble asked the Supreme Court to overturn the rule that a patent owner cannot collect royalties for sales after the patent expires. The Court kept that rule in place and agreed with the Ninth Circuit (affirmed).Decided 13-720DecidedForce against pretrial detaineesMichael B. Kingsley v. Stan HendricksonMichael Kingsley, held in jail before trial, claimed jail officials used excessive force against him; the Supreme Court ruled he had to show only that they purposely or knowingly used force that was unreasonable under an objective standard, not that they believed it was excessive. The Court found the jury instruction flawed, wiped out the appeals court’s ruling (vacated it), and sent the case back (remanded) for the Seventh Circuit to decide whether the error was harmless.Decided 14-6368DecidedKnowing a drug is controlledStephen Dominick McFadden v. United StatesStephen McFadden challenged his conviction for selling a substance treated by federal law like a controlled drug, arguing that the government had to prove he knew it was an analogue. The Supreme Court ruled prosecutors had to prove he knew he was dealing with a substance regulated by federal drug law, wiped out the Fourth Circuit’s ruling (vacated it), and sent the case back to that court (remanded).Decided 14-378DecidedFees for defending fee requestsBaker Botts L.L.P. v. ASARCO LLCBaker Botts and another law firm sought fees for defending their fee requests in ASARCO’s bankruptcy. The Supreme Court ruled that bankruptcy courts cannot award bankruptcy professionals fees for defending fee applications and agreed with the Fifth Circuit.Decided 14-103DecidedReasons for visa denialsJohn F. Kerry, Secretary of State v. Fauzia DinDin challenged the State Department’s unexplained denial of her Afghan husband’s visa on terrorism-related grounds. The Supreme Court wiped out the Ninth Circuit’s ruling and sent the case back (vacated and remanded); Scalia found no violation of Din’s right to fair procedures (due process), while Kennedy said the notice was enough even assuming she had that right.Decided 13-1402DecidedSecond mortgages in bankruptcyBank of America, N. A. v. David B. CaulkettDavid Caulkett sought to erase Bank of America’s second mortgage because his home was worth less than the first mortgage debt. The Court ruled §506(d) does not permit that if the bank’s claim is backed by a mortgage and recognized under §502; it overturned the Eleventh Circuit and sent the case back (remanded).Decided 13-1421DecidedDrug paraphernalia and deportationMoones Mellouli v. Loretta E. Lynch, Attorney GeneralThe Supreme Court overturned the Eighth Circuit and ruled that Moones Mellouli’s Kansas conviction for concealing unnamed pills in his sock did not trigger his deportation under the federal law at issue.Decided 13-1034DecidedGun transfers for felonsTony Henderson v. United StatesThe Supreme Court ruled that a court may order Henderson’s lawfully owned firearms transferred from government custody to a third party only if the recipient will not let Henderson use the guns or direct how they are used. It wiped out the appeals court’s ruling and sent the case back for further proceedings (vacated and remanded).Decided 13-1487DecidedRetirement plan investment feesGlenn Tibble v. Edison InternationalTibble challenged Edison International’s use of higher-fee funds despite identical lower-fee options. The Court wiped out the Ninth Circuit’s ruling and sent the case back (vacated and remanded), explaining that fiduciaries must keep monitoring investments and remove imprudent ones after choosing them; it did not decide whether Edison breached that duty.Decided 13-550DecidedTax credits for out-of-state incomeComptroller of the Treasury of Maryland v. Brian Wynne, et ux.Maryland residents Brian Wynne and his wife challenged the state’s tax system, which taxed income earned in other states without fully crediting taxes paid there. The Supreme Court agreed with Maryland’s highest court (affirmed), ruling that the system violated the Constitution’s dormant Commerce Clause because it discriminated against interstate commerce.Decided 13-485DecidedAppeals of denied bankruptcy plansLouis B. Bullard v. Blue Hills Bank, fka Hyde Park Savings BankAfter a bankruptcy court refused to approve Louis Bullard’s repayment plan involving Blue Hills Bank, Bullard sought an immediate appeal. The Supreme Court agreed with the First Circuit that the refusal was not an order he could immediately appeal, unless the bankruptcy court also dismissed his case.Decided 14-116DecidedJudges asking for campaign donationsLanell Williams-Yulee v. The Florida BarThe Supreme Court upheld Florida’s rule and the discipline imposed on Lanell Williams-Yulee after she personally asked for campaign donations while running for judge. It decided that the ban does not violate the First Amendment because it is carefully limited to protect public confidence in the courts.Decided 13-1499DecidedReview of settlement effortsMach Mining, LLC v. Equal Employment Opportunity CommissionThe Supreme Court ruled that courts may review whether the EEOC tried to resolve Mach Mining’s discrimination charge before suing, but only to check whether the agency gave the employer notice of the allegation and a chance to resolve it. The Court wiped out the appeals court’s ruling (vacated it) and sent the case back (remanded).Decided 13-1019DecidedTraffic stops and dog searchesDennys Rodriguez v. United StatesThe Supreme Court ruled that police may not extend Dennys Rodriguez’s traffic stop for a dog sniff without reasonable suspicion. It wiped out the appeals court’s ruling (vacated it) and sent the case back to the lower court (remanded), leaving open whether the officer had reasonable suspicion in Rodriguez’s case.Decided 13-9972DecidedFalse opinions in stock filingsOmnicare, Inc. v. Laborers District Council Construction Industry Pension FundInvestors challenged Omnicare’s legal-compliance opinions. The Court said an opinion is not false merely because it proves wrong, but material omissions about Omnicare’s inquiry or knowledge can violate Section 11 if they clash with reasonable investors’ understanding; it wiped out the appeals ruling (vacated it) and sent the case back (remanded) to test the claim.Decided 13-435DecidedPublic notice for rule changesThomas E. Perez, Secretary of Labor v. Mortgage Bankers AssociationThe D.C. Circuit ruled that the Labor Department had to use public notice-and-comment procedures to significantly change its interpretation of a rule. The Supreme Court overturned that ruling, deciding that the Administrative Procedure Act does not impose that extra requirement on agencies.Decided 13-1041DecidedDestroying fish during investigationsJohn L. Yates v. United StatesJohn Yates’s case asked whether fish count as “tangible objects” under a federal law against destroying evidence to obstruct an investigation. The Supreme Court overturned the Eleventh Circuit’s judgment and sent the case back to the lower court (remanded); four justices said the term means objects used to record or preserve information, while Justice Alito agreed with the result for narrower reasons.Decided 13-7451DecidedAntitrust rules for state boardsNorth Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners v. Federal Trade CommissionThe Federal Trade Commission challenged the North Carolina dental board’s regulation of competing teeth-whitening providers, and the board claimed a shield from federal antitrust law because it was a state agency. The Supreme Court agreed with the lower court: because practicing dentists controlled the board, it needed active state oversight to claim that shield, and it lacked that oversight.Decided 13-534DecidedConflicts in death penalty appealsMark A. Christeson v. Don Roper, WardenMark Christeson sought new lawyers after his appointed lawyers filed his federal petition challenging his state conviction late. The Supreme Court overturned the Eighth Circuit’s judgment and sent the case back for further proceedings.Decided 14-6873DecidedHow courts read patent claimsTeva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. v. Sandoz, Inc.Teva Pharmaceuticals and Sandoz disputed whether the Federal Circuit could recheck facts a trial judge found while interpreting a patent claim from scratch or overturn them only if clearly wrong. The Supreme Court required the latter for those findings, wiped out the appeals court’s ruling (vacated it), and sent the case back (remanded).Decided 13-854DecidedReligious beards in prisonGregory Houston Holt, aka Abdul Maalik Muhammad v. Ray Hobbs, Director, Arkansas Department of CorrectionThe Supreme Court ruled that Arkansas’s prison grooming policy violated the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, a law protecting religious practice in institutions, insofar as it stopped Gregory Holt from growing a half-inch beard for religious reasons. It overturned the lower court’s ruling (reversed it) and sent the case back to that court (remanded it).Decided 13-6827DecidedPrisoner appeal rights after winningRobert Mitchell Jennings v. William Stephens, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions DivisionThe Supreme Court overturned the Fifth Circuit’s ruling and sent the case back to the lower court (remanded). It decided Robert Jennings could defend the relief he won in federal court on an alternative ground during Texas’s appeal without filing his own appeal or obtaining a certificate of appealability (approval required for some habeas appeals).Decided 13-7211DecidedLarry Whitfield v. United StatesThe Supreme Court ruled that Larry Whitfield forced Mary Parnell to accompany him under the federal bank-robbery law when he made her move several feet from one room to another; a substantial distance was not required. The Court agreed with the lower court (affirmed).Decided 13-9026DecidedProof for federal courtDart Cherokee Basin Operating Company, LLC v. Brandon W. OwensThe Supreme Court ruled that Dart Cherokee’s notice moving Owens’s case to federal court needed only a plausible claim that the amount exceeded the federal threshold, not evidence. It found the district court erred and the Tenth Circuit abused its discretion by denying review, wiped out the Tenth Circuit’s order (vacated it), and sent the case back to that court (remanded).Decided 13-719DecidedTraffic stops for legal mistakesNicholas Brady Heien v. North CarolinaThe Supreme Court agreed with North Carolina’s highest court that the stop of Nicholas Heien’s car was lawful: an officer’s objectively reasonable mistake about traffic law can provide the specific, reasonable basis (reasonable suspicion) needed for a traffic stop under the Fourth Amendment.Decided 13-604DecidedJuror statements about jury selectionGregory P. Warger v. Randy D. ShauersGregory Warger sought a new trial using one juror’s account of another juror’s statements during deliberations to argue that the juror had been dishonest during jury selection. The Supreme Court agreed with the appeals court (affirmed) that Rule 606(b) barred the testimony because the statements were part of the jury’s internal deliberations.Decided 13-517