2008 term United States Supreme Court opinions of Stephen Breyer

The 2008 term of the Supreme Court of the United States began October 6, 2008, and concluded October 4, 2009. This was the fifteenth term of Associate Justice Stephen Breyer's tenure on the Court.
Stephen Breyer 2008 term statistics
8
Majority or Plurality
7
Concurrence
1
Other
13
Dissent
3
Concurrence/dissent Total = 32
Bench opinions = 29 Opinions relating to orders = 2 In-chambers opinions = 1
Unanimous opinions: 3 Most joined by: Souter (13) Least joined by: Thomas (5)
Type Case Citation Issues Joined by Other opinions
301



Winter v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. 555 U.S. 7 (2008)

National Environmental Policy Act  • impact of naval sonar testing on marine mammals  • environmental impact statements Stevens (in part)
Roberts
Ginsburg
102



Chambers v. United States 555 U.S. 122 (2009)

Armed Career Criminal Act  • definition of "violent felony" Roberts, Stevens, Scalia, Kennedy, Souter, Ginsburg
Alito
403



Herring v. United States 555 U.S. 135 (2009)

Fourth Amendment  • exclusionary rule  • effect of police negligence on search Souter
Roberts
Ginsburg
104



Locke v. Karass 555 U.S. 207 (2009)

First Amendment  • public employee union fees imposed on nonmembers Unanimous
Alito
105



Van de Kamp v. Goldstein 555 U.S. 335 (2009)

Section 1983  • failure to disclose impeachment evidence of state witnesses  • prosecutorial immunity Unanimous
206



Nelson v. United States 555 U.S. 350 (2009)

United States Sentencing Guidelines  • confession of error Alito
per curiam
307



Ysursa v. Pocatello Ed. Assn. 555 U.S. 353 (2009)

First Amendment  • public employee unions  • state ban on payroll deductions for political activities
Roberts
Ginsburg
Stevens
Souter
208



Carcieri v. Salazar 555 U.S. 379 (2009)

Indian Reorganization Act  • legal status of Narragansett Tribe  • authority of Secretary of the Interior to take land in trust
Thomas
Souter
Stevens
209



Pacific Bell Telephone Co. v. linkLine Communications, Inc. 555 U.S. 438 (2009)

antitrust law  • Sherman Antitrust Act  • predatory pricing  • wholesale DSL service Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg
Roberts
210



Pleasant Grove City v. Summum 555 U.S. 460 (2009)

First Amendment  • free speech  • government speech  • public forums
Alito
Stevens
Scalia
Souter
411



Summers v. Earth Island Institute 555 U.S. 488 (2009)

Forest Service Decisionmaking and Appeals Reform Act  • regulatory exceptions to notice and comment procedures  • Article III  • standing Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg
Scalia
Kennedy
212



Wyeth v. Levine 555 U.S. 555 (2009)

Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act  • FDA-approved pharmaceutical labeling  • federal preemption  • failure-to-warn of risks
Stevens
Thomas
Alito
413



Kelly v. California 555 U.S. 1020 (2008)

Due Process Clause  • Eighth Amendment  • death penalty  • victim impact evidence
Stevens
Breyer dissented from the Court's denial of certiorari, in a case that involved the admissibility of "victim impact evidence" during the sentencing phase of a capital trial.
414



Bartlett v. Strickland 556 U.S. 1 (2009)

Voting Rights Act of 1965  • legislative redistricting  • vote dilution
Kennedy
Thomas
Souter
Ginsburg
415



Vermont v. Brillon 556 U.S. 81 (2009)

Sixth Amendment  • Speedy Trial Clause  • delay attributable to court-appointed defense counsel Stevens
Ginsburg
316



Entergy Corp. v. Riverkeeper, Inc. 556 U.S. 208 (2009)

Clean Water Act  • environmental impact of power plant cooling water intake  • national performance standards based on cost-benefit analysis
Scalia
Stevens
417



Arizona v. Gant 556 U.S. 332 (2009)

Fourth Amendment  • search incident to arrest  • vehicle search
Stevens
Scalia
Alito
118



Ministry of Defense and Support for Armed Forces of Islamic Republic of Iran v. Elahi 556 U.S. 36 (2009)

attachment to judgment in favor of foreign government  • Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002  • Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 Roberts, Stevens, Scalia, Thomas, Alito; Kennedy, Souter, Ginsburg (in part)
Kennedy
119



Shinseki v. Sanders 556 U.S. 396 (2009)

denial of benefits by Department of Veterans Affairs  • failure to give notice of required evidence  • harmless error Roberts, Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas, Alito
Souter
420



FCC v. Fox Television Stations, Inc. 556 U.S. 502 (2009)

Public Telecommunications Act of 1992  • indecency ban on broadcast television  • fleeting expletives Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg
Scalia
Kennedy
Thomas
Stevens
Ginsburg
421



Dean v. United States 556 U.S. 568 (2009)

federal criminal law  • mandatory additional sentence discharge of firearm during crime  • proof of intent  • rule of lenity
Roberts
Stevens
222



Carlsbad Technology, Inc. v. HIF Bio, Inc. 556 U.S. 635 (2009)

appeal after removal to state court  • supplemental jurisdiction Souter
Thomas
Stevens
Scalia
123



Flores-Figueroa v. United States 556 U.S. 646 (2009)

federal criminal law  • identity theft  • knowing use of another person's identification Roberts, Stevens, Kennedy, Souter, Ginsburg
Scalia
Alito
424



Ashcroft v. Iqbal 556 U.S. 662 (2009)

post-9/11 detention  • qualified immunity  • collateral order doctrine  • Federal Rules of Civil Procedure  • sufficiency of pleadings in discrimination case
Kennedy
Souter
425



Montejo v. Louisiana 556 U.S. 778 (2009)

Fifth Amendment  • right against self-incrimination  • police interrogation after invocation of right to counsel
Scalia
Alito
Stevens
426



Thompson v. McNeil 556 U.S. 1114 (2009)

Eighth Amendment  • death penalty  • substantial delay
Stevens
Thomas
Breyer dissented from the Court's denial of certiorari.
127



Polar Tankers, Inc. v. City of Valdez 557 U.S. 1 (2009)

Tonnage Clause  • local property tax on vessels Scalia, Kennedy, Ginsburg; Alito (in part)
Roberts
Alito
Stevens
128



Nijhawan v. Holder 557 U.S. 29 (2009)

immigration law  • removal after conviction of aggravated felony  • threshold for monetary loss caused by crime Unanimous
429



Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc. 557 U.S. 167 (2009)

Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967  • disparate treatment claim  • but-for causation  • burden of persuasion Souter, Ginsburg
Thomas
Stevens
230



Coeur Alaska, Inc. v. Southeast Alaska Conservation Council 557 U.S. 261 (2009)

Clean Water Act  • Army Corps of Engineers authority to issue slurry discharge permit
Kennedy
Scalia
Ginsburg
431



Horne v. Flores 557 U.S. 433 (2009)

Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974  • state funding of English language instruction  • Article III  • standing  • Federal Rules of Civil Procedure  • relief from judgment based on changed circumstances  • No Child Left Behind Act Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg
Alito
532



O'Brien v. O'Laughlin 557 U.S. 1301 (2009)

habeas corpus  • bail pending appeal
Breyer denied the government's application for a stay of the grant of a habeas corpus petition.

References

  • "2008 Term Opinions of the Court". Supreme Court of the United States. Retrieved March 20, 2010.
  • "2008 Term Opinions Relating to Orders". Supreme Court of the United States. Retrieved March 20, 2010.
  • "2008 Term In-Chambers Opinions". Supreme Court of the United States. Retrieved March 20, 2010.