2010 term United States Supreme Court opinions of Samuel Alito

The 2010 term of the Supreme Court of the United States began October 4, 2010, and concluded October 1, 2011. This was the sixth term of Associate Justice Samuel Alito's tenure on the Court.
Samuel Alito 2010 term statistics
7
Majority or Plurality
6
Concurrence
1
Other
6
Dissent
1
Concurrence/dissent Total = 21
Bench opinions = 18 Opinions relating to orders = 3 In-chambers opinions = 0
Unanimous opinions: 0 Most joined by: Roberts (12) Least joined by: Kagan (4)
Type Case Citation Issues Joined by Other opinions
101



NASA v. Nelson 562 U.S. 134 (2011)

background check of prospective federal employees  • informational privacy  • Privacy Act of 1974 Roberts, Kennedy, Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor
Scalia
Thomas
202



Staub v. Proctor Hospital 562 U.S. 411 (2011)

Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994  • influence of prior discrimination on subsequent decisionmaker Thomas
Scalia
103



Henderson v. Shinseki 562 U.S. 428 (2011)

Veterans' Judicial Review Act  • Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims  • excusability of missing deadline for filing appeal Roberts, Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas, Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor
404



Snyder v. Phelps 562 U.S. 443 (2011)

First Amendment  • free speech  • intentional infliction of emotional distress
Roberts
Breyer
305



Pepper v. United States 562 U.S. 476 (2011)

Federal Sentencing Guidelines  • consideration of postsentencing rehabilitation
Sotomayor
Breyer
Thomas
106



Wall v. Kholi 562 U.S. 545 (2011)

Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996  • tolling of habeas corpus statute of limitations  • motion to reduce sentence as application for collateral review Roberts, Kennedy, Thomas, Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor, Kagan; Scalia (in part)
Scalia
207



Milner v. Department of Navy 562 U.S. 562 (2011)

Freedom of Information Act  • exemption for internal personnel rules
Kagan
Breyer
408



Wong v. Smith • [full text] 562 U.S. 1021 (2010)

judicial commenting on evidence  • judicial coercion of a jury verdict Roberts, Scalia
Alito filed a dissent from the Court's denial of certiorari, where the lower court had granted habeas relief on the grounds that a judge's comments to a deadlocked jury about the evidence coerced them into returning a guilty verdict. Alito observed that the privilege of common law judges to comment on the evidence was centuries old, and no Supreme Court precedent had yet ruled on whether or when the exercise of that privilege constituted coercion. In Alito's view, therefore, the lower court's judgment was contrary to the requirement under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act that a state court judgment must be contrary to clearly established law in order to be set aside by a federal habeas court.
409



Harper v. Maverick Recording Co. • [full text] 562 U.S. 1080 (2010)

copyright infringement  • statutory damages  • innocent infringer defense  • music downloading
Alito filed a dissent from the Court's denial of certiorari, in a case involving a 16-year-old girl sued for illegally downloading music from the internet. The lower court had ruled the girl was ineligible for the "innocent infringer" defense, which would have reduced the statutory damages available, because it was foreclosed by 17 U.S.C. § 402(d), which applies when the defendant had access to a "phonorecord" bearing a copyright notice. Alito noted that the statutory definition of "phonorecord" only applied to material objects, and so there was a "strong argument" that §402(d) did not apply to downloaded digital music files. Though there was not yet a circuit split on the issue, Alito believed certiorari was appropriate because the issue was important and unlikely to be presented to the courts of appeals in many cases.
510



Huber v. New Jersey Dept. of Environmental Protection 562 U.S. 1302 (2011)

Fourth Amendment  • warrantless searches  • wetlands protection Roberts, Scalia, Thomas
Alito filed a statement respecting the Court's denial of certiorari.
211



Cullen v. Pinholster 563 U.S. 170 (2011)

Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996  • introduction of new evidence in habeas corpus proceedings  • Sixth Amendment  • ineffective assistance of counsel
Thomas
Breyer
Sotomayor
112



Kentucky v. King 563 U.S. 452 (2011)

Fourth Amendment  • exigent circumstances  • police-created exigency Roberts, Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas, Breyer, Sotomayor, Kagan
Ginsburg
413



Brown v. Plata 563 U.S. 493 (2011)

Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1995  • Eighth Amendment  • prison overcrowding Roberts
Kennedy
Scalia
414



Fowler v. United States 563 U.S. 668 (2011)

federal witness tampering crime  • likelihood victim was intending to communicate with federal officer Ginsburg
Breyer
Scalia
115



Global-Tech Appliances, Inc. v. SEB S. A. 563 U.S. 754 (2011)

patent law  • induced infringement  • willful blindness Roberts, Scalia, Thomas, Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor, Kagan
Kennedy
216



Nevada Comm'n on Ethics v. Carrigan 564 U.S. 117 (2011)

vote recusal of state legislator with conflict of interest  • First Amendment  • overbreadth doctrine
Scalia
Kennedy
117



United States v. Jicarilla Apache Nation 564 U.S. 162 (2011)

fiduciary exception to attorney–client privilege  • general trust relationship between the United States and Indian tribes Roberts, Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas
Ginsburg
Sotomayor
118



Davis v. United States 564 U.S. 229 (2011)

Fourth Amendment  • exclusionary rule  • good faith reliance on binding appellate precedent Roberts, Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas, Kagan
Sotomayor
Breyer
419



J. D. B. v. North Carolina 564 U.S. 261 (2011)

Fifth Amendment  • Miranda warning  • effect of minor's age on determining custodial status Roberts, Scalia, Thomas
Sotomayor
220



American Elec. Power Co. v. Connecticut 564 U.S. 410 (2011)

Clean Air Act  • power plant carbon dioxide emissions standards  • federal common law nuisance claims Thomas
Ginsburg
221



Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Assn. 564 U.S. 786 (2011)

First Amendment  • freedom of speech  • restriction on sale of violent video games to minors Roberts
Scalia
Thomas
Breyer

References

  • "2010 Term Opinions of the Court". Supreme Court of the United States. Retrieved October 2, 2011.
  • "2010 Term Opinions Relating to Orders". Supreme Court of the United States. Retrieved October 2, 2011.
  • "2010 Term In-Chambers Opinions". Supreme Court of the United States. Retrieved October 2, 2011.