2011 term United States Supreme Court opinions of Stephen Breyer

The 2011 term of the Supreme Court of the United States began October 3, 2011, and concluded September 30, 2012. This was the eighteenth term of Associate Justice Stephen Breyer's tenure on the Court.
Stephen Breyer 2011 term statistics
7
Majority or Plurality
5
Concurrence
0
Other
10
Dissent
0
Concurrence/dissent Total = 22
Bench opinions = 22 Opinions relating to orders = 0 In-chambers opinions = 0
Unanimous opinions: 1 Most joined by: Kagan (12) Least joined by: Scalia (2)
Type Case Citation Issues Joined by Other opinions
101



Minneci v. Pollard 565 U.S. 118 (2012)

Eighth Amendment  • cruel and unusual punishment  • privately-run prison  • adequate alternative causes of action under state tort law Roberts, Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas, Alito, Sotomayor, Kagan
Scalia
Ginsburg
402



Golan v. Holder 565 U.S. 302 (2012)

copyright  • Berne Convention  • public domain Alito
Ginsburg
103



Reynolds v. United States 565 U.S. 432 (2012)

Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act  • applicability to pre-Act offenders Roberts, Kennedy, Thomas, Alito, Sotomayor, Kagan
Scalia
404



Wetzel v. Lambert 565 U.S. 520 (2012)

Brady disclosure  • materiality of police notes to witness impeachment Ginsburg, Kagan
per curiam
205



Messerschmidt v. Millender 565 U.S. 535 (2012)

Fourth Amendment  • law enforcement reliance on overbroad search warrant  • qualified immunity
Roberts
Kagan
Sotomayor
106



Douglas v. Independent Living Center of Southern Cal., Inc. 565 U.S. 606 (2012)

Medicaid  • state law reduction of payments to providers  • review by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services  • private action to enforce federal reimbursement criteria  • Supremacy Clause Kennedy, Ginsburg, Sotomayor, Kagan
Roberts
107



Mayo Collaborative Services v. Prometheus Laboratories, Inc. 566 U.S. 66 (2012)

patent law  • laws of nature exemption from patentability  • diagnostic test of drug potency Unanimous
408



Zivotofsky v. Clinton 566 U.S. 189 (2012)

political question doctrine  • U.S. position on status of Jerusalem  • Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 2003  • passport designation of births in Jerusalem
Roberts
Alito
Sotomayor
409



Setser v. United States 566 U.S. 231 (2012)

Sentencing Reform Act of 1984  • federal court discretion to order consecutive or concurrent sentences in anticipation of state court sentence Kennedy, Ginsburg
Scalia
410



Florence v. Board of Chosen Freeholders of County of Burlington 566 U.S. 318 (2012)

Fourth Amendment  • strip searches in jail of arrestees of minor offenses Ginsburg, Sotomayor, Kagan
Kennedy
Roberts
Alito
211



Mohamad v. Palestinian Authority 566 U.S. 449 (2012)

Torture Victim Protection Act  • liability of organizations
Sotomayor
112



United States v. Home Concrete & Supply, LLC 566 U.S. 478 (2012)

Internal Revenue Code of 1954  • overstatement of basis in property  • statute of limitations for tax deficiency Roberts, Thomas, Alito; Scalia (in part)
Scalia
Kennedy
413



Hall v. United States 566 U.S. 506 (2012)

bankruptcy  • priority of taxation on post-petition sale of farm assets Kennedy, Ginsburg, Kagan
Sotomayor
114



Armour v. Indianapolis 566 U.S. 673 (2012)

Equal Protection Clause  • disparate tax treatment  • administrative justifications under rational basis review Kennedy, Thomas, Ginsburg, Sotomayor, Kagan
Roberts
215



Williams v. Illinois 567 U.S. 50 (2012)

Sixth Amendment  • Confrontation Clause  • expert testimony
Alito
Thomas
Kagan
416



Christopher v. SmithKline Beecham Corp. 567 U.S. 142 (2012)

Fair Labor Standards Act  • exemption of outside salesmen from overtime regulations  • status of pharmaceutical sales representatives Ginsburg, Sotomayor, Kagan
Alito
117



Dorsey v. United States 567 U.S. 260 (2012)

Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986  • Fair Sentencing Act  • mandatory minimum setencing  • applicability of post-Act sentencing to pre-Act offenders Kennedy, Ginsburg, Sotomayor, Kagan
Scalia
418



Knox v. Service Employees 567 U.S. 298 (2012)

mootness due to voluntary cessation  • First Amendment  • compulsory fees for political lobbying by public sector agency shop
Alito
Sotomayor
419



Southern Union Co. v. United States 567 U.S. 343 (2012)

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976  • Sixth Amendment  • right to jury determination of facts relating to criminal fines Kennedy, Alito
Sotomayor
220



Miller v. Alabama 567 U.S. 460 (2012)

Eighth Amendment  • Cruel and Unusual Punishment  • sentencing of juveniles to life without parole Sotomayor
Kagan
Roberts
Thomas
Alito
421



American Tradition Partnership, Inc. v. Bullock 567 U.S. 516 (2012)

First Amendment  • free speech  • campaign finance reform  • corporate personhood Ginsburg, Sotomayor, Kagan
per curiam
Breyer dissented from the Court's brief per curiam decision, which held that a Montana state law banning political expenditures by corporations was precluded by Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. Breyer wrote that he disagreed with the holding in Citizens United and would support reconsidering it. Even accepting that decision, however, Breyer did not believe it precluded a finding that Montana had a compelling state interest in limiting corporate political expenditures in light of the particular "history and political landscape in Montana."
222



United States v. Alvarez 567 U.S. 709 (2012)

Stolen Valor Act of 2005  • First Amendment  • freedom of speech  • protection of false statements Kagan
Kennedy
Alito

References

  • "2011 Term Opinions of the Court". Supreme Court of the United States. Retrieved October 23, 2012.
  • "2011 Term Opinions Relating to Orders". Supreme Court of the United States. Retrieved October 23, 2012.
  • "2011 Term In-Chambers Opinions". Supreme Court of the United States. Retrieved October 23, 2012.