United States Supreme Court Certiorari Granted

Opinions Filed in May 2023

Sackett v. EPA

The Court held that the CWA extends to only those “wetlands with a continuous surface connection to bodies that are ‘waters of the United States’ in their own right,” so that they are “indistinguishable” from those waters. Rapanos v. United States, 547 U.S. 715, 739, 126 S.Ct. 2208, (2006).

Area(s) of Law:
  • Environmental Law

Tyler v. Hennepin County

Under the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment, government cannot bootstrap a delinquent tax to take more than what is owed.

Area(s) of Law:
  • Constitutional Law

Calcutt v. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

“[…] If the record before the agency does not support the agency action, [or] if the agency has not considered all relevant factors, … the proper course, except in rare circumstances, is to remand to the agency for additional investigation or explanation.” 598 U.S. 623, 628.

Area(s) of Law:
  • Administrative Law

Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts v. Goldsmith

If an original work and a secondary use share the same or highly similar purposes, and the secondary use is of a commercial nature, the first factor is likely to weigh against fair use, absent some other justification for copying.

Area(s) of Law:
  • Copyright

Polselli v. IRS

The IRS may issue summonses to determine whether a taxpayer owes money and also to collect any outstanding liability. When the IRS conducts an investigation for purposes of “determining the liability” of a taxpayer, it must provide notice, 26 U.S.C. §7609(a)(1). But once the IRS has reached the stage of “collecting any such liability,” §7602(a)—which is a distinct activity—notice may not be required, §7609(c)(2)(D).

Area(s) of Law:
  • Tax Law

Twitter, Inc. v. Taamneh

The phrase “aids and abets” in §2333(d)(2), as elsewhere, refers to a conscious, voluntary, and culpable participation in another’s wrongdoing.

Area(s) of Law:
  • Tort Law

Ciminelli v. United States

Petitioners were indicted and convicted under 18 U. S. C. § 1343 and §1349, wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. On appeal, the Supreme Court reversed, holding the wire fraud statutes protect only interests “long . . . recognized as property,” and intangible economic information is not such an interest. McNally v. United States, 483 U. S. 350, 360 (1987); Carpenter v. United States, 484 U. S. 19, 26 (1987).

Area(s) of Law:
  • Property Law

Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico v. Centro de Periodismo Investigativo, Inc.

Congress must make its intent to abrogate sovereign immunity unmistakably clear in the language of the statute. Kimel v. Florida Bd. of Regents, 528 U. S. 62, 73.

Area(s) of Law:
  • Sovereign Immunity

National Pork Producers Council v. Ross

The anti-discrimination principle is fundamental to the dormant Commerce Clause; to show violation of the dormant Commerce Clause, petitioner must show discrimination by a statute on out of state economies, evidenced by a substantial burden on the interstate economy. Additionally, under Pike v. Bruce Church, Inc., 397 U.S. 137 (1970), if there is a burden on interstate economy from a facially neutral law, that burden is allowed so long as it is outweighed by putative local benefits.

Area(s) of Law:
  • Constitutional Law

Percoco v. United States

Petitioner was convicted, in relevant part, under 18 U. S. C. §§1343, 1346, and 1349, conspiracy to commit “honest-services” wire fraud. The Second Circuit affirmed. On appeal, the Supreme Court reversed, holding that private citizens may enter circumstances involving the government in which they owe a duty of honesty to the public, this is not always the case. See Skilling v. United States, 561 U. S. 358, 408 (2010).

Area(s) of Law:
  • Property Law

Santos-Zacaria v. Garland

A rule is jurisdictional “only if Congress ‘clearly states’ that it is.” Boechler v. Commissioner, 596 U.S. ___ (2022). A motion for reconsideration is subject to discretionary review and is not an appeal as of right, and therefore is not subject to the exhaustion requirement of §1252(d)(1).

Area(s) of Law:
  • Immigration

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