Opinions
Opinions
Supreme Court
Sandra Day O'Connor served as a justice on the U.S. Supreme Court from 1981 to 2006. This page lists the opinions she wrote during her time on the court.
Post Retirement Opinions
After her retirement from the Supreme Court, Sandra Day O'Connor continued to hear cases in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit as a designated judge.
Arizona Appellate Court Opinions
Sandra Day O'Connor served as a judge on the Arizona Court of Appeals from 1980 to 1981. This page lists the opinions she wrote during her time on the state bench.
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Justice O’CONNOR delivered the opinion of the Court.
The author of a preexisting work may assign to another the right to use it in a derivative work. In this case, the author of a preexisting work agreed to assign the rights in his renewal copyright term to the owner of a derivative work, but died before the commencement of the renewal period. The question presented is whether the owner of the derivative work infringed the rights of the successor owner of the preexisting work by continued distribution and publication of the derivative work during the renewal term of the preexisting work.
I
Cornell Woolrich authored the story “It Had to Be Murder,” which was first published in February, 1942, in Dime Detective Magazine. The magazine’s publisher, Popular Publications, Inc., obtained the rights to magazine publication of the story, and Woolrich retained all other rights. Popular Publications obtained a blanket copyright for the issue of Dime Detective Magazine in which “It Had to Be Murder” was published.
The Copyright Act of 1909, 35 Stat. 1075, 17 U.S.C. § 1 et seq. (1976 ed.) (1909 Act), provided authors a 28-year initial term of copyright protection plus a 28-year renewal term. See 17 U.S.C. § 24 (1976 ed.). In 1945, Woolrich agreed to assign the rights to make motion picture versions of six of his stories, including “It Had to Be Murder,” to B.G. De Sylva Productions for $9,250. He also agreed to renew the copyrights in the stories at the appropriate time, and to assign
Justice O’CONNOR delivered the opinion of the Court.
This case calls upon the Court to determine whether the Eleventh Amendment bars respondents’ suits in federal court against an entity created by New York and New Jersey to operate certain transportation and other facilities.
I
In 1921, New York and New Jersey entered a bi-state compact creating the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. 1921 N.J.Laws, c. 151; 1921 N.Y.Laws, c. 154; see N.J.Stat.Ann. § 32:1-1 et seq. (1963); N.Y.Unconsol.Laws § 6401 et seq. (McKinney 1979). In accord with the Constitution’s Compact Clause, Art. I, § 10, cl. 3, Congress consented to the compact. 42 Stat. 174 (1921). Through the compact, the States created the Authority to achieve “a better coordination of the terminal, transportation and other facilities of commerce in, about and through the port of New York,” N.J.Stat.Ann. § 32:1-1 (1963); N.Y. Unconsol.Laws § 6401 (McKinney 1979), and lodged in the Authority
full power and authority to purchase, construct, lease and/or operate any terminal or transportation facility.within [the port] district.
N.J. Stat.Ann. § 32:1-7 (1963); N.Y.Unconsol. Laws § 6407 (McKinney 1979). See generally United States Trust Co. of N. Y. v. New Jersey, 431 U. S. 1, 431 U. S. 4 -5 (1977); E. Bard, The Port of New York Authority (1942). The Port Authority Trans-Hudson Corp. (PATH), petitioner in these consolidated cases, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Port Authority that operates an interstate railway
Justice O’CONNOR, with whom Justice BLACKMUN joins, concurring.
I join the Court’s opinion on the understanding that a “satisfactory explanation” within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. § 2518(8)(a) cannot merely be a reasonable excuse for the delay; it must also reflect the actual reason for the delay. Thus, as the Court today holds, an appellate court’s review of the sufficiency of the Government’s explanation for a delay should be based on the findings made and evidence presented in the district court, rather than on a post hoc explanation given for the first time on appeal. See ante at 495 U. S. 267. With this understanding, I agree with the Court that this case should be remanded for a determination whether the Government’s explanation to the District Court for the delay -not the explanation offered on appeal -meets the “satisfactory explanation” standard.
JUSTICE O’CONNOR delivered the opinion of the Court.
We are called upon in this case to determine whether the funds petitioners transferred to their two sons while they served as full-time, unpaid missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Church) are deductible as charitable contributions “to or for the use of” the Church, pursuant to 26 U.S.C. § 170.
Petitioners, Harold and Enid Davis, and their sons, Benjamin and Cecil, are members of the Church. According to the stipulated facts, the Church operates a worldwide missionary program involving 25,000 persons each year. Most of these missionaries are young men between ages 19 and 22. If the Church determines that a candidate is qualified to become a missionary, the president of the Church sends a letter calling the candidate to missionary service in a specified geographical location. A follow-up letter from the missionary department lists the items of clothing the missionary will need, provides specific information relating to the mission, and sets forth the estimated amount of money needed to support the missionary service. This amount varies according to the location of the mission and reflects an estimate of the amount the missionary will actually need.
The missionary’s parents generally provide the necessary funds to support their son or daughter during the period of missionary service. If they are unable to do so, the Church will locate another donor from the local congregation or use money donated
JUSTICE O’CONNOR delivered the opinion of the Court.
This case concerns overlapping federal and state regulation of a hydroelectric project located near a California stream. California seeks to ensure that the project’s operators maintain water flowing in the stream sufficient, in the State’s judgment, to protect the stream’s fish. The Federal Government claims the exclusive authority to set the minimum stream flows that the federally licensed power plant must maintain. Each side argues that its position is consistent with the Federal Power Act, ch. 285, 41 Stat. 1063, as amended, 16 U.S.C. § 791a et seq. (1982 ed.), and, in particular, with § 27 of that Act. We granted certiorari to resolve these competing claims.
I
The Rock Creek hydroelectric project lies near the confluence of the South Fork American River and one of the river’s tributaries, Rock Creek. Rock Creek runs through federally managed land located within California. The project draws water from Rock Creek to drive its generators and then releases the water near the confluence of the stream and river, slightly less than one mile from where it is drawn. The state and federal requirements at issue govern the “minimum flow rate” of water that must remain in the bypassed section of the stream and that thus remains unavailable to drive the generators.
In 1983, pursuant to the Federal Power Act (FPA or Act), the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a license authorizing the operation of the Rock Creek
Justice O’CONNOR, dissenting.
I agree with much of what Justice SCALIA says in his dissenting opinion. I write separately, however, to note that my dissent is premised primarily on my view that the inconsistency between the Court’s opinion today and Dowling v. United States, 493 U. S. 342 (1990), decided earlier this Term, indicates that the Court has strayed from a proper interpretation of the scope of the Double Jeopardy Clause.
In Dowling, we considered whether an eyewitness’ testimony regarding a robbery for which Dowling had been acquitted was admissible at a second trial of Dowling for an unrelated robbery. The eyewitness had testified at the first trial that a man had entered her house “wearing a knitted mask with cutout eyes and carrying a small handgun” and that his mask had come off during a struggle, revealing his identity. Id. at 493 U. S. 344. Based on this evidence, Dowling had been charged with burglary, attempted robbery, assault, and weapons offenses, but was acquitted of all charges. At a second trial for an unrelated bank robbery, the government attempted to use the witness’ testimony to prove Dowling’s identity as a robber. We held that the Double Jeopardy Clause did not bar the introduction of the evidence: because the prior acquittal did not necessarily represent a jury determination that Dowling was not the masked man who had entered the witness’ home, the testimony was admissible in the second trial to prove identity. Id. at 493 U. S. 348 -352.
The
Justice O’CONNOR delivered the opinion of the Court with respect to Parts I, II-A, II-B, and II-C, concluding that petitioners violated the Equal Access Act by denying official recognition to respondents’ proposed club. Pp.496 U. S. 234-247.
(a) The Act provides, among other things, that a “limited open forum” exists whenever a covered school “grants an offering to or opportunity for one or more noncurriculum related student groups to meet on school premises.” Its equal access obligation is therefore triggered even if such a school allows only one “noncurriculum related” group to meet. Pp. 496 U. S. 234 -237.
(b) Although the Act does not define the crucial phrase “noncurriculum related student group,” that term is best interpreted in the light of the Act’s language, logic, and nondiscriminatory purpose, and Congress’ intent to provide a low threshold for triggering the Act’s requirements, to mean any student group that does not directly relate to the body of courses offered by the school. A group directly relates to a school’s curriculum if the group’s subject matter is actually taught, or will soon be taught, in a regularly offered course; if that subject matter concerns the body of courses as a whole; or if participation in the group is required for a particular course or results in academic credit. Whether a specific group is “noncurriculum related” will therefore depend on the particular school’s curriculum, a determination that would be subject to factual findings well
Justice O’CONNOR, with whom Chief Justice REHNQUIST and Justice SCALIA join, dissenting.
This case provides yet another example of the difficulties raised by rote application of the commercial speech doctrine in the context of state regulation of professional standards for attorneys. Nothing in our prior cases in this area mandates that we strike down the state regulation at issue here, which is designed to ensure a reliable and ethical profession. Failure to accord States considerable latitude in this area embroils this Court in the micromanagement of the State’s inherent authority to police the ethical standards of the profession within its borders.
Petitioner argues for the first time before this Court that the statement on his letterhead that he is a certified trial specialist is not commercial speech. I agree with the Court that we need not reach this issue in this case. Ante at 496 U. S. 99 -100. We generally do not “decide federal constitutional issues raised here for the first time on review of state court decisions.” Cardinale v. Louisiana, 394 U. S. 437, 394 U. S. 438 (1969).
We recently summarized our standards for commercial speech by attorneys in Zauderer v. Office of Disciplinary Counsel of Supreme Court of Ohio, 471 U. S. 626 (1985):
The States and the Federal Government are free to prevent the dissemination of commercial speech that is false, deceptive, misleading, see Friedman v. Rogers, 440 U. S. 1 (1979)…. Commercial speech that is not false or deceptive
Justice O’CONNOR announced the judgment of the Court, and delivered an opinion in which THE CHIEF JUSTICE, Justice WHITE, and Justice KENNEDY join.
In this case, we decide whether our decision in American Trucking Assns, Inc. v. Scheiner, 483 U. S. 266 (1987), applies retroactively to taxation of highway use prior to the date of that decision.
I
In 1983, petitioners brought suit in the Chancery Court of Pulaski County, Arkansas, challenging the constitutionality of the newly enacted Arkansas Highway Use Equalization Tax Act (HUE), 1983 Ark.Gen. Acts, No. 685, Ark.Code Ann. §§ 27-35204, 27-35-205 (1987) (formerly codified as Ark.Stat.Ann. §§ 75-817.2, 75-817.3 (Supp. 1985)), under the Commerce Clause of the Federal Constitution. Art. I, § 8, cl. 3. The HUE tax required trucks operating on Arkansas highways with a gross weight between 73,281 and 80,000 pounds to pay either an annual flat tax of $175 or a tax of 5c per mile traveled in Arkansas or a trip permit fee of $8 per 100 miles. Effectively, HUE taxed only the first 3,500 miles of annual highway use by heavy trucks, that being the point at which it became advantageous to pay the flat tax of $175. Because trucks based in Arkansas were likely to travel many more miles on the State’s highways than heavy trucks based out of the State, petitioners argued that HUE impermissibly discriminated against interstate commerce by imposing on out-of-state truckers greater per-mile costs than those imposed on in-state truckers. To remedy
Justice O’CONNOR delivered the opinion of the Court.
This case presents three issues related to the application of Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure: whether a district court may impose Rule 11 sanctions on a plaintiff who has voluntarily dismissed his complaint pursuant to Rule 41(a)(1)(i) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure; what constitutes the appropriate standard of appellate review of a district court’s imposition of Rule 11 sanctions; and whether Rule 11 authorizes awards of attorney’s fees incurred on appeal of a Rule 11 sanction. *
I
In 1983, Danik, Inc., owned and operated a number of discount men’s clothing stores in the Washington, D.C., area. In June, 1983, Intercontinental Apparel, a subsidiary of respondent Hartmarx Corp., brought a breach-of-contract action against Danik in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Danik, represented by the law firm of Cooter & Gell (petitioner), responded to the suit by filing a counterclaim against Intercontinental, alleging violations of the Robinson-Patman Act, 49 Stat. 1526, 15 U.S.C. § 13 et seq. In March, 1984, the District Court granted summary judgment for Intercontinental in its suit against Danik, and, in February, 1985, a jury returned a verdict for Intercontinental on Danik’s counterclaim. Both judgments were affirmed on appeal. Danik, Inc. v. Intercontinental Apparel, Inc., 245 U.S.App.D.C. 233, 759 F.2d 959 (1985) (judgment order); Intercontinental Apparel, Inc. v. Danik,
Justice O’CONNOR, concurring.
I agree that a protected liberty interest in refusing unwanted medical treatment may be inferred from our prior decisions, see ante at 497 U. S. 278 -279, and that the refusal of artificially delivered food and water is encompassed within that liberty interest. See ante at 497 U. S. 279. I write separately to clarify why I believe this to be so.
As the Court notes, the liberty interest in refusing medical treatment flows from decisions involving the State’s invasions into the body. See ante at 497 U. S. 278 -279. Because our notions of liberty are inextricably entwined with our idea of physical freedom and self-determination, the Court has often deemed state incursions into the body repugnant to the interests protected by the Due Process Clause. See, e.g., Rochin v. California, 342 U. S. 165, 342 U. S. 172 (1952) (“Illegally breaking into the privacy of the petitioner, the struggle to open his mouth and remove what was there, the forcible extraction of his stomach’s contents… is bound to offend even hardened sensibilities”); Union Pacific R. C.o. v. Botsford, 141 U. S. 250, 141 U. S. 251 (1891). Our Fourth Amendment jurisprudence has echoed this same concern. See Schmerber v. California, 384 U. S. 757, 384 U. S. 772 (1966) (“The integrity of an individual’s person is a cherished value of our society”); Winston v. Lee, 470 U. S. 753, 470 U. S. 759 (1985) (“A compelled surgical intrusion into an individual’s body for evidence… implicates expectations
Justice O’CONNOR, concurring in part and concurring in the judgment in part.
I
I join all but Parts III and VIII of Justice STEVENS’ opinion. While I agree with some of the central points made in Part III, I cannot join the broader discussion. I agree that the Court has characterized
[a] woman’s decision to beget or to bear a child [as] a component of her liberty that is protected by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution.
Ante at 497 U. S. 434. See, e.g., Carey v. Population Services International, 431 U. S. 678, 431 U. S. 685, 431 U. S. 687 (1977); Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U. S. 479, 381 U. S. 502 -503 (1965) (WHITE, J., concurring in judgment). This Court extended that liberty interest to minors in Bellotti v. Baird, 443 U. S. 622, 443 U. S. 642 (1979) ( Bellotti II ), and Planned Parenthood of Central Missouri v. Danforth, 428 U. S. 52, 428 U. S. 74 (1976), albeit with some important limitations:
[P]arental notice and consent are qualifications that typically may be imposed by the State on a minor’s right to make important decisions. As immature minors often lack the ability to make fully informed choices that take account of both immediate and long-range consequences, a State reasonably may determine that parental consultation often is desirable and in the best interest of the minor.
Bellotti II, supra, at 443 U. S. 640 -641; see also H.L. v. Matheson, 450 U. S. 398, 450 U. S. 423 (1981) (STEVENS, J., concurring in judgment);
Justice O’CONNOR delivered the opinion of the Court.
This case requires us to decide whether the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment categorically prohibits a child witness in a child abuse case from testifying against a defendant at trial, outside the defendant’s physical presence, by one-way closed circuit television.
I
In October, 1986, a Howard County grand jury charged respondent, Sandra Ann Craig, with child abuse, first and second degree sexual offenses, perverted sexual practice, assault, and battery. The named victim in each count was Brooke Etze, a six-year-old child who, from August, 1984, to June, 1986, had attended a kindergarten and prekindergarten center owned and operated by Craig.
In March, 1987, before the case went to trial, the State sought to invoke a Maryland statutory procedure that permits a judge to receive, by one-way closed circuit television, the testimony of a child witness who is alleged to be a victim of child abuse. [ Footnote 1 ] To invoke the procedure, the trial judge must first
determin[e] that testimony by the child victim in the courtroom will result in the child suffering serious emotional distress such that the child cannot reasonably communicate.
Md.Cts. & Jud. Proc.Code Ann. § 9-102(a)(1)(ii) (1989). Once the procedure is invoked, the child witness, prosecutor, and defense counsel withdraw to a separate room; the judge, jury, and defendant remain in the courtroom. The child witness is then examined and cross-examined in
Justice O’CONNOR announced the judgment of the Court and delivered an opinion in which THE CHIEF JUSTICE, Justice WHITE, and Justice SCALIA join.
We are called upon in this case to determine whether a United States Postal Service regulation that prohibits “[s]oliciting alms and contributions” on postal premises violates the First Amendment. We hold the regulation valid as applied.
I
The respondents in this case, Marsha B. Kokinda and Kevin E. Pearl, were volunteers for the National Democratic Policy Committee, who set up a table on the sidewalk near the entrance of the Bowie, Maryland, post office to solicit contributions, sell books and subscriptions to the organization’s newspaper, and distribute literature addressing a variety of political issues. The postal sidewalk provides the sole means by which customers of the post office may travel from the parking lot to the post office building, and lies entirely on Postal Service property. The District Court for the District of Maryland described the layout of the post office as follows:
[T]he Bowie post office is a freestanding building, with its own sidewalk and parking lot. It is located on a major highway, Route 197. A sidewalk runs along the edge of the highway, separating the post office property from the street. To enter the post office, cars enter a driveway that traverses the public sidewalk and enter a parking lot that surrounds the post office building. Another sidewalk runs adjacent to the building itself, separating
Justice O’CONNOR delivered the opinion of the Court.
This case requires us to decide whether the admission at trial of certain hearsay statements made by a child declarant to an examining pediatrician violates a defendant’s rights under the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment.
I
Respondent Laura Lee Wright was jointly charged with Robert L. Giles of two counts of lewd conduct with a minor under 16, in violation of Idaho Code § 18-1508 (1987). The alleged victims were respondent’s two daughters, one of whom was 5 1/2 and the other 2 1/2 years old at the time the crimes were charged.
Respondent and her ex-husband, Louis Wright, the father of the older daughter, had reached an informal agreement whereby each parent would have custody of the older daughter for six consecutive months. The allegations surfaced in November, 1986, when the older daughter told Cynthia Goodman, Louis Wright’s female companion, that Giles had had sexual intercourse with her while respondent held her down and covered her mouth, App. 47-55; 3 Tr. 456-460, and that she had seen respondent and Giles do the same thing to respondent’s younger daughter, App. 48-49, 61; 3 Tr. 460. The younger daughter was living with her parents -respondent and Giles -at the time of the alleged offenses.
Goodman reported the older daughter’s disclosures to the police the next day, and took the older daughter to the hospital. A medical examination of the older daughter revealed evidence of sexual abuse. One of the examining
Justice O’CONNOR, with whom The Chief Justice, Justice SCALIA, and Justice KENNEDY join, dissenting.
At the heart of the Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection lies the simple command that the Government must treat citizens “as individuals, not as simply components of a racial, religious, sexual or national class.'” Arizona Governing Committee v. Norris, 463 U. S. 1073, 463 U. S. 1083 (1983). Social scientists may debate how peoples’ thoughts and behavior reflect their background, but the Constitution provides that the Government may not allocate benefits and burdens among individuals based on the assumption that race or ethnicity determines how they act or think. To uphold the challenged programs, the Court departs from these fundamental principles and from our traditional requirement that racial classifications are permissible only if necessary and narrowly tailored to achieve a compelling interest. This departure marks a renewed toleration of racial classifications and a repudiation of our recent affirmation that the Constitution’s equal protection guarantees extend equally to all citizens. The Court’s application of a lessened equal protection standard to congressional actions finds no support in our cases or in the Constitution. I respectfully dissent
I
As we recognized last Term, the Constitution requires that the Court apply a strict standard of scrutiny to evaluate racial classifications such as those contained in the challenged FCC distress sale and comparative
Justice O’CONNOR delivered the opinion of the Court.
This case presents issues pertaining to federal court review of a state court’s determination that an offense was committed “in an especially heinous, cruel or depraved manner,” Ariz.Rev.Stat. § 13-703(F)(6) (1989).
I
The relevant facts are undisputed. The evidence at trial showed that, in May, 1976, police arrested respondent Jimmie Wayne Jeffers and his girlfriend, Penelope Cheney, on state-law charges of possession of narcotics and receipt of stolen property. Respondent posted bond for Cheney, but was unable to post bond for himself, and remained in custody at the Pima County Jail. While in jail, respondent received reports that Cheney had been cooperating with police by providing the police with information about respondent and certain heroin transactions. Respondent wrote a note to another jail inmate offering him money if he would kill Cheney. The detention officer who was supposed to deliver the note read it and seized it.
In October, 1976, respondent was released from jail on bond pending appeal of his convictions. About a week later, he met Doris Van Der Veer and began living with her at a motel in Tucson. Respondent subsequently invited Cheney to the motel in order to provide her with some heroin.
On the day of the murder, respondent told Van Der Veer that Cheney was coming over and that they wished to be alone. When Cheney arrived, respondent introduced her to Van Der Veer, who then excused herself. After about
Justice O’CONNOR delivered the opinion of the Court.
We decide whether the parent of a seaman who died from injuries incurred aboard respondents’ vessel may recover under general maritime law for loss of society, and whether a claim for the seaman’s lost future earnings survives his death.
I
Ludwick Torregano was a seaman aboard the vessel M/V Archon. On the evening of July 18, 1984, Clifford Melrose, a fellow crew member, stabbed Torregano repeatedly, killing him. At the time, the ship was docked in the harbor of Vancouver, Washington.
Mercedel Miles, Torregano’s mother and administratrix of his estate, sued Apex Marine Corporation and Westchester Marine Shipping Company, the vessel’s operators, Archon Marine Company, the charterer, and Aeron Marine Company, the Archon’s owner (collectively Apex), in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. Miles alleged negligence under the Jones Act, 46 U.S.C.App. § 688, for failure to prevent the assault on her son, and breach of the warranty of seaworthiness under general maritime law for hiring a crew member unfit to serve. She sought compensation for loss of support and services and loss of society resulting from the death of her son, punitive damages, and compensation to the estate for Torregano’s pain and suffering prior to his death and for his lost future income.
At trial, the District Court granted Apex’s motion to strike the claim for punitive damages, ruled that the estate could not recover Torregano’s
Justice O’CONNOR delivered the opinion of the Court.
This case calls upon the Court to decide whether the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), 88 Stat. 829, as amended, 29 U.S.C. § 1001 et seq., preempts a Pennsylvania law precluding employee welfare benefit plans from exercising subrogation rights on a claimant’s tort recovery.
I
Petitioner, FMC Corporation (FMC), operates the FMC Salaried Health Care Plan (Plan), an employee welfare benefit plan within the meaning of ERISA, § 3(1), 29 U.S.C. § 1002(1), that provides health benefits to FMC employees and their dependents. The Plan is self-funded; it does not purchase an insurance policy from any insurance company in order to satisfy its obligations to its participants. Among its provisions is a subrogation clause under which a Plan member agrees to reimburse the Plan for benefits paid if the member recovers on a claim in a liability action against a third party.
Respondent, Cynthia Ann Holliday, is the daughter of FMC employee and Plan member Gerald Holliday. In 1987, she was seriously injured in an automobile accident. The Plan paid a portion of her medical expenses. Gerald Holliday brought a negligence action on behalf of his daughter in Pennsylvania state court against the driver of the automobile in which she was injured. The parties settled the claim. While the action was pending, FMC notified the Hollidays that it would seek reimbursement for the amounts it had paid for respondent’s medical expenses.
Justice O’CONNOR delivered the opinion of the Court.*
This case presents the question whether the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), 88 Stat. 829, as amended, 29 U.S.C. § 1001 et seq., preempts a state common law claim that an employee was unlawfully discharged to prevent his attainment of benefits under a plan covered by ERISA.
I
Petitioner Ingersoll-Rand employed respondent Perry McClendon as a salesman and distributor of construction equipment. In 1981, after McClendon had worked for the company for nine years and eight months, the company fired him, citing a company-wide reduction in force. McClendon sued the company in Texas state court, alleging that his pension would have vested in another four months and that a principal reason for his termination was the company’s desire to avoid making contributions to his pension fund. McClendon did not realize that, pursuant to applicable regulations, see 29 CFR § 2530.200b-4 (1990) (break-in-service regulation), he had already been credited with sufficient service to vest his pension under the plan’s 10-year requirement. McClendon sought compensatory and punitive damages under various tort and contract theories; he did not assert any cause of action under ERISA. After a period of discovery, the company moved for, and obtained, summary judgment on all claims. The State Court of Appeals affirmed, holding that McClendon’s employment was terminable at will. 757 S.W.2d 816 (1988).
In a 5-to-4 decision, the Texas
Justice O’CONNOR delivered the opinion of the Court.
This case requires us to determine precisely what effect the Florida courts gave to the evidence petitioner presented in mitigation of his death sentence, and consequently determine whether his death sentence meets federal constitutional requirements.
I
On the afternoon of February 6, 1982, petitioner Robert Parker and several others set off to recover money owed them for the delivery of illegal drugs. There followed a nightmarish series of events that ended in the early morning hours of February 7 with the deaths of Richard Padgett, Jody Dalton, and Nancy Sheppard.
A Duval County, Florida grand jury indicted Parker, his former wife Elaine, Tommy Groover, and William Long for the first-degree murders of Padgett, Dalton, and Sheppard. Elaine Parker and Long entered negotiated pleas to second-degree murder. A jury convicted Groover of all three first-degree murders, and the judge sentenced him to death on two counts and life imprisonment on the third.
Parker’s jury convicted him of first-degree murder for the killings of Padgett and Sheppard and third-degree murder for the Dalton killing. At the advisory sentencing hearing, Parker presented evidence in mitigation of a death sentence and argued that such evidence also had been presented at trial. The jury found that sufficient aggravating circumstances existed to justify a death sentence as to both the Padgett and Sheppard murders, but that sufficient mitigating circumstances
Justice O’CONNOR delivered the opinion of the Court.*
This case requires the Court to decide what standards apply when a party seeks to avoid compliance with a subpoena duces tecum issued in connection with a grand jury investigation.
I
Since 1986, a federal grand jury sitting in the Eastern District of Virginia has been investigating allegations of interstate transportation of obscene materials. In early 1988, the grand jury issued a series of subpoenas to three companies -Model Magazine Distributors, Inc. (Model), R. Enterprises, Inc., and MFR Court Street Books, Inc. (MFR). Model is a New York distributor of sexually oriented paperback books, magazines, and videotapes. R. Enterprises, which distributes adult materials, and MFR, which sells books, magazines, and videotapes, are also based in New York. All three companies are wholly owned by Martin Rothstein. The grand jury subpoenas sought a variety of corporate books and records and, in Model’s case, copies of 193 videotapes that Model had shipped to retailers in the Eastern District of Virginia. All three companies moved to quash the subpoenas, arguing that the subpoenas called for production of materials irrelevant to the grand jury’s investigation and that the enforcement of the subpoenas would likely infringe their First Amendment rights.
The District Court, after extensive hearings, denied the motions to quash. As to Model, the court found that the subpoenas for business records were sufficiently specific and that
Justice O’CONNOR delivered the opinion of the Court.
The question in this case is whether one must aid in the navigation of a vessel in order to qualify as a “seaman” under the Jones Act, 46 U.S.C.App. § 688.
I
Jon Wilander worked for McDermott International as a paint foreman. His duties consisted primarily of supervising the sandblasting and painting of various fixtures and piping located on oil drilling platforms in the Persian Gulf. On July 4, 1983, Wilander was inspecting a pipe on one such platform when a bolt serving as a plug in the pipe blew out under pressure, striking, Wilander in the head. At the time, Wilander was assigned to the American-flag vessel M/V Gates Tide, a “paint boat” chartered to McDermott that contained equipment used in sandblasting and painting the platforms.
Wilander sued McDermott in the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, seeking recovery under the Jones Act for McDermott’s negligence related to the accident. McDermott moved for summary judgment, alleging that, as a matter of law, Wilander was not a “seaman” under the Jones Act, and therefore not entitled to recovery. The District Court denied the motion. App. 19. In a bifurcated trial, the jury first determined Wilander’s status as a seaman. By special interrogatory, the jury found that Wilander was either permanently assigned to, or performed a substantial amount of work aboard, the Gates Tide, and that the performance of his duties contributed to the function
Justice O’CONNOR delivered the opinion of the Court.
In this case, we decide whether Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure imposes an objective standard of reasonable inquiry on represented parties who sign pleadings, motions, or other papers.
I
Business Guides, Inc., a subsidiary of a leading publisher of trade magazines and journals, publishes directories for 18 specialized areas of retail trade. In an effort to protect its directories against copying, Business Guides deliberately plants in them bits of false information, known as “seeds.” Some seeds consist of minor alterations in otherwise accurate listings -transposed numbers in an address or zip code, or a misspelled name -while others take the form of wholly fictitious listings describing nonexistent businesses. Business Guides considers the presence of seeds in a competitor’s directory to be evidence of copyright infringement. *
On October 31, 1986, Business Guides, through its counsel Finley, Kumble, Wagner, Heine, Unterberg, Manley, Myerson, and Casey (Finley, Kumble), filed an action in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California against Chromatic Communications Enterprises, Inc., claiming copyright infringement, conversion, and unfair competition, and seeking a temporary restraining order (TRO). The TRO application was signed by a Finley, Kumble attorney and by Business Guides’ president on behalf of the corporation. Business Guides submitted under seal affidavits in support
Justice O’CONNOR, dissenting.
Punitive damages are a powerful weapon. Imposed wisely and with restraint, they have the potential to advance legitimate state interests. Imposed indiscriminately, however, they have a devastating potential for harm. Regrettably, common law procedures for awarding punitive damages fall into the latter category. States routinely authorize civil juries to impose punitive damages without providing them any meaningful instructions on how to do so. Rarely is a jury told anything more specific than “do what you think best.” See Browning-Ferris Industries v. Kelco Disposal, Inc., 492 U. S. 257, 492 U. S. 281 (1989) (Brennan, J., concurring).
In my view, such instructions are so fraught with uncertainty that they defy rational implementation. Instead, they encourage inconsistent and unpredictable results by inviting juries to rely on private beliefs and personal predilections. Juries are permitted to target unpopular defendants, penalize unorthodox or controversial views, and redistribute wealth. Multi-million dollar losses are inflicted on a whim. While I do not question the general legitimacy of punitive damages, I see a strong need to provide juries with standards to constrain their discretion so that they may exercise their power wisely, not capriciously or maliciously. The Constitution requires as much.
The Court today acknowledges that dangers may lurk, but holds that they did not materialize in this case. See ante at 499 U. S. 18 -24. They did