Law Faculty

Chisholm v. Georgia, 2 Dallas (2 U.S.) 419 (1793) Facts—A South Carolina citizen who was the executor of the estate of a merchant who had sold goods during the Revolutionary War to Georgia, for which he had not been compensated,…

Sprietsman v. Mercury Marine, 537 U.S. 51; 123 S. Ct. 518; 154 L. Ed. 2d 466 (2002) Facts—Sprietsman’s wife was killed in a boating accident on a lake between Tennessee and Kentucky. He sued Mercury Marine, the manufacturer of the…

Pennsylvania v. Nelson, 350 U.S. 497; 76 S. Ct. 477; 100 L. Ed. 640 (1956) Facts—An acknowledged member of the Communist Party, Steve Nelson was convicted in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, of violation of the Pennsylvania Sedition Act. He was sentenced…

Southern Pacific Co. v. Arizona, 325 U.S. 761; 65 S. Ct. 1515; 89 L. Ed. 1915 (1945) Facts—The Arizona Train Limit Law required that any person or corporation operating within the state a railroad train with more than fourteen passenger…

Federal Maritime Commission v. South Carolina State Ports Authority, 535 U.S. 743; 122 S. Ct. 1864; 152 L. Ed. 2d 962 (2002) Facts—The South Carolina State Ports Authority refused permission to berth a cruise ship, which provided for gambling, at…

Lapides v. Board of Regents of University of Georgia, 535 U.S. 613; 122 S. Ct. 1640; 152 L. Ed. 2d 806 (2002) Facts—Lapides, a professor in the Georgia State University system, brought suit in a Georgia state court against actions…

University of Alabama Board of Trustees v. Garrett, 531 U.S. 356; 121 S. Ct. 955; 148 L. Ed. 2d 866 (2001) Facts—Two Alabama state employees, a nurse and a security officer, sued the state under the Americans with Disabilities Act…

Kimel v. Florida Board of Regents, 528 U.S. 62; 120 S. Ct. 631; 145 L. Ed. 2d 522 (2000) Facts—The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) made discrimination in employment on the basis of age illegal. Employees of…

Alden v. Maine, 527 U.S. 706; 119 S. Ct. 2240; 144 L. Ed. 2d 636 (1999) Facts—Congress provided under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for individuals to sue states in their own courts. State employees sued Maine. As the…

Monaco v. Mississippi, 292 U.S. 313; 54 S. Ct. 745; 78 L. Ed. 1282 (1934) Facts—The principality of Monaco sought to bring suit in the Supreme Court against the state of Mississippi over the nonpayment of bonds issued by the…

Hans v. Louisiana, 134 U.S. 1; 10 S. Ct. 504; 33 L. Ed. 842 (1890) Facts—Hans, a citizen of Louisiana, brought a suit in a Circuit Court of the United States against the state in order to recover money invested…

Nixon v. United States, 506 U.S. 224; 113 S. Ct. 732; 122 L. Ed. 2d 1 (1993) Facts—Walter L. Nixon Jr., a U.S. federal district judge, was sentenced to prison for making false statements to a jury, but he refused…

Baker v. Carr, 369 U.S. 186; 82 S. Ct. 691; 7 L. Ed. 2d 663 (1962) Facts—Voters brought this civil action alleging that the continuing apportionment of the Tennessee General Assembly by means of a 1901 statute debased the votes…

Muskrat v. United States, 219 U.S. 346; 31 S. Ct. 250; 55 L. Ed. 246 (1911) Facts—An act of Congress authorized Muskrat and others to bring suit in the federal Court of Claims, with an appeal to the federal Supreme…

Luther v. Borden, 7 Howard (48 U.S.) 1; 12 L. Ed. 581 (1849) Facts—In 1841 the people of the state of Rhode Island were still using the old colonial charter with a few minor revisions, as their state constitution. This…

Elk Grove v. Newdow, 542 U.S. 1; 124 S. Ct. 2301; 159 L. Ed. 2d 98 (2004) Facts—Michael A. Newdow, an avowed atheist, sued the Elk Grove Unified School District in California, where his daughter was enrolled in kindergarten, because…

Missouri v. Jenkins, 495 U.S. 33; 110 S. Ct. 1651; 109 L. Ed. 2d 31 (1990) Facts—A group of students in the Kansas City, Missouri, School District (KCMSD) filed suit against the city and the state for operating a racially…

Stone v. Powell, 428 U.S. 465; 96 S. Ct. 3037; 49 L. Ed. 2d 1067 (1976) Facts—Powell of California and Rice of Nebraska were both convicted in state courts of homicide. In both cases, these courts ruled that evidence in…