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2011 term United States Supreme Court opinions of Antonin Scalia

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The 2011 term of the Supreme Court of the United States began October 3, 2011, and concluded September 30, 2012. This was the twenty-sixth term of Associate Justice Antonin Scalia's tenure on the Court.
Antonin Scalia 2011 term statistics
8
Majority or Plurality
4
Concurrence
0
Other
10
Dissent
1
Concurrence/dissent Total = 23
Bench opinions = 22 Opinions relating to orders = 1 In-chambers opinions = 0
Unanimous opinions: 3 Most joined by: Thomas (15) Least joined by: Kennedy, Ginsburg, Breyer, Kagan (6)
Type Case Citation Issues Joined by Other opinions
101



Greene v. Fisher • [full text] 565 U.S. 34, 35–41 (2011)

Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act  • clearly established Federal law Unanimous
Scalia's opinion for the Court interpreted AEDPA's requirement that a federal court can only grant a habeas corpus petition to set aside a state court conviction if the conviction results in a decision "contrary to, or involved an unreasonable application of, clearly established Federal law, as determined by the Supreme Court of the United States." The Court ruled that "clearly established Federal law" does not include Supreme Court decisions that are announced after the last adjudication of the merits in state court but before the defendant's conviction becomes final.
102



CompuCredit Corp. v. Greenwood 565 U.S. 95, 96–108 (2012)

Federal Arbitration Act  • Credit Repair Organizations Act Roberts, Kennedy, Thomas, Breyer, Alito
Sotomayor
Ginsburg
203



Minneci v. Pollard 565 U.S. 118, 131–32 (2012)

Eighth Amendment  • cruel and unusual punishment  • privately-run prison  • adequate alternative causes of action under state tort law Thomas
Breyer
Ginsburg
404



Gonzalez v. Thaler 565 U.S. 134, 154–70 (2012)

Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996  • habeas corpus  • statute of limitations
Sotomayor
205



Pacific Operators Offshore, LLP v. Valladolid 565 U.S. 207 (2012)

Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act  • Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act  • coverage of injury occurring on land Alito
Thomas
406



Maples v. Thomas 565 U.S. 266 (2012)

habeas corpus  • excusable procedural default  • abandonment by counsel Thomas
Ginsburg
Alito
107



United States v. Jones 565 U.S. 400 (2012)

Fourth Amendment  • GPS tracking of suspect's vehicle Roberts, Kennedy, Thomas, Sotomayor
Alito
Sotomayor
408



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

Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act  • applicability to pre-Act offenders Ginsburg
Breyer
409



Cash v. Maxwell • [full text] 565 U.S. 1038 (2012)

Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act  • due process  • false testimony  • jailhouse informants Alito
Sotomayor
Scalia dissented from the Court's denial of certiorari, of a Ninth Circuit decision that set aside two murder convictions on the finding that there was significant evidence that a jailhouse informant had lied regarding the defendant's confession. Scalia believed this evidence was circumstantial, as it regarded the informant's lying regarding other matters at the trial and in subsequent unrelated trials, which even the Ninth Circuit acknowledged did not determine that he necessarily lied regarding the confession in this trial. Scalia wrote that this evidence "might permit, but by no means compels, the conclusion that Storch [the informant] fabricated Maxwell's admission," which meant that under AEDPA the convictions should have stood because "[t]he only factual determination necessary to support the California court's decision was that Maxwell had not established that Storch lied." Scalia also took issue with the Ninth Circuit's holding that the use of false testimony violated the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause, whether or not the prosecution knew it was false. "We have never held that, and are unlikely ever to do so."

Scalia closed his opinion with a general note of criticism regarding the Ninth Circuit: "It is a regrettable reality that some federal judges like to second-guess state courts. The only way this Court can ensure observance of Congress's abridgement of their habeas power is to perform the unaccustomed task of reviewing utterly fact-bound decisions that present no disputed issues of law. We have often not shrunk from that task, which we have found particularly needful with regard to decisions of the Ninth Circuit... Today we have shrunk, letting stand a judgment that once again deprives California courts of that control over the State's administration of criminal justice which federal law assures."

410



Martinez v. Ryan 566 U.S. 1 (2012)

Sixth Amendment  • ineffective assistance of counsel  • habeas corpus  • procedural default of claim required to be raised in state collateral review Thomas
Kennedy
211



Coleman v. Court of Appeals of Md. 566 U.S. 30 (2012)

Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993  • self-care provision  • Fourteenth Amendment  • abrogation of state sovereign immunity
Kennedy
Thomas
Ginsburg
112



Sackett v. EPA 566 U.S. 120 (2012)

Clean Water Act  • discharge of pollutants into navigable waters  • finality of EPA compliance order under Administrative Procedure Act Unanimous
Ginsburg
Alito
413



Missouri v. Frye 566 U.S. 134 (2012)

Sixth Amendment  • ineffective assistance of counsel  • failure to inform defendant of plea bargain offer Roberts, Thomas, Alito
Kennedy
414



Lafler v. Cooper 566 U.S. 156 (2012)

ineffective assistance of counsel  • rejection of plea bargain as prejudice Thomas; Roberts (in part)
Kennedy
Alito
115



Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC v. Simmonds 566 U.S. 221 (2012)

Securities Exchange Act of 1934  • corporate action against insider trading  • statute of limitations  • equitable tolling Kennedy, Thomas, Ginsburg, Breyer, Alito, Sotomayor, Kagan
116



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 Roberts, Thomas, Alito, Sotomayor, Kagan
Breyer
417



Vartelas v. Holder 566 U.S. 257 (2012)

Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996  • effect of conviction on lawful permanent resident seeking reentry  • antiretroactivity principle Thomas, Alito
Ginsburg
218



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
Breyer
Kennedy
119



Freeman v. Quicken Loans, Inc. 566 U.S. 624 (2012)

Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act  • applicability in absence of fee splitting Unanimous
120



RadLAX Gateway Hotel, LLC v. Amalgamated Bank 566 U.S. 639 (2012)

bankruptcy  • Chapter 11  • cram down reorganization plan  • credit-bidding by secured creditor at asset auction Roberts, Thomas, Ginsburg, Breyer, Alito, Sotomayor, Kagan
421



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 Roberts, Thomas, Alito
Breyer
322



Arizona v. United States 567 U.S. 387 (2012)

immigration  • federal preemption  • Arizona SB 1070
Kennedy
Thomas
Alito
423



National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius 567 U.S. 519 (2012)

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act  • individual mandate  • Anti-Injunction Act  • Commerce Clause  • Necessary and Proper Clause  • Medicaid expansion  • coercive conditions on federal spending
Roberts
Ginsburg
Thomas
Signed jointly with Kennedy, Thomas, and 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.