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The Supreme Court: Major Cases of the 2003-04 Term

Compiled by washingtonpost.com
Updated July 6, 2004

Major Cases by Topic: First Amendment | Police | Politics | War on Terror | Other
How the Justices Voted

First Amendment

Ashcroft v. ACLU
Decision (5-4): Ruled that the Child Online Protection Act probably violates free-speech rights, but for the second time the justices sent the case back to a lower court for a new trial.
• How Each Justice Voted
• Court Opinion | All Case Documents
• Post Coverage: Justices Oppose Internet Porn Law (June 30, 2004)

Locke v. Davey
Decision (7-2): Ruled that states do not have to give students preparing for careers in the clergy the same access to taxpayer-funded college aid that other students receive.
• How Each Justice Voted
• Court Opinion | All Case Documents
• Post Coverage: Justices Rule States May Deny College Aid to Clergy Students (Feb. 26, 2004)

Elk Grove v. Newdow
Decision (8-0): Ruled that Michael A. Newdow lacked legal standing to sue and thus overturned a 2003 federal appeals court decision that would have barred the phrase "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools.
Note: Scalia recused himself from the case.
• How Each Justice Voted
• Court Opinion | All Case Documents
• Post Coverage: Justices Keep 'Under God' in Pledge (June 15, 2004)

Police

Blakely v. Washington
Decision (5-4): Ruled that only juries, not judges, may increase criminal sentences beyond the maximum sentences suggested by statutory guidelines.
• How Each Justice Voted
• Court Opinion | All Case Documents
• Post Coverage: Jury Role in Raising Sentences Affirmed (June 25, 2004)

Missouri v. Siebert
Decision (5-4): Ruled that police officers may not deliberately avoid warning suspects of their right to remain silent before questioning.
• How Each Justice Voted
• Court Opinion | All Case Documents
• Post Coverage: Police Tactic to Sidestep Miranda Rights Rejected (June 28, 2004)

Politics

Cheney v. U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
Decision (7-2): Ordered a federal appeals court to give Vice President Cheney another chance to shield the internal workings of the 2001 energy policy task force he headed.
• How Each Justice Voted
• Court Opinion | All Case Documents
• Post Coverage: High Court Backs Vice President (June 25, 2003)

McConnell v. FEC
Decision (5-4): Upheld the key provisions of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law including a ban on "soft money" and rules limiting campaign-season political advertising.
• How Each Justice Voted
• Court Opinion | All Case Documents
• Post Coverage: Justices Uphold Campaign Finance Law (Dec. 11, 2003)

Vieth v. Jubelirer
Decision (5-4): Upheld a congressional redistricting plan that sought to give the Republican Party an edge in races for Pennsylvania's 19 congressional seats but refused to close the door on court challenges to such "partisan gerrymandering" in future cases.
• How Each Justice Voted
• Court Opinion | All Case Documents
• Post Coverage: Supreme Court Upholds GOP Redistricting in Pa. (April 29, 2004)

War on Terror

Rasul v. Bush
Decision (6-3): Ruled that U.S. courts have jurisdiction to consider challenges to the legality of detaining foreign nationals captured abroad in connection with hostilities and incarcerated at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
• How Each Justice Voted
• Court Opinion | All Case Documents
• Post Coverage: Justices Back Detainee Access to U.S. Courts (June 28, 2004)

Hamdi v. Rumsfeld
Decision (5-4): Ruled that the president has the power to declare U.S. citizens enemy combatants and detain them as such. However, in a 6-3 decision, the court also ruled that Yaser Esam Hamdi is entitled to contest that determination before a "neutral decisionmaker."
• How Each Justice Voted
• Court Opinion | All Case Documents
• Post Coverage: Justices Back Detainee Access to U.S. Courts (June 28, 2004)

Rumsfeld v. Padilla
Decision (5-4): Ruled that the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York lacks jurisdiction over Jose Padilla, now jailed in South Carolina, and that Padilla must refile his petition for habeas corpus in South Carolina.
• How Each Justice Voted
• Court Opinion | All Case Documents
• Post Coverage: Justices Back Detainee Access to U.S. Courts (June 28, 2004)

Other

Tennessee v. Lane
Decision (5-4): Ruled that private citizens have the right to sue a state for alleged violations of the Americans With Disabilities Act.
• How Each Justice Voted
• Court Opinion | All Case Documents
• Post Coverage: Disabled Win Right to Sue States Over Court Access (May 3, 2004)

Aetna v. Davila
Decision (9-0): Struck down a Texas patients' rights law in a ruling that bars all states from letting patients sue managed care companies whose refusal to pay for treatment allegedly results in death or injury.
• How Each Justice Voted
• Court Opinion | All Case Documents
• Post Coverage: Justices Limit Suits Against HMOs (June 22, 2004)

How the Justices Voted

The following chart shows how each justice of the Supreme Court voted in the major cases of the 2003-2004 term.

Supreme Court Justices (in order of seniority):
Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, John Paul Stevens, Sandra Day O'Connor, Antonin Scalia, Anthony M. Kennedy, David H. Souter, Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen G. Breyer

Key: Blue box means justice voted with the majority.

	Rehnquist	Stevens	O'Connor	Scalia	Kennedy	Souter	Thomas	Ginsburg	Breyer
Aetna v. Davila
Elk Grove v. Newdow*
Cheney v. U.S. District Court
Locke v. Davey
Hamdi v. Rumsfeld**
Hamdi v. Rumsfeld***
Rasul v. Bush
Rumsfeld v. Padilla
Ashcroft v. ACLU
Missouri v. Siebert
Tennessee v. Lane
Vieth v. Jubelirer
McConnell v. FEC
Blakely v. Washington

Notes:
* Scalia recused himself from the case.
** On the president's power to name enemy combatants.
*** On Hamdi's entitlement to contest determination.

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