List of United States courts of appeals cases
Every year, each of the thirteen United States courts of appeals decides hundreds of cases. Of those, a few are so important that they later become models for decisions of other circuits, and of the United States Supreme Court, while others are noted for being dramatically rejected by the Supreme Court on appeal. Still others are notable for being written with such a clear and concise explanation of the states of the law that they are used by multiple law school casebooks to teach the area of law addressed. The notable decisions of these courts are listed in chronological order by circuit.
First Circuit">United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit">First Circuit
- Sampson v. Channell, 110 F.2d 754 : Application of Erie doctrine to choice of law questions.
- Commissioner v. Boylston Market Ass'n, 131 F.2d 966 : prepaid insurance tax deductions must be allocable over the time period for which the policy covers.
- Joint Tribal Council of the Passamaquoddy Tribe v. Morton, 528 F.2d 370 : The state of Maine could not terminate a trust relationship between non-federally-recognized Indian tribes and the federal government.
- Campbell v. General Dynamics Government Systems Corp., 407 F.3d 546 : insufficient notice where a mandatory arbitration agreement was contained in a dispute resolution policy linked to an e-mailed company-wide announcement.
- Massachusetts v. United States Department of Health and Human Services, 682 F.3d 1 : Federal prohibition on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional.
- Cook v. Gates, 528 F.3d 42 : "Don't ask, Don't tell" policy upheld against due process and equal protection Fifth Amendment challenges and a free speech challenge under the First Amendment.
- Glik v. Cunniffe, 655 F.3d 78 : First Amendment right to photograph public officials in a public place.
Second Circuit">United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit">Second Circuit
- Nichols v. Universal Pictures Corp., 45 F.2d 119 : Copyright infringement of stock characters.
- United States v. One Package of Japanese Pessaries, 86 F.2d 737 : Importation of birth control supplies.
- United States v. Peoni, 100 F.2d 401 : examined mental state for complicity in a crime.
- United States v. Carroll Towing Co. 159 F.2d 169 : Calculus of negligence.
- National Comics Publications, Inc. v. Fawcett Publications, Inc., 191 F.2d 594 : Clarified 198 F.2d 927.
- Walkovszky v. Carlton, 276 2d 585 : Lifting the corporate veil.
- Engblom v. Carey, 677 F.2d 957 : Third Amendment prohibited eviction of striking prison guards from state-supplied housing in favor of national guardsmen.
Third Circuit">United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit">Third Circuit
- Corfield v. Coryell, : Privileges and immunities.
- Piscataway School Board v. Taxman, 91 F.3d 1547 : Affirmative action in public hiring.
- Kaelin v. Globe Communications, 162 F.3d 1036 : Magazine cover headline which "falsely insinuated" a criminal act may be grounds for a libel action even if the related article inside the magazine is not defamatory.
Fourth Circuit">United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit">Fourth Circuit
- Dow v. United States, 226 F. 145 : Syrian immigrant was entitled to be classified as "white" for purposes of naturalization as a United States citizen, which was then limited on the basis of race.
- Backun v. United States, 112 F.2d 635 : examined mental element for complicity in a crime.
- United States v. Morlang, 531 F.2d 183 : Standard for abuse of FRE 607.
- Dettmer v. Landon, 799 F.2d 929 : Wicca reviewed as a religion; no First Amendment violation to deny a Wiccan access to unusual materials.
- Comprehensive Technologies International, Inc. v. Software Artisans, Inc., 3 F.3d 730 : legal tests for software copyright infringement.
- Zeran v. America Online, Inc., 129 F.3d 327, cert. denied, 524 U.S. 937 : Liability for website hosts under the Communications Decency Act.
Fifth Circuit">United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit">Fifth Circuit
- Dixon v. Alabama 294 F. 2d 150 : Tax-funded college cannot expel students without due process.
- Gates v. Collier, 501 F. 2d 1291 : Abolished racial segregation in prisons and held that various forms of corporal punishment against prisoners constitute cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment.
- Smith v. Pilots Union, 296 F.3d 380 : Six-month period of limitations applies to Smith's suit against the Union whether or not he was a supervisor.
- McCorvey v. Hill, 385 F.3d 846 : Original party to the decision in Roe v. Wade lacked standing to have the case re-opened after 30 years.
Sixth Circuit">United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit">Sixth Circuit
- Addyston Pipe & Steel Co. v. United States, 85 F. 271 : Rule of reason in antitrust cases.
- American Civil Liberties Union v. National Security Agency, 493 F.3d 644 : no standing to sue NSA where plaintiff ACLU could not present evidence that they were the targets of surveillance.
- United States v. Warshak, 631 F.3d 266, Fourth Amendment rights bars government from compelling an Internet service provider to turn over his emails without first obtaining a search warrant based on probable cause.
Seventh Circuit">United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit">Seventh Circuit
- Selle v. Gibb, 741 F. 2d 896 : Substantial similarity is not enough to prove copyright infringement in the absence of proof of access.
- American Booksellers Ass'n, Inc. v. Hudnut, 771 F.2d 323 : Challenged the constitutionality of the Antipornography Civil Rights Ordinance.
- United States v. Harris, 942 F.2d 1125 : Gift to a long-term mistress did not constitute taxable income.
- ProCD, Inc. v. Zeidenberg, 86 F.3d 1447 : Validity of shrink wrap contracts.
- In re Aimster Copyright Litigation, 334 F.3d 643 : Vicarious liability for copyright infringement.
- Muth v. Frank, 412 F.3d 808 : U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558 : Striking down anti-homosexual sodomy laws as unconstitutional did not bar laws against consensual adult incest.
Eighth Circuit">United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit">Eighth Circuit
- Frosty Treats, Inc. v. Sony Computer Entertainment America, Inc., 426 F.3d 1001 : Trademark and trade dress.
- United States v. $124,700 in U.S. Currency, 458 F.3d 822 : Transport of large amounts of currency concealed in an unusual manner could be taken as evidence that the currency was connected with drug trafficking.
Ninth Circuit">United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit">Ninth Circuit
- Hirabayashi v. United States 28 F.2d 591 : Vacation of World War 2-era convictions of Japanese-American Gordon Hirabayashi by writ of coram nobis.
- Midler v. Ford Motor Co. 849 F.2d 460 : Definition of unique feature for purposes of protection from unauthorized impersonation.
- Apple Computer, Inc. v. Microsoft Corp., 35 F.3d 1435 : Copyright infringement with respect to the layout of a computer desktop.
- A&M Records, Inc. v. Napster, Inc., 239 F.3d 1004 : Vicarious liability for copyright infringement.
- Konop v. Hawaiian Airlines, Inc., 236 F.3d 1035 : Whether unauthorized access of password-protected website violates federal Wiretap Act prohibition on intercepting electronic communications.
- Carafano v. Metrosplash.com, Inc., 339 F.3d 1119 : Liability of internet forum providers.
- Grosso v. Miramax Film Corp., 383 F.3d 965 : Preemption of state law claims by the copyright act.
- Arizona Cartridge Remanufacturers Ass'n Inc. v. Lexmark International Inc., 421 F.3d 981 : Validity of certain end-user license agreements.
- Sprint PCS, L.P. v. City of La Cañada Flintridge, 435 F.3d 993 : Ability of a city to deny construction permit on aesthetic grounds.
- Navajo Nation v. United States Forest Service, 479 F.3d 1024 : Whether use of treated sewage water on lands considered sacred to the Navajo Nation violated the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
- Asset Marketing Systems, Inc. v. Gagnon, 542 F. 3d 748 : Implied licenses to use, modify and retain the source code of computer programs, and the enforceability of non-competition agreements.
- Joffe v. Google, Inc., 41 W. St. U. L. Rev. 279 : Whether the Wiretap Act covers the interception of unencrypted Wi-Fi communications.
- SmithKline Beecham Corporation v. Abbott Laboratories, 740 F.3d 471 : Peremptory challenges striking potential jurors because of their sexual orientation violates the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution.
Tenth Circuit">United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit">Tenth Circuit
- Colorado River Water Conservation District v. United States, 593 F.2d 907 : abstention to prevent duplicative litigation between state and federal courts; reversed by the Supreme Court.
- Thompson v. Johnson County Community College, 108 F. 3d 1388 : worker privacy in bathrooms or changing rooms.
- Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., 723 F.3d 1114 : corporation is a person who has religious freedom.
Eleventh Circuit">United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit">Eleventh Circuit
- Smith v. Board of School Commissioners of Mobile County, 827 F.2d 684 : Teaching of ideas associated with secular humanism does not constitute endorsement of a religion.
- Suntrust Bank v. Houghton Mifflin Co., 252 F. 3d 1165 : Parody as a fair use defense to copyright infringement.
[United States [Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit|D.C. Circuit]]
- United States v. Fenwick, 25 F. Cas. 1062; 4 Cranch C.C. 675 : Right to make legal argument to jury.
- Stettinius v. United States, 22 F. Cas. 1322; 5 Cranch C.C. 573 : Right to make legal argument to jury.
- Frye v. United States, 293 F. 1013 : Established that the admissibility of expert testimony must be based on scientific methods that are sufficiently established and accepted.
- Edwards v. Habib, 397 F.2d 687 : Established the tenant's defense of retaliatory eviction.
- Javins v. First National Realty Corp., 428 F.2d 1071 : Established warranty of habitability.
- Calvert Cliffs' Coordinating Committee, Inc. v. Atomic Energy Commission, 449 F.2d 1109 : National Environmental Policy Act requires EPA to evaluate environmental impact of nuclear power plants, even if review is not requested.
- Canterbury v. Spence, 464 F.2d. 772 : In medical malpractices cases, informed consent is required of the patient and no expert is required for the case to be heard by a jury.
- Pro-Football, Inc. v. Harjo, 415 F.3d 44 : Applicability of laches defense to disparagement claims.
- Colorado River Indian Tribes v. National Indian Gaming Commission, 05-5402 : National Indian Gaming Commission doesn't have oversight jurisdiction in regulating Class II or Class III games in Class III Indian casinos.
- Doe ex. rel. Tarlow v. District of Columbia, 489 F.3d 376 : Regarding surgical treatment for the mentally incompetent who are unable to give informed consent.
Federal Circuit">United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit">Federal Circuit (and its predecessor courts)
- Jazz Photo Corp. v. United States International Trade Commission, 264 F. 3d 1094 : Repair and reconstruction of patented items is permissible under the patent law.
- Schism v. United States, 316 F.3d 1259 : Military could not be held to promises made by recruiters of lifetime health care for enlistees, where Congress did not provide for such.
- Buchanan v. Nicholson, 451 F.3d 1331 : Competent lay evidence can be sufficient to establish a service-connection award without any contemporaneous medical evidence.
Court of Claims
- Williams & Wilkins Co. v. United States, 487 F.2d 1345, per curiam aff'd by an equally divided court, 420 U.S. 376 : Liability for copyright infringement for photocopying of journal articles.