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Loretto v. Teleprompter Manhattan CATV Corp., 458 U.S. 419 (1982)

Full notes and cites: https://opinion-of-the-court.pages.dev/ep/073-loretto-v-teleprompter-manhattan-catv-corp

Official text (U.S. Reports, Library of Congress): https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/ll/usrep/usrep458/usrep458419/usrep458419.pdf

Full text of the opinions, AI-narrated (Kokoro-82M, voice af_heart). Original introduction; opinion text is public domain. Not legal advice.

A New York law required landlords to allow cable television companies to install equipment on their buildings, for a one-time payment set at one dollar. Jean Loretto bought a five-story apartment building in Manhattan and discovered cables and two boxes on the roof and running along the building's front. She brought a class action claiming a taking.

Justice Marshall, for a six-to-three majority, held that a permanent physical occupation authorized by government is a taking without regard to the public interests it may serve, no matter how small the area. The size of the occupation goes to how much compensation is owed, not to whether there was a taking.

Justice Blackmun, joined by Justices Brennan and White, dissented, arguing that the Court was drawing a formalistic line based on a few cubic feet. Loretto's per se rule sits alongside Lucas and Penn Central as one of the three pillars of takings law.

Citations: reporter citations were shortened or left out of the audio; every citation is listed on the website.

Cases named aloud

- Co. v. New York City, 438 U.S. 104 (1978) at 127-128 [as printed: Co. v. New York City, 438 U. S. 104, 127-128 (1978); Opinion of the Court (Justice Marshall)] episode

- Delaware, L. & W. R. Co. v. Morristown, 276 U.S. 182 (1928) at 193 [as printed: Delaware, L. & W. R. Co. v. Morristown, 276 U. S. 182, 193 (1928); Opinion of the Court (Justice Marshall)] (episode link pending)

- Penn Central Transportation Co. v. New York City, supra [as printed: Penn Central Transportation Co. v. New York City, supra; Opinion of the Court (Justice Marshall)] (episode link pending)

- Pumpelly v. Green Bay Co., 13 Wall. 166 [as printed: Pumpelly v. Green Bay Co., 13 Wall. 166; Opinion of the Court (Justice Marshall)] (episode link pending)

- Northern Transportation Co. v. Chicago, 99 U.S. 635 (1879) [as printed: Northern Transportation Co. v. Chicago, 99 U. S. 635 (1879); Opinion of the Court (Justice Marshall)] (episode link pending)

- St. Louis v. Western Union Telegraph Co., 148 U.S. 92 (1893) [as printed: St. Louis v. Western Union Telegraph Co., 148 U. S. 92 (1893); Opinion of the Court (Justice Marshall)] (episode link pending)

- Western Union Telegraph Co. v. Pennsylvania R. Co., 195 U.S. 540 (1904) [as printed: Western Union Telegraph Co. v. Pennsylvania R. Co., 195 U. S. 540 (1904); Opinion of the Court (Justice Marshall)] (episode link pending)

- United States v. Causby, 328 U.S. 256 (1946) [as printed: United States v. Causby, 328 U. S. 256 (1946); Opinion of the Court (Justice Marshall)] episode

(+15 more named aloud; see the website)

Full list of 160 citations not read aloud: https://opinion-of-the-court.pages.dev/ep/073-loretto-v-teleprompter-manhattan-catv-corp

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Immigration & Naturalization Serv. v. Chadha, 462 U.S. 919 (1983)

Full notes and cites: https://opinion-of-the-court.pages.dev/ep/072-immigration-naturalization-service-v-chadha

Official text (U.S. Reports, Library of Congress): https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/ll/usrep/usrep462/usrep462919/usrep462919.pdf

Full text of the opinions, AI-narrated (Kokoro-82M, voice af_heart). Original introduction; opinion text is public domain. Not legal advice.

Jagdish Chadha, born in Kenya to Indian parents and holding a British passport, overstayed his student visa. An immigration judge suspended his deportation, and the Attorney General reported that decision to Congress, as the law required. Then the House of Representatives, by a simple resolution without debate or a recorded vote, vetoed the suspension of deportation for Chadha and five others.

Chief Justice Burger, for the Court, struck down that one-house legislative veto. Legislative action must satisfy the Constitution's requirements of bicameralism, passage by both Houses, and presentment to the President. Convenience and efficiency are not the primary objectives of democratic government, he wrote.

Justice Powell concurred on narrower grounds. Justice White's dissent pointed out that the decision invalidated, in one stroke, provisions in nearly two hundred federal statutes, more laws than the Court had struck down in its entire history. Justice Rehnquist also dissented.

Citations: reporter citations were shortened or left out of the audio; every citation is listed on the website.

Cases named aloud

- Parker v. Levy, 417 U.S. 733 (1974) at 742, n. 10 [as printed: Parker v. Levy, 417 U. S. 733, 742, n. 10 (1974); Opinion of the Court (Chief Justice Burger)] (episode link pending)

- , supra, at 928 at 928 [as printed: , supra, at 928; Opinion of the Court (Chief Justice Burger)] (episode link pending)

- Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U.S. 1 (1976) at 118-124 [as printed: Buckley v. Valeo, supra, at 118-124; Dissent (Justice White)] episode

- Champlin Refining Co. v. Corporation Comm’n of Oklahoma, 286 U.S. 210 (1982) at 235 [as printed: Champlin Refining Co. v. Corporation Comm’n of Oklahoma, 286 U. S. 210, 235 (1932); Dissent (Justice White)] (episode link pending)

- Ashwander v. TVA, 297 U.S. 288 (1936) at 346 (Brandeis, J., concurring) [as printed: Ashwander v. TVA, 297 U. S. 288, 346 (1936) (Brandeis, J., concurring); Opinion of the Court (Chief Justice Burger)] (episode link pending)

- Cheng Fan Kwok v. INS, 392 U.S. 206 (1968) at 216 [as printed: Cheng Fan Kwok v. INS, 392 U. S. 206, 216 (1968); Opinion of the Court (Chief Justice Burger)] (episode link pending)

- Dastmalchi v. INS, 660 F.2d 880 (CA3 1981) [as printed: Dastmalchi v. INS, 660 F. 2d 880 (CA3 1981); Opinion of the Court (Chief Justice Burger)] (episode link pending)

- Kwok, supra [as printed: Kwok, supra; Opinion of the Court (Chief Justice Burger)] (episode link pending)

- , supra [as printed: , supra; Dissent (Justice White)] (episode link pending)

(+40 more named aloud; see the website)

Full list of 201 citations not read aloud: https://opinion-of-the-court.pages.dev/ep/072-immigration-naturalization-service-v-chadha

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BMW of North America, Inc. v. Gore, 517 U.S. 559 (1996)

Full notes and cites: https://opinion-of-the-court.pages.dev/ep/071-bmw-of-north-america-inc-v-gore

Official text (U.S. Reports, Library of Congress): https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/ll/usrep/usrep517/usrep517559/usrep517559.pdf

Full text of the opinions, AI-narrated (Kokoro-82M, voice af_heart). Original introduction; opinion text is public domain. Not legal advice.

Dr. Ira Gore bought a new BMW in Birmingham, Alabama, and later learned it had been partly repainted before delivery because of acid-rain damage during shipping. BMW's policy was not to disclose repairs costing less than three percent of the car's price. An Alabama jury awarded four thousand dollars in compensatory damages and four million in punitive damages, which the Alabama Supreme Court cut to two million.

Justice Stevens, for a five-to-four majority, held that the award was grossly excessive and violated due process. He named three guideposts: the degree of reprehensibility of the conduct, the ratio between punitive and actual harm, here five hundred to one, and the civil penalties available for comparable misconduct.

Justice Breyer concurred. The dissenters made a strange coalition: Justices Scalia and Thomas, who said the Due Process Clause gives no protection against excessive verdicts, and Justice Ginsburg, joined by Chief Justice Rehnquist, who said the matter belonged to the states.

Citations: reporter citations were shortened or left out of the audio; every citation is listed on the website.

Cases named aloud

- TXO Production Corp. v. Alliance Resources Corp., 509 U.S. 443 (1993) at 462 [as printed: Court’s expositions. See TXO Production Corp. v. Alliance Resources Corp., 509 U. S. 443, 462; Dissent (Justice Ginsburg)] (episode link pending)

- Green Oil Co. v. Hornsby, 539 So.2d 218 (Ala. 1989) [as printed: Green Oil Co. v. Hornsby, 539 So. 2d 218 (Ala. 1989); Concurrence (Justice Breyer)] (episode link pending)

- Pacific Mut. Life Ins. Co. v. Haslip, 499 U.S. 1 (1991) [as printed: Pacific Mut. Life Ins. Co. v. Haslip, 499 U. S. 1 (1991); Dissent (Justice Ginsburg)] episode

- Gibbons v. Ogden, 9 Wheat. 1 (1824) at 194-196 [as printed: Gibbons v. Ogden, 9 Wheat. 1, 194-196 (1824); Opinion of the Court (Justice Stevens)] (episode link pending)

- Healy v. Beer Institute, 491 U.S. 324 (1989) at 335-336 (the Constitution has a “special concern both with the maintenance of a national economic union unfettered by state-imposed limitations on interstate commerce and with the autonomy of the individual States within their respective spheres” (footnote omitted)) [as printed: Healy v. Beer Institute, 491 U. S. 324, 335-336 (1989) (the Constitution has a “special concern both with the maintenance of a national economic union unfettered by state-imposed limitations on interstate commerce and with the autonomy of the individual States within their respective spheres” (footnote omitted)); Opinion of the Court (Justice Stevens)] (episode link pending)

- Edgar v. MITE Corp., 457 U.S. 624 (1982) at 643 [as printed: Edgar v. MITE Corp., 457 U. S. 624, 643 (1982); Opinion of the Court (Justice Stevens)] (episode link pending)

(+27 more named aloud; see the website)

Full list of 206 citations not read aloud: https://opinion-of-the-court.pages.dev/ep/071-bmw-of-north-america-inc-v-gore