Federal Court Decisions

Legal References on Drug Policy

Federal Court Decisions on Drugs by Decade

1990

1900	1910	1920	1930	1940
1950	1960	1970	1980	1990

Year	Title and Summary
1990 US Supreme Court	WASHINGTON, ET AL., PETITIONERS v. WALTER HARPER - No. 88-599 - 1990.SCT.1174 , 494 U.S. 210, 110 S. Ct. 1028, 108 L. Ed. 2d 178, 58 U.S.L.W. 4249 - February 27, 1990
1990 US Supreme Court	ILLINOIS v. RODRIGUEZ - June 21, 1990 Respondent was arrested in his apartment and charged with possession of illegal drugs, which the police had observed in plain view and seized. The officers did not have an arrest or search warrant, but gained entry to the apartment with the assistance of Gail Fischer, who represented that the apartment was "ours" and that she had clothes and furniture there, unlocked the door with her key, and gave the officers permission to enter. The trial court granted respondent's motion to suppress the seized evidence, holding that at the time she consented to the entry Fischer did not have common authority because she had moved out of the apartment. The court also rejected the State's contention that, even if Fischer did not have common authority, there was no Fourth Amendment violation if the police reasonably believed at the time of their entry that she possessed the authority to consent. The Appellate Court of Illinois affirmed. Held: 1. The record demonstrates that the State has not satisfied its burden of proving that Fischer had "joint access or control for most purposes" over respondent's apartment, as is required under United States v. Matlock, 415 U.S. 164, 171, n. 7, to establish "common authority." Pp. 181-182.
1991 US Supreme Court	CALIFORNIA v. HODARI D. - No. 89-1632 - 1991.SCT.2395 , 499 U.S. 621, 111 S. Ct. 1547, 113 L. Ed. 2d 690, 59 U.S.L.W. 4335 - April 23, 1991
1991 US Supreme Court	FLORIDA, PETITIONER v. LUZ PIEDAD JIMENO ET AL. - SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES - No. 90-622 - 1991.SCT.2905 , 500 U.S. 248, 111 S. Ct. 1801, 114 L. Ed. 2d 297, 59 U.S.L.W. 4471 - May 23, 1991
1991 US Supreme Court	CARLOS EDUARDO FERNANDEZ, PETITIONER v. UNITED STATES - No. 90-7210 - 1991.SCT.3002 , 500 U.S. 948, 111 S. Ct. 2249, 114 L. Ed. 2d 490, 59 U.S.L.W. 3793 - May 28, 1991
1991 US Supreme Court	RICHARD L. CHAPMAN, JOHN M. SCHOENECKER AND PATRICK BRUMM, PETITIONERS v. UNITED STATES - SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES - No. 90-5744 - 1991.SCT.3013 , 500 U.S. 453, 111 S. Ct. 1919, 114 L. Ed. 2d 524, 59 U.S.L.W. 4530 - May 30, 1991
1991 US Supreme Court	CALIFORNIA, PETITIONER v. CHARLES STEVEN ACEVEDO - SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES - No. 89-1690 - 1991.SCT.3016 , 500 U.S. 565, 111 S. Ct. 1982, 114 L. Ed. 2d 619, 59 U.S.L.W. 4559 - May 30, 1991
1991 US Supreme Court	ARIZONA, PETITIONER v. CHRISTOPHER REED KEMPTON - No. 90-1379 - 1991.SCT.3307 , 501 U.S. 1212, 111 S. Ct. 2815, 115 L. Ed. 2d 987, 59 U.S.L.W. 3822 - June 10, 1991
1991 US Supreme Court	FLORIDA, PETITIONER v. TERRANCE BOSTICK - SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES - No. 89-1717 - 1991.SCT.3475 , 501 U.S. 429, 111 S. Ct. 2382, 115 L. Ed. 2d 389, 59 U.S.L.W. 4708 -June 20, 1991
1991 US Supreme Court	RONALD ALLEN HARMELIN, PETITIONER v. MICHIGAN - No. 89-7272 - 1991.SCT.3666 , 501 U.S. 957, 111 S. Ct. 2680, 115 L. Ed. 2d 836, 59 U.S.L.W. 4839 - June 27, 1991
1992 US Supreme Court	JAMES ARMIN FOWNER, PETITIONER V. UNITED STATES - No. 91-7169 - 1992.SCT.2959 , 112 S. Ct. 1998, 118 L. Ed. 2d 594, 60 U.S.L.W. 3778 - May 18, 1992
1992 US Supreme Court	MARC GILBERT DOGGETT, PETITIONER v. UNITED STATES - No. 90-857 - 1992.SCT.3745 , 112 S. Ct. 2686, 120 L. Ed. 2d 520, 60 U.S.L.W. 4741 - June 24, 1992
1992 Superior Court - Alaska	STATE OF ALASKA, Plaintiff, v. PATRICK A. MC NEIL, Defendant.
1993 US Supreme Court	UNITED STATES, PETITIONER v. SHARON DUNNIGAN - No. 91-1300 - 1993.SCT.1342 , 113 S. Ct. 1111, 122 L. Ed. 2d 445, 61 U.S.L.W. 4180 - February 23, 1993
1993 US Supreme Court	JOHN ANGUS SMITH, PETITIONER v. UNITED STATES - No. 91-8674 - 1993.SCT.3276 , 113 S. Ct. 2050, 124 L. Ed. 2d 138, 61 U.S.L.W. 4503 - June 1, 1993
1993 US Supreme Court	MINNESOTA, PETITIONER v. TIMOTHY DICKERSON - No. 91-2019 - 1993.SCT.3408 , 113 S. Ct. 2130, 124 L. Ed. 2d 334, 61 U.S.L.W. 4544 - June 7, 1993
1993 US Supreme Court	RICHARD LYLE AUSTIN, PETITIONER v. UNITED STATES - SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES No. 92-6073 0 1993.SCT.3942 , 113 S. Ct. 2801, 125 L. Ed. 2d 488, 61 U.S.L.W. 4811 - June 28, 1993
1993 US Supreme Court	BENNIS v. MICHIGAN - SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES - Decided March 4, 1996
1993 US Supreme Court	UNITED STATES, PETITIONER v. ALVIN J. DIXON AND MICHAEL FOSTER - SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES - No. 91-1231 - 1993.SCT.3944 , 113 S. Ct. 2849, 125 L. Ed. 2d 556, 61 U.S.L.W. 4835 - June 28, 1993
1994 US Supreme Court	KEVIN ALBRIGHT, PETITIONER v. ROGER OLIVER, ETC., ET AL. - SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES - No. 92-833 - 1994.SCT.680 , 114 S. Ct. 807, 127 L. Ed. 2d 114, 62 U.S.L.W. 4078 = January 24, 1994
1994 US Supreme Court	UNITED STATES, PETITIONER v. RALPH STUART GRANDERSON, JR. - No. 92-1662 - 1994.SCT.2019 , 114 S. Ct. 1259, 127 L. Ed. 2d 611, 62 U.S.L.W. 4190 - March 22, 1994
1994 US Supreme Court	FREDEL WILLIAMSON, PETITIONER v. UNITED STATES - No. 93-5256 - 1994.SCT.4198 , 114 S. Ct. 2431, 129 L. Ed. 2d 476, 62 U.S.L.W. 4639 - June 27, 1994
1995 US Supreme Court	BAILEY v. UNITED STATES - SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES - No. 94-7448. Argued October 30, 1995
1996 US Supreme Court	ANTHONY LEO STUTSON v. UNITED STATES - SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES - No. 94-8988. - January 8, 1996
1996 US Court of Appeals Fourth Circuit	UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. EMMANUEL ODEMENA, Defendant-Appellant. - UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. EMMANUEL IKECHUKWU ANUDU, a/k/a Cletis, a/k/a Claytus, Defendant-Appellant. No. 92-5756 - February 16, 1996
1996 US Supreme Court	RUTLEDGE v. UNITED STATES - SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES - Syllabus - Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.- No. 94-8769. March 27, 1996
1996 US Court of Appeals Fourth Circuit	UNITED STATES v. ARMSTRONG et al. Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. No. 95-157. Decided May 13, 1996
1998 US Court of Appeals Fourth Circuit	Lynn V. West - No. 96-1371 - UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT The main question in this case is whether a North Carolina tax on illegal drugs is in reality a criminal penalty. North Carolina's Controlled Substance Tax (Drug Tax), N.C. Gen. Stat.§§ 105-113.105 through 105-113.113, imposes a special excise tax on"dealers" who illegally possess a sufficient quantity of a "controlled substance," as that term is defined in the state criminal code. The statute requires drug dealers to submit a form reporting their illegal possession and to pay the tax. In return, dealers are supposed to receive stamps to affix to the drugs before they are resold. Payment of the Drug Tax does not make possession or resale legal, however. It should come as no surprise that no drug dealer has ever filed a form and voluntarily paid this tax. . . . We further hold that the Drug Tax, like any other criminal penalty, cannot be enforced without the constitutional safeguards that accompany criminal proceedings. We therefore affirm the district court in part and reverse in part.