2001 term per curiam opinions of the Supreme Court of the United States

Full caption:	Richard L. Mathias, et al. v. Worldcom Technologies, Inc., et al.
Citations:	535 U.S. 682
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Full text of the opinion:	official slip opinion · Justia

Full caption:	Sao Paulo State of the Federative Republic of Brazil v. American Tobacco Co., Inc., et al.
Citations:	535 U.S. 229
Prior history:	Motion for disqualification denied, Minute Entry in Civ. Action Nos. 00–0922, 98–3279 (E.D. La., May 26, 2000); rev'd, sub nom. Republic of Panama v. American Tobacco Co., 250 F. 3d 315 (5th Cir. 2001) (per curiam); rehearing en banc denied, 265 F. 3d 299 (5th Cir. 2001)
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Full text of the opinion:	official slip opinion

Full caption:	Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Norman Y. Mineta, Secretary of Transportation, et al.
Citations:	534 U.S. 103
Prior history:	Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Peña, 515 U.S. 200 (1995) (Adarand I); on remand, 965 F. Supp. 1556 (D. Colo. 1997); vacated, sub nom. Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Slater, 169 F. 3d 1292 (10th Cir. 1999); rev'd, 528 U.S. 216 (2000); aff'd in part, 228 F. 3d 1147 (10th Cir. 2000); cert. granted, 532 U.S. 941 (2001)
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Full text of the opinion:	official slip opinion

The Supreme Court of the United States handed down nine per curiam opinions during its 2001 term, which began October 1, 2001 and concluded October 6, 2002.[1]

Because per curiam decisions are issued from the Court as an institution, these opinions all lack the attribution of authorship or joining votes to specific justices. All justices on the Court at the time the decision was handed down are assumed to have participated and concurred unless otherwise noted.

Court membership

Chief Justice: William Rehnquist

Associate Justices: John Paul Stevens, Sandra Day O'Connor, Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, David Souter, Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer

Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Mineta

534 U.S. 103
Decided November 27, 2001.
Writ of certiorari dismissed as improvidently granted.

Sao Paulo State of Federative Republic of Brazil v. American Tobacco Co.

535 U.S. 229
Decided April 1, 2002.
Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed and remanded.

In a tobacco-products liability suit brought by a foreign state against an American cigarette manufacturer, the Fifth Circuit held that 28 U.S.C. § 455(a)[2] required the disqualification of the trial court judge because his name had appeared, albeit erroneously, prior to his appointment to the bench, on a motion to file an amicus curiae brief in a similar suit against some of the same defendants. The motion was submitted by an organization of which the judge had been president, but from which he had retired six months prior to its filing. The judge accordingly refused to disqualify himself because his name appeared in error on the motion to file the amicus brief and because he took no part in preparation or approval of the brief. The Fifth Circuit, however, ruled that his explanation would not "dissipate the doubts that a reasonable person would probably have about the court’s impartiality."

The Supreme Court reversed, finding the Fifth Circuit's decision inconsistent with Liljeberg v. Health Services Acquisition Corp., 486 U.S. 847 (1988), which stated that §455(a) requires judicial recusal "if a reasonable person, knowing all the circumstances, would expect that the judge would have actual knowledge" of his interest or bias in the case. The Court characterized the Fifth Circuit's decision as based on what "a reasonable person would believe without knowing (or giving due weight to the fact) that the judge’s name was added mistakenly and without his knowledge to a pro forma motion to file an amicus brief in a separate controversy."

Mathias v. WorldCom Technologies, Inc.

535 U.S. 682
Argued December 5, 2001.
Decided May 20, 2002.
Writ of certiorari dismissed as improvidently granted.

The Court dismissed the writ of certiorari following full briefing and oral argument, determining that the petitioners were the prevailing parties below, and sought review of findings that were not essential to the judgment and not binding upon them in future litigation. The Court stated that "[a]s a general rule, a party may not appeal from a favorable judgment simply to obtain review of findings it deems erroneous." The Court noted that it had since granted certiorari in another case that arose in the same factual context to review the same issues.

O'Connor took no part in the consideration or decision of the case.

Horn v. Banks

Full caption:	Martin Horn, Commissioner, Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, et al. v. George E. Banks
Citations:	536 U.S. 236
Prior history:	Petition denied, 63 F. Supp. 2d 525 (M.D. Penn. 1999); rev'd in part, 271 F. 3d 527 (3d Cir. 2001).
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Full text of the opinion:	official slip opinion

536 U.S. 236
Decided June 17, 2002.
Third Circuit Court of Appeals reversed and remanded.

Kirk v. Louisiana

Full caption:	Kennedy D. Kirk v. Louisiana
Citations:	536 U.S. 635
Prior history:	Motion to suppress evidence denied; defendant convicted and sentenced; aff'd, 773 So. 2d 259 (La. Ct. App. 2000); review denied, La.
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Full text of the opinion:	official slip opinion

536 U.S. 635
Decided June 24, 2002.
Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit, reversed and remanded

Stewart v. Smith

Full caption:	Terry L. Stewart, Director, Arizona Department of Corrections v. Robert Douglas Smith
Citations:	536 U.S. 856
Prior history:	Petition denied, D. Ariz.; rev'd, 241 F. 3d 1191 (9th Cir. 2001); cert. granted, question certified, 534 U.S. 157 (2001); reply to certified question, 46 P. 3d 1067 (Ariz. 2002)
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Full text of the opinion:	official slip opinion

536 U.S. 856
Decided June 28, 2002.
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed and remanded.

United States v. Bass

Full caption:	United States v. John Bass
Citations:	536 U.S. 862
Prior history:	Motion for discovery granted, E.D. Mich.; aff'd, 266 F. 3d 532 (6th Cir. 2001)
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Full text of the opinion:	official slip opinion

536 U.S. 862
Decided June 28, 2002.
Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed.

Notes

The description of two opinions have been omitted. In Stewart v. Smith, 534 U.S. 157 (2001), the Supreme Court granted certiorari and certified a question to the Arizona Supreme Court; see later opinion at Stewart v. Smith, 536 U.S. 856 (2002) for a full account. In Adams v. Florida Power Corp., 535 U.S. 228 (2002), the Court dismissed certiorari as improvidently granted.
28 U.S.C. § 455(a). "Any justice, judge, or magistrate judge of the United States shall disqualify himself in any proceeding in which his impartiality might reasonably be questioned."

References

"2001 Term Opinions of the Court". Supreme Court of the United States. Archived from the original on 2003-02-11. Retrieved 2010-07-06.

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[1] The description of two opinions have been omitted. In Stewart v. Smith, 534 U.S. 157 (2001), the Supreme Court granted certiorari and certified a question to the Arizona Supreme Court; see later opinion at Stewart v. Smith, 536 U.S. 856 (2002) for a full account. In Adams v. Florida Power Corp., 535 U.S. 228 (2002), the Court dismissed certiorari as improvidently granted.

[2] 28 U.S.C. § 455(a). "Any justice, judge, or magistrate judge of the United States shall disqualify himself in any proceeding in which his impartiality might reasonably be questioned."