2019 term per curiam opinions of the Supreme Court of the United States

The Supreme Court of the United States handed down ten per curiam opinions during its 2019 term, which began October 7, 2019 and concluded October 4, 2020.[lower-alpha 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: John Roberts

Associate Justices: Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg (died September 18, 2020), Stephen Breyer, Samuel Alito, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh

Thompson v. Hebdon

Full caption:	David Thompson, et al., v. Heather Hebdon, Executive Director of the Alaska Public Offices Commission, et al.
Citations:	589 U.S. ___
Prior history:	Judgment for defendants, sub nom. Thompson v. Dauphinais, 217 F. Supp. 3d 1023 (D. Alaska 2016); aff'd, 909 F.3d 1027 (9th Cir. 2018)
Laws applied:	U.S. Const. amend. I; Alaska Stat. § 15.13.070(b)(1) (2018)
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Full text of the opinion:	official slip opinion

589 U.S. ___
Decided November 25, 2019.
Ninth Circuit vacated and remanded. Ginsburg filed a statement respecting the Supreme Court's judgment.

Retirement Plans Comm. of IBM v. Jander

Full caption:	Retirement Plans Committee of IBM et al v. Larry W. Jander et al
Citations:	589 U.S. ___
Prior history:	Motion to dismiss granted, Jander v. Ret. Plans Comm. of IBM, 272 F. Supp. 3d 444 (S.D.N.Y. 2017); reversed, 910 F.3d 620 (2d Cir. 2018); cert. granted, 139 S. Ct. 2667 (2019).
Laws applied:	ERISA
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Full text of the opinion:	official slip opinion

589 U.S. ___
Argued November 6, 2019.
Decided January 14, 2020.
Second Circuit vacated and remanded. Kagan filed a concurring opinion, joined by Ginsburg. Gorsuch filed a concurring opinion.

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Juan v. Acevedo Feliciano

Full caption:	Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Juan de Puerto Rico v. Yali Acevedo Feliciano, et al.
Citations:	589 U.S. ___
Prior history:	Preliminary injunction denied, Puerto Rico Court of First Instance; aff'd, Puerto Rico Court of Appeals; rev'd, Puerto Rico Supreme Court
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Full text of the opinion:	official slip opinion

589 U.S. ___
Decided February 24, 2020.
Puerto Rico Supreme Court vacated and remanded. Alito filed a concurrence, joined by Thomas.

Davis v. United States

Full caption:	Charles Earl Davis v. United States
Citations:	589 U.S. ___
Prior history:	Defendant convicted and sentenced, N.D. Tex.); aff'd, 769 Fed. Appx. 129 (5th Cir. 2019) (per curiam)
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Full text of the opinion:	official slip opinion

589 U.S. ___
Decided March 23, 2020.
Fifth Circuit vacated and remanded.

Republican National Committee v. Democratic National Committee

Full caption:	Republican National Committee, et al. v. Democratic National Committee, et al.
Citations:	589 U.S. ___
Prior history:	Preliminary injunction granted, 2020 WL 1638374 (W.D. Wis., Apr. 2, 2020); stay denied, 7th Cir., Apr. 3, 2020
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Full text of the opinion:	official slip opinion

589 U.S. ___
Decided April 6, 2020.
Stay granted of order by United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, disallowing extension of the mail-in date for absentee ballots for the state's primary elections. Ginsburg filed a dissent, joined by Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan. See 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic issues surrounding the 2020 Wisconsin Democratic primary and state elections for additional information.

New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. City of New York

Full caption:	New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc., et al. v. City of New York, New York, et al.
Citations:	590 U.S. ___
Prior history:	Judgment for defendants, 86 F. Supp. 3d 249 (S.D.N.Y. 2015); aff'd, 883 F. 3d 45 (2nd Cir. 2018); cert. granted, 586 U.S. ___ (2019)
Laws applied:	U.S. Const. amend. II; 38 N.Y.C.R.R. § 5–2
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Full text of the opinion:	official slip opinion

590 U.S. ___
Argued December 2, 2019.
Decided April 27, 2020.
Second Circuit vacated and remanded. Kavanaugh filed a concurrence. Alito, joined by Gorsuch, and by Thomas in part, filed a dissent.

The Court determined the case had been rendered moot due to changes in the underlying law in question during its consideration at the Supreme Court.

Andrus v. Texas

Full caption:	Terence Tramaine Andrus v. Texas
Citations:	590 U.S. ___
Prior history:	Report and recommendation to grant petition in part; denied, sub nom. Ex parte Andrus, No. WR-84,438-01 (Tex. Crim. App. Feb. 13, 2019)
Laws applied:	U.S. Const. amend. VI
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Full text of the opinion:	official slip opinion

590 U.S. ___
Decided June 15, 2020.
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals vacated and remanded. Alito, joined by Thomas and Gorsuch, filed a dissent.

The Court ruled that the defendant's claims of ineffective assistance of counsel were inappropriately dismissed, as the state court failed to address the prejudice prong of the Strickland test.

Barr v. Lee

Full caption:	William P. Barr, Attorney General, et al. v. Daniel Lewis Lee, et al.
Citations:	591 U.S. ___
Prior history:	Preliminary injunction granted, No. 19-145, D.D.C., July 13, 2020
Laws applied:	U.S. Const. amend. VIII
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Full text of the opinion:	official slip opinion

591 U.S. ___
Decided July 14, 2020.
District Court for the District Court of Columbia vacated.

Breyer, joined by Ginsburg, and Sotomayor, joined by Ginsburg and Kagan, each filed dissents.

Notes

1. The descriptions of two opinions have been omitted: In Colorado Dept. of State v. Baca, 591 U.S. ___ (2020), the Court reversed for the reasons stated in Chiafalo v. Washington, 591 U.S. ___ (2020), handed down the same day. Thomas concurred in the judgment without separate opinion. Sotomayor did not participate. In Sharp v. Murphy, 591 U.S. ___ (2020), the Court affirmed for the reasons stated in McGirt v. Oklahoma, 591 U.S. ___ (2020), handed down the same day. Thomas and Alito dissented without separate opinion. Gorsuch did not participate.

References

• 2019 Term Opinions of the Court, Supreme Court of the United States, retrieved October 5, 2020.