Year Case Significance
1995 Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Peña A five-member majority of the Court limited the extent to which
government could require building contractors to establish
affirmative action programs. The Court concluded that all
governmental race-conscious criteria must be analyzed under
strict scrutiny. The government must show that the affirmative
action program served a “compelling national interest” in that
it was needed to overcome specific past episodes of discrimination,
the program was “narrowly tailored” because it terminated once
the redress had been delivered, and nondiscriminatory alternatives
were not available.
1995 American Airlines, Inc. v. Wolens If the terms and conditions of a frequent flyer program changed
after a contract had been established, the agreement was enforceable
based upon the originally quoted terms.
1995 Arizona v. Evans The Supreme Court held that erroneous entries into a computer
by law enforcement that resulted in a mistaken arrest were not
punishable if the errors were made in good faith by the police.
1995 Missouri v. Jenkins A 5-4 decision held that a district court order requiring the state
school to continue to fund quality education programs and increase
teacher salaries exceeded the lower court’s authority.
1995 United States v. Lopez The federal Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990 was held to be
unconstitutional by a 5-4 Court as exceeding Congress’s commerce
clause power in that it regulated intrastate activity that did not
“substantially affect” interstate commerce.
1995 Vernonia School District 47J v. Acton The Supreme Court decided that voluntary submission to random
drug testing in public schools as a condition of participating in
athletic programs was valid as a “special need” search to preserve
discipline.
1996 Bennis v. Michigan In a 5-4 decision, the majority held that property used for criminal
activity was entirely forfeited to the state even though there was an
innocent joint ownership interest in the property. The due process
clause was inapplicable because the state had already lawfully
acquired the property used in the commission of the crime by
virtue of its forfeiture proceeding, so an eminent domain takings
claim was not at issue. The dissent argued that the Eighth
Amendment prohibition against excessive fines made it unfair
to seize property of a blameless spouse who had no knowledge
of the other spouse’s illicit behavior and no ability to prevent
the act.
1996 BMW of North America, Inc. v. Gore The Court struck down a punitive damage judgment that was 500 times
greater than the compensatory damage award given by the jury, stating
that due process prohibited excessive damages, especially when a
defendant had shown no evil intent and the plaintiff had not been
physically injured, but had merely suffered an economic loss. The
justices declared three guideposts when considering the proper amount
for punitive damages: reprehensibility of defendant’s conduct, ratio
between punitive damages and compensatory damages, and previous
awards in similar cases.
The Nineties in America Legislation: U.S. Supreme Court Decisions 993