2008 term per curiam opinions of the Supreme Court of the United States

The Supreme Court of the United States handed down nine per curiam opinions during its 2008 term, which began on October 6, 2008 and concluded October 4, 2009.^[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: John Paul Stevens, Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, David Souter, Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Samuel Alito

Moore v. United States

Full caption:	James Eric Moore v. United States
Citations:	555 U.S. 1
Prior history:	Defendant convicted, sentenced, N.D. Ia.; aff'd, 470 F. 3d 767 (8th Cir. 2006); vacated and remanded, 552 U.S. 1090 (2008); aff'd, 518 F. 3d 577 (2008)
Laws applied:	18 U.S.C. § 3553
Full text of the opinion:	official slip opinion  · Findlaw  · Justia

555 U.S. 1
Decided October 14, 2008.
Eighth Circuit reversed and remanded.

Brunner v. Ohio Republican Party

Full caption:	Jennifer Brunner, Ohio Secretary of State v. Ohio Republican Party, et al.
Citations:	555 U.S. 5
Prior history:	TRO granted, S.D. Ohio, Oct. 9, 2008; motion to vacate denied, 6th Cir. (en banc)
Laws applied:	42 U.S.C. § 15483(a)(5)(B)(i) (Help America Vote Act of 2002 §303)
Full text of the opinion:	official slip opinion  · Findlaw  · Justia

555 U.S. 5
Decided October 14, 2008.
Application for stay granted.

The Court vacated the temporary restraining order entered by the District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.

Hedgpeth v. Pulido

Full caption:	Anthony Hedgpeth, Warden, v. Michael Robert Pulido
Citations:	555 U.S. 57
Prior history:	Defendant's conviction upheld, sub. nom., People v. Pulido, 936 P.2d 1235 (Cal. 1997); petition granted, sub nom., Pulido v. Lamarque, No. 99–4933, (N.D. Cal. Mar. 24, 2005); aff'd, sub nom., Pulido v. Chrones, 487 F.3d 669 (9th Cir. 2007), cert. granted, 552 U.S. 1230 (2008)
Laws applied:	U.S. Const. amend. XIV
Full text of the opinion:	official slip opinion  · Findlaw  · Justia

555 U.S. 57
Decided December 2, 2008.
Ninth Circuit vacated and remanded.

Stevens filed a dissent, joined by Souter and Ginsburg.

Spears v. United States

Full caption:	Steven Spears v. United States
Citations:	555 U.S. 261
Prior history:	Defendant convicted, sentenced; sentencing reversed, remanded, 469 F.3d 1166 (8th Circuit 2006); vacated, remanded, 552 U.S. 1090 (2008); reversed, remanded, 533 F.3d 715 (8th Cir. 2008)
Laws applied:	18 U.S.C. § 3553
Full text of the opinion:	official slip opinion  · Findlaw  · Justia

555 U.S. 261
Decided January 21, 2009.
Eighth Circuit reversed and remanded.

Kennedy noted without separate opinion that he would grant the petition for a writ of certiorari and set the case for oral argument. Thomas dissented without separate opinion. Roberts filed a dissent, joined by Alito.

Nelson v. United States

Full caption:	Lawrence W. Nelson, aka Zikee v. United States
Citations:	555 U.S. 350
Prior history:	Conviction and sentencing affirmed, 237 Fed. Appx. 819 (4th Cir. 2007); vacated, remanded, 552 U.S. 1163 (2008); sentence affirmed, 276 Fed. Appx. 331 (4th Cir. 2008)
Laws applied:	18 U.S.C. § 3553
Full text of the opinion:	official slip opinion  · Findlaw  · Justia

555 U.S. 350
Decided January 26, 2009.
Fourth Circuit reversed and remanded.

Breyer filed an opinion concurring in the judgment, joined by Alito.

CSX Transp., Inc. v. Hensley

Full caption:	CSX Transportation, Inc. v. Thurston Hensley
Citations:	556 U.S. 838
Prior history:	Judgment for plaintiff; aff'd, 278 S.W. 3d 282 (Tenn. 2008)
Laws applied:	45 U.S.C. § 51 et seq. (Federal Employers' Liability Act)
Full text of the opinion:	official slip opinion  · Findlaw  · Justia

556 U.S. 838
Decided June 1, 2009.
Court of Appeals of Tennessee, Eastern Division, reversed and remanded.

Stevens and Ginsburg filed dissents.

Indiana State Police Pension Trust v. Chrysler LLC

Main article: Indiana State Police Pension Trust v. Chrysler LLC

Full caption:	Indiana State Police Pension Trust, et al. v. Chrysler LLC, et al.
Citations:	556 U.S. 960
Prior history:	Restructuring plan approved, Bankr. S.D.N.Y., May 31, 2009; aff'd, 2d Cir., June 5, 2009; temporary stay granted, June 8, 2009 (Ginsburg, J.)
Full text of the opinion:	official slip opinion

556 U.S. 960
Decided June 9, 2009.
Application for stay denied.

See also

• List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 555
• List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 556