# 2008 term United States Supreme Court opinions of Stephen Breyer

* The 2008 term of the Supreme Court of the United States began October 6, 2008, and concluded October 4, 2009. This was the fifteenth term of Associate Justice Stephen Breyer's tenure on the Court.
* Stephen Breyer 2008 term statistics
* 8
* Majority or Plurality
* 7
* Concurrence
* 1
* Other
* 13
* Dissent
* 3
* Concurrence/dissent
* Total =
* 32
* Bench opinions = 29
* Opinions relating to orders = 2
* In-chambers opinions = 1
* Unanimous opinions: 3
* Most joined by: Souter (13)
* Least joined by: Thomas (5)
| Type | Case | Citation | Issues | Joined by | Other opinions |
| 301 | Winter v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. | 555 U.S. 7 (2008) | National Environmental Policy Act • impact of naval sonar testing on marine mammals • environmental impact statements | Stevens (in part) | Roberts Ginsburg |
| 102 | Chambers v. United States | 555 U.S. 122 (2009) | Armed Career Criminal Act • definition of "violent felony" | Roberts, Stevens, Scalia, Kennedy, Souter, Ginsburg | Alito |
| 403 | Herring v. United States | 555 U.S. 135 (2009) | Fourth Amendment • exclusionary rule • effect of police negligence on search | Souter | Roberts Ginsburg |
| 104 | Locke v. Karass | 555 U.S. 207 (2009) | First Amendment • public employee union fees imposed on nonmembers | Unanimous | Alito |
| 105 | Van de Kamp v. Goldstein | 555 U.S. 335 (2009) | Section 1983 • failure to disclose impeachment evidence of state witnesses • prosecutorial immunity | Unanimous | |
| 206 | Nelson v. United States | 555 U.S. 350 (2009) | United States Sentencing Guidelines • confession of error | Alito | per curiam |
| 307 | Ysursa v. Pocatello Ed. Assn. | 555 U.S. 353 (2009) | First Amendment • public employee unions • state ban on payroll deductions for political activities | | Roberts Ginsburg Stevens Souter |
| 208 | Carcieri v. Salazar | 555 U.S. 379 (2009) | Indian Reorganization Act • legal status of Narragansett Tribe • authority of Secretary of the Interior to take land in trust | | Thomas Souter Stevens |
| 209 | Pacific Bell Telephone Co. v. linkLine Communications, Inc. | 555 U.S. 438 (2009) | antitrust law • Sherman Antitrust Act • predatory pricing • wholesale DSL service | Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg | Roberts |
| 210 | Pleasant Grove City v. Summum | 555 U.S. 460 (2009) | First Amendment • free speech • government speech • public forums | | Alito Stevens Scalia Souter |
| 411 | Summers v. Earth Island Institute | 555 U.S. 488 (2009) | Forest Service Decisionmaking and Appeals Reform Act • regulatory exceptions to notice and comment procedures • Article III • standing | Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg | Scalia Kennedy |
| 212 | Wyeth v. Levine | 555 U.S. 555 (2009) | Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act • FDA-approved pharmaceutical labeling • federal preemption • failure-to-warn of risks | | Stevens Thomas Alito |
| 413 | Kelly v. California | 555 U.S. 1020 (2008) | Due Process Clause • Eighth Amendment • death penalty • victim impact evidence | | Stevens |
| Breyer dissented from the Court's denial of certiorari, in a case that involved the admissibility of "victim impact evidence" during the sentencing phase of a capital trial. ||||||
| 414 | Bartlett v. Strickland | 556 U.S. 1 (2009) | Voting Rights Act of 1965 • legislative redistricting • vote dilution | | Kennedy Thomas Souter Ginsburg |
| 415 | Vermont v. Brillon | 556 U.S. 81 (2009) | Sixth Amendment • Speedy Trial Clause • delay attributable to court-appointed defense counsel | Stevens | Ginsburg |
| 316 | Entergy Corp. v. Riverkeeper, Inc. | 556 U.S. 208 (2009) | Clean Water Act • environmental impact of power plant cooling water intake • national performance standards based on cost-benefit analysis | | Scalia Stevens |
| 417 | Arizona v. Gant | 556 U.S. 332 (2009) | Fourth Amendment • search incident to arrest • vehicle search | | Stevens Scalia Alito |
| 118 | Ministry of Defense and Support for Armed Forces of Islamic Republic of Iran v. Elahi | 556 U.S. 36 (2009) | attachment to judgment in favor of foreign government • Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002 • Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 | Roberts, Stevens, Scalia, Thomas, Alito; Kennedy, Souter, Ginsburg (in part) | Kennedy |
| 119 | Shinseki v. Sanders | 556 U.S. 396 (2009) | denial of benefits by Department of Veterans Affairs • failure to give notice of required evidence • harmless error | Roberts, Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas, Alito | Souter |
| 420 | FCC v. Fox Television Stations, Inc. | 556 U.S. 502 (2009) | Public Telecommunications Act of 1992 • indecency ban on broadcast television • fleeting expletives | Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg | Scalia Kennedy Thomas Stevens Ginsburg |
| 421 | Dean v. United States | 556 U.S. 568 (2009) | federal criminal law • mandatory additional sentence discharge of firearm during crime • proof of intent • rule of lenity | | Roberts Stevens |
| 222 | Carlsbad Technology, Inc. v. HIF Bio, Inc. | 556 U.S. 635 (2009) | appeal after removal to state court • supplemental jurisdiction | Souter | Thomas Stevens Scalia |
| 123 | Flores-Figueroa v. United States | 556 U.S. 646 (2009) | federal criminal law • identity theft • knowing use of another person's identification | Roberts, Stevens, Kennedy, Souter, Ginsburg | Scalia Alito |
| 424 | Ashcroft v. Iqbal | 556 U.S. 662 (2009) | post-9/11 detention • qualified immunity • collateral order doctrine • Federal Rules of Civil Procedure • sufficiency of pleadings in discrimination case | | Kennedy Souter |
| 425 | Montejo v. Louisiana | 556 U.S. 778 (2009) | Fifth Amendment • right against self-incrimination • police interrogation after invocation of right to counsel | | Scalia Alito Stevens |
| 426 | Thompson v. McNeil | 556 U.S. 1114 (2009) | Eighth Amendment • death penalty • substantial delay | | Stevens Thomas |
| Breyer dissented from the Court's denial of certiorari. ||||||
| 127 | Polar Tankers, Inc. v. City of Valdez | 557 U.S. 1 (2009) | Tonnage Clause • local property tax on vessels | Scalia, Kennedy, Ginsburg; Alito (in part) | Roberts Alito Stevens |
| 128 | Nijhawan v. Holder | 557 U.S. 29 (2009) | immigration law • removal after conviction of aggravated felony • threshold for monetary loss caused by crime | Unanimous | |
| 429 | Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc. | 557 U.S. 167 (2009) | Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 • disparate treatment claim • but-for causation • burden of persuasion | Souter, Ginsburg | Thomas Stevens |
| 230 | Coeur Alaska, Inc. v. Southeast Alaska Conservation Council | 557 U.S. 261 (2009) | Clean Water Act • Army Corps of Engineers authority to issue slurry discharge permit | | Kennedy Scalia Ginsburg |
| 431 | Horne v. Flores | 557 U.S. 433 (2009) | Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974 • state funding of English language instruction • Article III • standing • Federal Rules of Civil Procedure • relief from judgment based on changed circumstances • No Child Left Behind Act | Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg | Alito |
| 532 | O'Brien v. O'Laughlin | 557 U.S. 1301 (2009) | habeas corpus • bail pending appeal | | |
| Breyer denied the government's application for a stay of the grant of a habeas corpus petition. ||||||