# 2009 term opinions of the Supreme Court of the United States

The 2009 term of the Supreme Court of the United States began October 5, 2009, and concluded October 3, 2010. The table illustrates which opinion was filed by each justice in each case and which justices joined each opinion.

## Table key

| | Delivered the Court's opinion | Joined the Court's opinion | Filed a concurrence | Joined a concurrence |
| | Filed a dissent | Joined a dissent | Filed a concurrence/dissent | Joined a concurrence/dissent |
| | Did not participate in the decision |
| Decisions that do not note an argument date were decided without oral argument. Decisions that do not note a Justice delivering the Court's opinion are per curiam. Multiple concurrences and dissents within a case are numbered, with joining votes numbered accordingly. Justices frequently join multiple opinions in a single case; each vote is subdivided accordingly. An asterisk ( * ) in the Court's opinion denotes that it was only a majority in part or a plurality. An asterisk in a joining vote denotes that the justice joined it only in part. A dash ( - ) denotes that the Justice voted without filing or joining an opinion. ||||||||

## 2009 term opinions

| # | Case name and citation | Argued | Decided | Roberts | Stevens | Scalia | Kennedy | Thomas | Ginsburg | Breyer | Alito | Sotomayor |
| 1 | Corcoran v. Levenhagen, 558 U.S. 1 | | October 20, 2009 | | | | | | | | | |
| 2 | Bobby v. Van Hook, 558 U.S. 4 | | November 9, 2009 | | | | | | | | | |
| 3 | Wong v. Belmontes, 558 U.S. 15 | | November 16, 2009 | | | | | | | | | |
| 4 | Porter v. McCollum, 558 U.S. 30 | | November 30, 2009 | | | | | | | | | |
| 5 | Michigan v. Fisher, 558 U.S. 45 | | December 7, 2009 | | | | | | | | | |
| 6 | Beard v. Kindler, 558 U.S. 53 | November 2, 2009 | December 8, 2009 | | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Union Pacific v. Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, 558 U.S. 67 | October 7, 2009 | December 8, 2009 | | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Alvarez v. Smith, 558 U.S. 87 | October 14, 2009 | December 8, 2009 | | * | | | | | | | |
| 9 | Mohawk Industries, Inc. v. Carpenter, 558 U.S. 100 | October 5, 2009 | December 8, 2009 | | | | | * | | | | |
| 10 | McDaniel v. Brown, 558 U.S. 120 | | January 11, 2010 | | | | | | | | | |
| 11 | Smith v. Spisak, 558 U.S. 139 | October 13, 2009 | January 12, 2010 | | * | | | | | | | |
| 12 | NRG Power Marketing, LLC v. Maine Pub. Util. Comm'n, 558 U.S. 165 | October 13, 2009 | January 13, 2010 | | | | | | | | | |
| 13 | Hollingsworth v. Perry, 558 U.S. 183 | | January 13, 2010 | | | | | | | | | |
| 14 | Presley v. Georgia, 558 U.S. 209 | | January 19, 2010 | | | | | | | | | |
| 15 | Wellons v. Hall, 558 U.S. 220 | | January 19, 2010 | 2 | | 1 | | 1 | | | 2 | |
| 16 | Kucana v. Holder, 558 U.S. 233 | November 10, 2009 | January 20, 2010 | | | | | | | | | |
| 17 | South Carolina v. North Carolina, 558 U.S. 256 | October 13, 2009 | January 20, 2010 | | | | | | | | | |
| 18 | Wood v. Allen, 558 U.S. 290 | November 4, 2009 | January 20, 2010 | | | | | | | | | |
| 19 | Citizens United v. Federal Election Comm'n, 558 U.S. 310 | September 9, 2009 | January 21, 2010 | 1 | *1 | 2 | | *2*2 | *1 | *1 | 12 | *1 |
| 20 | Hemi Group, LLC v. City of New York, 559 U.S. 1 | November 3, 2009 | January 25, 2010 | * | | | | | * | | | |
| 21 | Briscoe v. Virginia, 559 U.S. 32 | January 11, 2010 | January 25, 2010 | | | | | | | | | |
| 22 | Wilkins v. Gaddy, 559 U.S. 34 | | February 22, 2010 | | | | | | | | | |
| 23 | Thaler v. Haynes, 559 U.S. 43 | | February 22, 2010 | | | | | | | | | |
| 24 | Florida v. Powell, 559 U.S. 50 | December 7, 2009 | February 23, 2010 | | | | | | | ** | | |
| 25 | Hertz Corp. v. Friend, 559 U.S. 77 | November 10, 2009 | February 23, 2010 | | | | | | | | | |
| 26 | Maryland v. Shatzer, 559 U.S. 98 | October 5, 2009 | February 24, 2010 | | 1 | | | *2 | | | | |
| 27 | Kiyemba v. Obama, 559 U.S. 131 | | March 1, 2010 | | | | | | | | | |
| 28 | Johnson v. United States, 559 U.S. 133 | October 6, 2009 | March 2, 2010 | | | | | | | | | |
| 29 | Reed Elsevier, Inc. v. Muchnick, 559 U.S. 154 | October 7, 2009 | March 2, 2010 | | | | | | | | | |
| 30 | Mac's Shell Service, Inc. v. Shell Oil Products Co., 559 U.S. 175 | January 19, 2010 | March 2, 2010 | | | | | | | | | |
| 31 | Bloate v. United States, 559 U.S. 196 | October 6, 2009 | March 8, 2010 | | | | | | | | | |
| 32 | Milavetz, Gallop & Milavetz, P. A. v. United States, 559 U.S. 229 | December 1, 2009 | March 8, 2010 | | | *1 | | *2 | | | | |
| 33 | United Student Aid Funds, Inc. v. Espinosa, 559 U.S. 260 | December 1, 2009 | March 23, 2010 | | | | | | | | | |
| 34 | Graham Cty. ...Consv. Dist. v. United States ex rel. Wilson, 559 U.S. 280 | November 30, 2009 | March 30, 2010 | | | * | | | | | | |
| 35 | Berghuis v. Smith, 559 U.S. 314 | January 20, 2010 | March 30, 2010 | | | | | | | | | |
| 36 | Jones v. Harris Associates, 559 U.S. 335 | November 2, 2009 | March 30, 2010 | | | | | | | | | |
| 37 | Padilla v. Kentucky, 559 U.S. 356 | October 13, 2009 | March 31, 2010 | | | | | | | | | |
| 38 | Shady Grove Orthopedic Assoc. P.A. v. Allstate Ins., 559 U.S. 393 | November 2, 2009 | March 31, 2010 | | * | * | | | | | | * |
| 39 | United States v. Stevens, 559 U.S. 460 | October 6, 2009 | April 20, 2010 | | | | | | | | | |
| 40 | Conkright v. Frommert, 559 U.S. 506 | January 20, 2010 | April 21, 2010 | | | | | | | | | |
| 41 | Perdue v. Kenny A., 559 U.S. 542 | October 14, 2009 | April 21, 2010 | | | | 1 | 2 | | | | |
| 42 | Jerman v. Carlisle, McNellie, Rini, Kramer & Ulrich LPA, 559 U.S. 573 | January 13, 2010 | April 21, 2010 | | | 1 | | | | 2 | | |
| 43 | Merck & Co. v. Reynolds, 559 U.S. 633 | November 30, 2009 | April 27, 2010 | | 1 | 2 | | 2 | | | | |
| 44 | Stolt-Nielsen S. A. v. AnimalFeeds Int'l Corp., 559 U.S. 662 | December 9, 2009 | April 27, 2010 | | | | | | | | | |
| 45 | Salazar v. Buono, 559 U.S. 700 | October 7, 2009 | April 28, 2010 | 1 | 1 | 2 | * | 2 | 1 | 2 | *3 | 1 |
| 46 | Renico v. Lett, 559 U.S. 766 | March 29, 2010 | May 3, 2010 | | | | | | | * | | |
| 47 | Hui v. Castaneda, 559 U.S. 799 | March 2, 2010 | May 3, 2010 | | | | | | | | | |
| 48 | Abbott v. Abbott, 560 U.S. 1 | January 12, 2010 | May 17, 2010 | | | | | | | | | |
| 49 | Graham v. Florida, 560 U.S. 48 | November 9, 2009 | May 17, 2010 | 1 | 2 | 1 | | 1 | 2 | | 1*2 | 2 |
| 50 | United States v. Comstock, 560 U.S. 126 | January 12, 2010 | May 17, 2010 | | | * | 1 | | | | 2 | |
| 51 | Sullivan v. Florida, 560 U.S. 181 | November 9, 2009 | May 17, 2010 | | | | | | | | | |
| 52 | American Needle, Inc. v. National Football League, 560 U.S. 183 | January 13, 2010 | May 24, 2010 | | | | | | | | | |
| 53 | Lewis v. Chicago, 560 U.S. 205 | February 22, 2010 | May 24, 2010 | | | | | | | | | |
| 54 | United States v. O'Brien, 560 U.S. 218 | February 23, 2010 | May 24, 2010 | | 1 | | | 2 | | | | |
| 55 | Hardt v. Reliance Standard Life Ins. Co., 560 U.S. 242 | April 26, 2010 | May 24, 2010 | | * | | | | | | | |
| 56 | United States v. Marcus, 560 U.S. 258 | February 24, 2010 | May 24, 2010 | | | | | | | | | |
| 57 | Robertson v. United States ex rel. Watson, 560 U.S. 272 | March 31, 2010 | May 24, 2010 | 1 | | 1 | 12 | | | | | 12 |
| 58 | Jefferson v. Upton, 560 U.S. 284 | | May 24, 2010 | | | | | | | | | |
| 59 | Samantar v. Yousuf, 560 U.S. 305 | March 3, 2010 | June 1, 2010 | | | 1 | | 2 | | | 3 | |
| 60 | Alabama v. North Carolina, 560 U.S. 330 | January 11, 2010 | June 1, 2010 | *12 | | | * | *1 | | *2 | | * |
| 61 | Berghuis v. Thompkins, 560 U.S. 370 | March 1, 2010 | June 1, 2010 | | | | | | | | | |
| 62 | Levin v. Commerce Energy, Inc., 560 U.S. 413 | March 22, 2010 | June 1, 2010 | | | 2 | 1 | 2 | | | 3 | |
| 63 | Carr v. United States, 560 U.S. 438 | February 24, 2010 | June 1, 2010 | | | * | | | | | | |
| 64 | Barber v. Thomas, 560 U.S. 474 | March 30, 2010 | June 7, 2010 | | | | | | | | | |
| 65 | Hamilton v. Lanning, 560 U.S. 505 | March 22, 2010 | June 7, 2010 | | | | | | | | | |
| 66 | Krupski v. Costa Crociere S. p. A., 560 U.S. 538 | April 21, 2010 | June 7, 2010 | | | | | | | | | |
| 67 | United States v. Juvenile Male, 560 U.S. 558 | | June 7, 2010 | | | | | | | | | |
| 68 | Carachuri-Rosendo v. Holder, 560 U.S. 563 | March 31, 2010 | June 14, 2010 | | | 1 | | 2 | | | | |
| 69 | Astrue v. Ratliff, 560 U.S. 586 | February 22, 2010 | June 14, 2010 | | | | | | | | | |
| 70 | Dolan v. United States, 560 U.S. 605 | April 20, 2010 | June 14, 2010 | | | | | | | | | |
| 71 | Holland v. Florida, 560 U.S. 631 | March 1, 2010 | June 14, 2010 | | | | | * | | | | |
| 72 | New Process Steel, L.P. v. NLRB, 560 U.S. 674 | March 23, 2010 | June 17, 2010 | | | | | | | | | |
| 61 | Stop the Beach Renourishment v. FL Dept. of Env. Protection, 560 U.S. 702 | December 2, 2009 | June 17, 2010 | | | * | *1 | | *2 | *2 | | *1 |
| 74 | Ontario v. Quon, 560 U.S. 746 | April 19, 2010 | June 17, 2010 | | 1 | *2 | | | | | | |
| 75 | Schwab v. Reilly, 560 U.S. 770 | November 3, 2009 | June 17, 2010 | | | | | | | | | |
| 76 | Dillon v. United States, 560 U.S. 817 | March 30, 2010 | June 17, 2010 | | | | | | | | | |
| 77 | Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project, 561 U.S. 1 | February 23, 2010 | June 21, 2010 | | | | | | | | | |
| 78 | Rent-A-Center, West, Inc. v. Jackson, 561 U.S. 63 | April 26, 2010 | June 21, 2010 | | | | | | | | | |
| 79 | Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd. v. Regal-Beloit Corp., 561 U.S. 89 | March 24, 2010 | June 21, 2010 | | | | | | | | | |
| 80 | Monsanto Co. v. Geertson Seed Farms, 561 U.S. 139 | April 27, 2010 | June 21, 2010 | | | | | | | | | |
| 81 | Doe v. Reed, 561 U.S. 186 | April 28, 2010 | June 24, 2010 | | 15 | 2 | | | 5 | 13 | 4 | 5 |
| 82 | Morrison v. National Australia Bank Ltd., 561 U.S. 247 | March 29, 2010 | June 24, 2010 | | 1 | | | | 1 | 2 | | |
| 83 | Granite Rock Co. v. Teamsters, 561 U.S. 287 | January 19, 2010 | June 24, 2010 | | * | | | | | | | * |
| 84 | Magwood v. Patterson, 561 U.S. 320 | March 24, 2010 | June 24, 2010 | | * | | | * | | * | | * |
| 85 | Skilling v. United States, 561 U.S. 358 | March 1, 2010 | June 24, 2010 | | * | *1 | *1* | *1 | | * | *2 | * |
| 86 | Black v. United States, 561 U.S. 465 | December 8, 2009 | June 24, 2010 | | | 1 | 2 | 1 | | | | |
| 87 | Weyhrauch v. United States, 561 U.S. 476 | December 8, 2009 | June 24, 2010 | | | | | | | | | |
| 88 | Free Enterprise Fund v. Public Co. Acct. Oversight Bd., 561 U.S. 477 | December 7, 2009 | June 28, 2010 | | | | | | | | | |
| 89 | Bilski v. Kappos, 561 U.S. 593 | November 9, 2009 | June 28, 2010 | | 1 | *2* | * | | 1 | 12 | | 1 |
| 90 | Christian Legal Soc. of Hastings College of Law v. Martinez, 561 U.S. 661 | April 19, 2010 | June 28, 2010 | | 1 | | 2 | | | | | |
| 91 | McDonald v. Chicago, 561 U.S. 742 | March 2, 2010 | June 28, 2010 | | 1 | 1 | | *2 | 2 | 2 | * | 2 |
| 92 | Sears v. Upton, 561 U.S. 945 | | June 29, 2010 | - | | | | | | | - | |
| # | Case name and citation | Argued | Decided | Roberts | Stevens | Scalia | Kennedy | Thomas | Ginsburg | Breyer | Alito | Sotomayor |

## 2009 term membership and statistics

This was the fifth term of Chief Justice Roberts' tenure, the first term for Justice Sotomayor, and the last term for Justice Stevens.
| Justice | Justice | Appointment history | Appointment history | Agreement with judgment | Agreement with judgment | Opinions filed | Opinions filed | Opinions filed | Opinions filed | Opinions filed |
| Seniority | Name | President | Date confirmed | % | # | | | | | Total |
| Chief Justice | John Roberts | George W. Bush | September 29, 2005 | 90.2% | 83/92 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 15 |
| Associate Justice | John Paul Stevens | Gerald Ford | December 19, 1975 | 72.5% | 66/91 | 6 | 13 | 2 | 12 | 33 |
| Associate Justice | Antonin Scalia | Ronald Reagan | September 26, 1986 | 87% | 80/92 | 8 | 15 | 0 | 6 | 29 |
| Associate Justice | Anthony Kennedy | Ronald Reagan | February 18, 1988 | 90.2% | 83/92 | 9 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 21 |
| Associate Justice | Clarence Thomas | George H. W. Bush | October 23, 1991 | 84.8% | 78/92 | 8 | 13 | 1 | 4 | 26 |
| Associate Justice | Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Bill Clinton | August 10, 1993 | 79.3% | 73/92 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 15 |
| Associate Justice | Stephen Breyer | Bill Clinton | August 3, 1994 | 76.9% | 70/91 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 24 |
| Associate Justice | Samuel Alito | George W. Bush | January 31, 2006 | 86.7% | 78/90 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 25 |
| Associate Justice | Sonia Sotomayor | Barack Obama | August 6, 2009 | 80.2% | 69/86 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 16 |
| Notes on statistics: Opinion counts only include the bench opinions listed above; opinions relating to orders or in-chambers opinions are not included. Agreement with the Court's judgment does not guarantee agreement with the reasoning expressed in its opinion. A justice is not considered in agreement if they dissented even in part. Agreement percentages are based only on the listed cases in which a justice participated and are rounded to the nearest one-tenth of one percentage point. | Notes on statistics: Opinion counts only include the bench opinions listed above; opinions relating to orders or in-chambers opinions are not included. Agreement with the Court's judgment does not guarantee agreement with the reasoning expressed in its opinion. A justice is not considered in agreement if they dissented even in part. Agreement percentages are based only on the listed cases in which a justice participated and are rounded to the nearest one-tenth of one percentage point. | Notes on statistics: Opinion counts only include the bench opinions listed above; opinions relating to orders or in-chambers opinions are not included. Agreement with the Court's judgment does not guarantee agreement with the reasoning expressed in its opinion. A justice is not considered in agreement if they dissented even in part. Agreement percentages are based only on the listed cases in which a justice participated and are rounded to the nearest one-tenth of one percentage point. | Notes on statistics: Opinion counts only include the bench opinions listed above; opinions relating to orders or in-chambers opinions are not included. Agreement with the Court's judgment does not guarantee agreement with the reasoning expressed in its opinion. A justice is not considered in agreement if they dissented even in part. Agreement percentages are based only on the listed cases in which a justice participated and are rounded to the nearest one-tenth of one percentage point. | Notes on statistics: Opinion counts only include the bench opinions listed above; opinions relating to orders or in-chambers opinions are not included. Agreement with the Court's judgment does not guarantee agreement with the reasoning expressed in its opinion. A justice is not considered in agreement if they dissented even in part. Agreement percentages are based only on the listed cases in which a justice participated and are rounded to the nearest one-tenth of one percentage point. | Notes on statistics: Opinion counts only include the bench opinions listed above; opinions relating to orders or in-chambers opinions are not included. Agreement with the Court's judgment does not guarantee agreement with the reasoning expressed in its opinion. A justice is not considered in agreement if they dissented even in part. Agreement percentages are based only on the listed cases in which a justice participated and are rounded to the nearest one-tenth of one percentage point. | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals |
| Notes on statistics: Opinion counts only include the bench opinions listed above; opinions relating to orders or in-chambers opinions are not included. Agreement with the Court's judgment does not guarantee agreement with the reasoning expressed in its opinion. A justice is not considered in agreement if they dissented even in part. Agreement percentages are based only on the listed cases in which a justice participated and are rounded to the nearest one-tenth of one percentage point. | Notes on statistics: Opinion counts only include the bench opinions listed above; opinions relating to orders or in-chambers opinions are not included. Agreement with the Court's judgment does not guarantee agreement with the reasoning expressed in its opinion. A justice is not considered in agreement if they dissented even in part. Agreement percentages are based only on the listed cases in which a justice participated and are rounded to the nearest one-tenth of one percentage point. | Notes on statistics: Opinion counts only include the bench opinions listed above; opinions relating to orders or in-chambers opinions are not included. Agreement with the Court's judgment does not guarantee agreement with the reasoning expressed in its opinion. A justice is not considered in agreement if they dissented even in part. Agreement percentages are based only on the listed cases in which a justice participated and are rounded to the nearest one-tenth of one percentage point. | Notes on statistics: Opinion counts only include the bench opinions listed above; opinions relating to orders or in-chambers opinions are not included. Agreement with the Court's judgment does not guarantee agreement with the reasoning expressed in its opinion. A justice is not considered in agreement if they dissented even in part. Agreement percentages are based only on the listed cases in which a justice participated and are rounded to the nearest one-tenth of one percentage point. | Notes on statistics: Opinion counts only include the bench opinions listed above; opinions relating to orders or in-chambers opinions are not included. Agreement with the Court's judgment does not guarantee agreement with the reasoning expressed in its opinion. A justice is not considered in agreement if they dissented even in part. Agreement percentages are based only on the listed cases in which a justice participated and are rounded to the nearest one-tenth of one percentage point. | Notes on statistics: Opinion counts only include the bench opinions listed above; opinions relating to orders or in-chambers opinions are not included. Agreement with the Court's judgment does not guarantee agreement with the reasoning expressed in its opinion. A justice is not considered in agreement if they dissented even in part. Agreement percentages are based only on the listed cases in which a justice participated and are rounded to the nearest one-tenth of one percentage point. | 73 | 73 | 9 | 49 | 204 |