# 2015 term United States Supreme Court opinions of Clarence Thomas

* The 2015 term of the Supreme Court of the United States began October 5, 2015, and concluded October 2, 2016. This was the twenty-fifth term of Associate Justice Clarence Thomas's tenure on the Court.
* Clarence Thomas 2015 term statistics
* 7
* Majority or Plurality
* 16
* Concurrence
* 0
* Other
* 25
* Dissent
* 1
* Concurrence/dissent
* Total =
* 49
* Bench opinions = 39
* Opinions relating to orders = 10
* In-chambers opinions = 0
* Unanimous opinions: 2
* Most joined by: Alito (13 in full, 1 in part)
* Least joined by: Scalia, Ginsburg (4)
| Type | Case | Citation | Issues | Joined by | Other opinions |
| 401 | New Hampshire Right to Life v. Department of Health and Human Services | 577 U.S. ___ (2015) | Freedom of Information Act | Scalia | |
| Thomas dissented from the Court's denial of certiorari. ||||||
| 402 | Friedman v. Highland Park | 577 U.S. ___ (2015) | Second Amendment • right to keep and bear arms • municipal ban on semiautomatic firearms and high-capacity magazines | Scalia | |
| Thomas dissented from the Court's denial of certiorari. ||||||
| 403 | DIRECTV, Inc. v. Imburgia | 577 U.S. ___ (2015) | Federal Arbitration Act | | Breyer Ginsburg |
| 104 | Montanile v. Board of Trustees of Nat. Elevator Industry Health Benefit Plan | 577 U.S. ___ (2016) | Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 • equitable remedies for plan enforcement | Roberts, Scalia, Kennedy, Breyer, Sotomayor, Kagan; Alito (in part) | Ginsburg |
| 205 | Campbell-Ewald v. Gomez | 577 U.S. ___ (2016) | Article III • Case or Controversy Clause • effect of unaccepted settlement offer or offer of judgment on mootness • Telephone Consumer Protection Act • liability of federal contractor | | Ginsburg Roberts Alito |
| 406 | Montgomery v. Louisiana | 577 U.S. ___ (2016) | Eighth Amendment • mandatory life imprisonment of minors • retroactivity of new constitutional rules | | Kennedy Scalia |
| 107 | Musacchio v. United States | 577 U.S. ___ (2016) | challenge to sufficiency of evidence based on incorrect jury instructions • waiver of statute of limitations | Unanimous | |
| 208 | California Building Industry Assn. v. San Jose | 577 U.S. ___ (2016) | ordinance requiring new developments include low income housing • Fifth Amendment • Takings Clause | | |
| Thomas concurred in the Court's denial of certiorari. ||||||
| 209 | Gobeille v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co. | 577 U.S. ___ (2016) | Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 • preemption of state law health care disclosure requirements | | Kennedy Breyer Ginsburg |
| 410 | American Freedom Defense Initiative v. King County | 577 U.S. ___ (2016) | First Amendment • free speech • public forum doctrine • advertising in public transit areas | Alito | |
| Thomas dissented from the Court's denial of certiorari. ||||||
| 411 | Nebraska v. Colorado | 577 U.S. ___ (2016) | discretion to decline original jurisdiction suits • Colorado Amendment 64 | Alito | |
| Thomas dissented from the Court's denial of leave to file complaint. ||||||
| 412 | Tyson Foods, Inc. v. Bouaphakeo | 577 U.S. ___ (2016) | Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 • certification of class action • compensibility for varying times spent donning and doffing protective gear | Alito | Kennedy Roberts |
| 113 | Nebraska v. Parker | 577 U.S. ___ (2016) | Omaha Indian Reservation • diminishment of reservation boundaries | Unanimous | |
| 214 | Luis v. United States | 578 U.S. ___ (2016) | pretrial asset freezing • Sixth Amendment • right to counsel of one's choice | | Breyer Kennedy Kagan |
| 215 | Evenwel v. Abbott | 578 U.S. ___ (2016) | legislative redistricting based on total state population • Fourteenth Amendment • Equal Protection Clause • one person, one vote doctrine | | Ginsburg Alito |
| 416 | Kakarala v. Wells Fargo Bank, N. A. | 578 U.S. ___ (2016) | federal court review of orders remanding cases to state court | | |
| Thomas dissented from the Court's denial of certiorari. ||||||
| 417 | Welch v. United States | 578 U.S. ___ (2016) | Armed Career Criminal Act • retroactive effect of court decision on collateral review | | Kennedy |
| 218 | Hughes v. Talen Energy Marketing, LLC | 578 U.S. ___ (2016) | Federal Power Act • interstate wholesale electricity rates • federal preemption | | Ginsburg Sotomayor |
| 419 | Arrigoni Enterprises, LLC. v. Durham | 578 U.S. ___ (2016) | Fifth Amendment • Takings Clause • exhaustion of remedies under state procedures | Kennedy | |
| Thomas dissented from the Court's denial of certiorari. ||||||
| 420 | Heffernan v. City of Paterson | 578 U.S. ___ (2016) | First Amendment • free speech by government employees • demotion based on employer's factual mistake regarding engagement in protected activity | Alito | Breyer |
| 421 | Ocasio v. United States | 578 U.S. ___ (2016) | Hobbs Act • conspiracy | | Alito Breyer Sotomayor |
| 222 | Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins | 578 U.S. ___ (2016) | Fair Credit Reporting Act of 1970 • Article III • injury-in-fact | | Alito Ginsburg |
| 423 | Husky Int'l Electronics, Inc. v. Ritz | 578 U.S. ___ (2016) | bankruptcy law • Chapter 7 • discharge exception for actual fraud | | Sotomayor |
| 224 | Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc. v. Manning | 578 U.S. ___ (2016) | Securities Exchange Act of 1934 • removal jurisdiction • federal question jurisdiction | Sotomayor | Kagan |
| 425 | United Student Aid Funds, Inc. v. Bible | 578 U.S. ___ (2016) | administrative law • deference to agency interpretation | | |
| Thomas dissented from the denial of certiorari. ||||||
| 226 | CRST Van Expedited, Inc. v. EEOC | 578 U.S. ___ (2016) | Title VII • award of attorney's fees to prevailing party | | Kennedy |
| 227 | Betterman v. Montana | 578 U.S. ___ (2016) | Sixth Amendment • Speedy Trial Clause • postconviction delay in sentencing | Alito | Ginsburg Sotomayor |
| 428 | Foster v. Chatman | 578 U.S. ___ (2016) | Fourteenth Amendment • Equal Protection Clause • racial discrimination in juror peremptory challenges • adequate and independent state ground | | Roberts Alito |
| 429 | Green v. Brennan | 578 U.S. ___ (2016) | Title VII • constructive discharge • statute of limitations | | Sotomayor Alito |
| 230 | Adams v. Alabama | 578 U.S. ___ (2016) | Eighth Amendment • mandatory life imprisonment of minors • retroactivity of new constitutional rules | Alito | Alito Sotomayor |
| Thomas concurred in the Court's decision to grant certiorari, vacate the lower court's opinion, and remand. ||||||
| 431 | Lynch v. Arizona | 578 U.S. ___ (2016) | Fourteenth Amendment • Due Process Clause • death penalty • right to inform jury at sentencing of parole ineligibility | Alito | per curiam |
| 232 | Ross v. Blake | 578 U.S. ___ (2016) | Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1995 • exhaustion of remedies | | Kagan Breyer |
| 433 | Williams v. Pennsylvania | 579 U.S. ___ (2016) | Fourteenth Amendment • Due Process Clause • judicial recusal due to prior involvement as prosecutor | | Kennedy Roberts |
| 434 | Dietz v. Bouldin | 579 U.S. ___ (2016) | district court recall of jury in civil case after discharge | Kennedy | Sotomayor |
| 235 | Puerto Rico v. Sanchez Valle | 579 U.S. ___ (2016) | Double Jeopardy Clause • sovereignty of Puerto Rico | | Kagan Ginsburg Breyer |
| 136 | Puerto Rico v. Franklin Cal. Tax-Free Trust | 579 U.S. ___ (2016) | bankruptcy law • preemption of municipal bankruptcy laws • Puerto Rican government-debt crisis | Roberts, Kennedy, Breyer, Kagan | Sotomayor |
| 237 | United States v. Bryant | 579 U.S. ___ (2016) | federal crime of domestic violence in Indian lands • tribal court conviction as predicate offense • Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968 • Sixth Amendment • Assistance of Counsel Clause • Fifth Amendment • Due Process Clause | | Ginsburg |
| 138 | Kingdomware Technologies, Inc. v. United States | 579 U.S. ___ (2016) | Veterans Benefits, Health Care, and Information Technology Act of 2006 • Department of Defense contracting with veteran-owned small businesses | Unanimous | |
| 139 | Universal Health Services, Inc. v. United States ex rel. Escobar | 579 U.S. ___ (2016) | False Claims Act • implied false certification theory • failure to disclose noncompliance with legal requirements | Unanimous | |
| 440 | Encino Motorcars, LLC v. Navarro | 579 U.S. ___ (2016) | Fair Labor Standards Act • overtime exemption for automobile service advisors | Alito | Kennedy Ginsburg |
| 141 | Utah v. Strieff | 579 U.S. ___ (2016) | Fourth Amendment • exclusionary rule • attenuation doctrine | Roberts, Kennedy, Breyer, Alito | Sotomayor Kagan |
| 242 | Cuozzo Speed Technologies, LLC v. Lee | 579 U.S. ___ (2016) | Leahy-Smith America Invents Act • appealability of decision to conduct inter partes review | | Breyer Alito |
| 443 | Taylor v. United States | 579 U.S. ___ (2016) | Hobbs Act • robbery of drug dealers as satisfaction of commerce requirement | | Alito |
| 444 | Fisher v. University of Tex. at Austin | 579 U.S. ___ (2016) | Fourteenth Amendment • Equal Protection Clause • affirmative action • race-conscious college admissions program | | Kennedy Alito |
| 345 | Birchfield v. North Dakota | 579 U.S. ___ (2016) | Fourth Amendment • search incident to arrest • drunk driving • implied consent to breathalyzer or blood alcohol content tests | | Alito Sotomayor |
| 246 | Mathis v. United States | 579 U.S. ___ (2016) | Armed Career Criminal Act • sentence enhancement for prior convictions | | Kagan Kennedy Breyer Alito |
| 447 | Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt | 579 U.S. ___ (2016) | Fourteenth Amendment • abortion • regulation of abortion providers • Texas Senate Bill 5 • res judicata | | Breyer Ginsburg Alito |
| 448 | Voisine v. United States | 579 U.S. ___ (2016) | federal criminal law • prohibition on firearm ownership for misdemeanor domestic violence conviction • Second Amendment | Sotomayor (in part) | Kagan |
| 449 | Delaware Strong Families v. Denn | 579 U.S. ___ (2016) | First Amendment • campaign finance reform • mandated disclosure of anonymous donors | | |
| Thomas dissented from the Court's denial of certiorari. ||||||