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Federal Courts -
U. S. Supreme Court - June 27 - December 12, 1988
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Boyle v. United Techs. Corp., No. 86-492,
SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES, June 27, 1988, Decided
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Overview: The copilot was drowned when he was unable to escape from a military helicopter that crashed into the ocean. His father recovered a judgment in the district court against the helicopter manufacturer pursuant to Virginia tort law based upon a defective repair and a design defect in the escape hatch. The court of appeals reversed and held that as a matter of federal law, the manufacturer was not liable for the defective design of the escape hatch pursuant to the military contractor defense. On certiorari, the Court vacated the judgment of the court of appeals and remanded the case to that court for a determination of whether the evidence was sufficient to prove the military contractor defense, as formulated under federal common law, such that no reasonable jury could have rendered a verdict against the manufacturer. In order to prove the military contractor defense, the manufacturer was obligated to show that its design conformed to reasonably precise governmental specifications and that it warned the Government of any dangers in the design that were known by the manufacturer but not by the Government.
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Morrison v. Olson, No. 87-1279,
SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES, June 29, 1988, Decided
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Overview: The Special Division appointed appellant as independent counsel to investigate appellees for violations of federal criminal laws pursuant to the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, 28 U.S.C.S ? 591 et seq. Appellant caused a grand jury to issue and serve subpoenas on appellees. All three appellees moved to quash the subpoenas, claiming that the independent counsel provisions of the Act were unconstitutional. The trial court dismissed appellees' motions, but the appellate court reversed the decision when it found that the Act was invalid. The Supreme Court reversed the appellate court's decision when the Court found that: (1) the Act did not violate the Appointments Clause for Congress to vest the appointment of independent counsel in the Special Division; (2) the powers exercised by the Division under the Act did not violate U.S. Const. art. III; and (3) the Act did not violate the separation-of-powers principle.
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Ariz. v. Youngblood, No. 86-1904,
SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES, November 29, 1988, Decided
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Overview: Defendant claimed that the victim erred in identifying him and that if proper and timely tests had been performed on the evidence, defendant would have been exonerated. The Court reversed the judgment of the state court of appeals. The Court held that unless defendant could show bad faith on the part of the police, the failure to preserve potentially useful evidence did not constitute a denial of due process. The Court found that the delays in testing followed standard procedure and that tests were performed as soon as defendant was arrested. Witnesses from both sides testified as to what might have been shown by timely performed tests or by later tests performed on samples from the victim's clothing had they been properly refrigerated. The Court found that although there was a likelihood that the preserved materials would have enabled defendant to exonerate himself, that the State did not attempt to use any of these materials in its case-in-chief. The Court further held that the failure to refrigerate the clothing and to perform tests was at worst negligence, that none of the information was concealed from defendant, and that the evidence was available to defendant.
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Beech Aircraft Corp. v. Rainey, No. 87-981,
SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES, December 12, 1988, * Decided *Together with No. 87-1028, Beech Aerospace Services, Inc. v. Rainey et al., also on certiorari to the same court.
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Overview: After the crash of a military plane, the surviving spouses brought their product liability suit against the manufacturer and the service company, which serviced the plane under contract with the Navy. The surviving spouses alleged that the crash had been caused by a loss of engine power due to a defect in the aircraft's fuel control system. The manufacturer and the service company advanced the theory of pilot error. At trial, portions of an investigatory report pointing to pilot error were admitted into evidence. The jury returned a verdict for the manufacturer and the service company. A panel of the court of appeals reversed and remanded for a new trial because Fed. R. Evid. 803(8)(C) did not encompass evaluative conclusions or opinions, and thus, the conclusions contained in the investigatory report should have been excluded. On rehearing en banc, the court of appeals divided evenly on the question of R. 803(8)(C). On further review, the Court reversed and remanded in part because the trial court determined that certain of the report's conclusions were trustworthy and the trial court rightly allowed them to be admitted into evidence.
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