2016 term United States Supreme Court opinions of Stephen Breyer

The 2016 term of the Supreme Court of the United States began October 3, 2016, and concluded October 1, 2017. This was the twenty-third term of Associate Justice Stephen Breyer's tenure on the Court.
Stephen Breyer 2016 term statistics 8 Majority or Plurality 3 Concurrence 1 Other 10 Dissent 0 Concurrence/dissent Total = 22 Bench opinions = 17 Opinions relating to orders = 5 In-chambers opinions = 0 Unanimous opinions: 1 Most joined by: Ginsburg (9) Least joined by: Gorsuch (0)[1]

Type	Case	Citation	Issues	Joined by	Other opinions
	Shaw v. United States	580 U.S. ___ (2016)	federal criminal law  • bank fraud	Unanimous[2]
	Sireci v. Florida	580 U.S. ___ (2016)	Eighth Amendment  • death penalty
Breyer dissented from the Court's denial of certiorari.
	Reed v. Louisiana	580 U.S. ___ (2016)	Eighth Amendment  • death penalty
Breyer dissented from the Court's denial of certiorari.
	Ruiz v. Texas	580 U.S. ___ (2016)	Eighth Amendment  • death penalty  • solitary confinement
Breyer dissented from the Court's denial of a stay of execution.
	SCA Hygiene Products Aktiebolag v. First Quality Baby Products, LLC	580 U.S. ___ (2017)	patent law  • statute of limitations  • laches		Alito
	Star Athletica, L. L. C. v. Varsity Brands, Inc.	580 U.S. ___ (2017)	copyright law  • features incorporated into design of useful articles	Kennedy	Thomas Ginsburg
	Czyzewski v. Jevic Holding Corp.	580 U.S. ___ (2017)	bankruptcy law  • Chapter 11  • Article III standing  • creditor priority in structured dismissal	Roberts, Kennedy, Ginsburg, Sotomayor, Kagan	Thomas
	Expressions Hair Design v. Schneiderman	581 U.S. ___ (2017)	First Amendment  • commercial speech  • regulation of communication of prices  • price difference for credit card transactions		Roberts Sotomayor
	McGehee v. Hutchinson	581 U.S. ___ (2017)	Eighth Amendment  • death penalty  • lethal injection		Sotomayor
Breyer dissented from the Court's denial of a stay of execution.
	Smith v. Ryan	581 U.S. ___ (2017)	Eighth Amendment  • death penalty  • solitary confinement
Breyer filed a statement respecting the Court's denial of certiorari.
	Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela v. Helmerich & Payne Int'l Drilling Co.	581 U.S. ___ (2017)	Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act  • expropriation exception	Roberts, Kennedy, Thomas, Ginsburg, Alito, Sotomayor, Kagan
	Bank of America Corp. v. Miami	581 U.S. ___ (2017)	Fair Housing Act  • municipality as aggrieved person to bring suit	Roberts, Ginsburg, Sotomayor, Kagan	Thomas
	Howell v. Howell	581 U.S. ___ (2017)	Uniformed Services Former Spouses' Protection Act  • indemnification for post-divorce waiver of military retirement pay  • federal preemption	Roberts, Kennedy, Ginsburg, Alito, Sotomayor, Kagan	Thomas
	Midland Funding, LLC v. Johnson	581 U.S. ___ (2017)	Fair Debt Collection Practices Act  • bankruptcy law  • filing of obviously time-barred proof of claim	Roberts, Kennedy, Thomas, Alito	Sotomayor
	Sandoz Inc v. Amgen Inc.	582 U.S. ___ (2017)	Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act of 2009  • patent law  • availability of injunction to enforce biosimilar drug application requirements		Thomas
	Ziglar v. Abbasi	582 U.S. ___ (2017)	detentions following the September 11 attacks  • Fifth Amendment  • Due Process Clause  • equal protection  • Fourth Amendment  • implied cause of action	Ginsburg	Kennedy Thomas
	McWilliams v. Dunn	582 U.S. ___ (2017)	indigent defendant access to independent mental health expert	Kennedy, Ginsburg, Sotomayor, Kagan	Alito
	Weaver v. Massachusetts	582 U.S. ___ (2017)	Sixth Amendment  • public trial violation  • ineffective assistance of counsel  • preservation of error	Kagan	Kennedy Thomas Alito
	Turner v. United States	582 U.S. ___ (2017)	Fourteenth Amendment  • Due Process Clause  • failure to disclose exculpatory information	Roberts, Kennedy, Thomas, Alito, Sotomayor	Kagan
	Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Inc. v. Comer	582 U.S. ___ (2017)	First Amendment  • Free Exercise Clause  • Establishment Clause  • eligibility of religious organization for government grant		Roberts Thomas Gorsuch Sotomayor
	Davila v. Davis	582 U.S. ___ (2017)	Sixth Amendment  • ineffective assistance of counsel  • procedural default  • failure of habeas counsel to raise failure by appellate counsel	Ginsburg, Sotomayor, Kagan	Thomas
	Hernandez v. Mesa	582 U.S. ___ (2017)	Fourth Amendment  • cross-border shooting of foreign national by federal law enforcement	Ginsburg	per curiam Thomas

Notes

1. Gorsuch joined the Court midterm. Of the justices who participated the entire term, Thomas joined the fewest of Breyer's opinions, with four.
2. This opinion was handed down prior to the confirmation of Justice Gorsuch, and so was unanimous as to the eight justices then on the Court.

References

• 2016 Term Opinions of the Court, Supreme Court of the United States, retrieved July 16, 2017.
• 2016 Term Opinions Relating to Orders, Supreme Court of the United States, retrieved July 16, 2017.
• 2016 Term In-Chambers Opinions, Supreme Court of the United States, retrieved July 16, 2017.