Plaut v. Spendthrift Farm, Inc.

Plaut v. Spendthrift Farm, Inc., 514 U.S. 211 (1995), was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that Congress may not retroactively require federal courts to reopen final judgments.[1] Writing for the Court, Justice Scalia asserted that such action amounted to an unauthorized encroachment by Congress upon the powers of the judiciary and therefore violated the constitutional principle of separation of powers.

Plaut v. Spendthrift Farm, Inc.
Argued November 30, 1994
Decided April 18, 1995
Full case nameEd Plaut, et ux., et al., petitioners v. Spendthrift Farm, Inc., et al.
Citations514 U.S. 211 (more)
115 S. Ct. 1447; 131 L. Ed. 2d 328; 1995 U.S. LEXIS 2843
Case history
Prior789 F. Supp. 231 (E.D. Ky. 1992), affirmed, 1 F.3d 1487 (6th Cir. 1993); cert. granted, 511 U.S. 1141 (1994).
Holding
A statute that requires federal courts to reopen final judgments entered before its enactment is unconstitutional.
Court membership
Chief Justice
William Rehnquist
Associate Justices
John P. Stevens · Sandra Day O'Connor
Antonin Scalia · Anthony Kennedy
David Souter · Clarence Thomas
Ruth Bader Ginsburg · Stephen Breyer
Case opinions
MajorityScalia, joined by Rehnquist, O'Connor, Kennedy, Souter, Thomas
ConcurrenceBreyer
DissentStevens, joined by Ginsburg
Laws applied
U.S. Const. art. III

See also

References

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