Plaut v. Spendthrift Farm, Inc.

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Plaut v. Spendthrift Farm, Inc.
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued November 30, 1994 Decided April 18, 1995
Full case name: Ed Plaut, et ux., et al., petitioners v. Spendthrift Farm, Inc., et al. Citations: 514 U.S. 211
Holding
A statute is unconstitutional that requires federal courts to reopen final judgments entered before its enactment.
Court membership
Chief Justice: William Rehnquist Associate Justices: John Paul Stevens, Sandra Day O'Connor, Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, David Souter, Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer
Case opinions
Majority by: Scalia Joined by: Rehnquist, O'Connor, Kennedy, Souter, Thomas Concurrence by: Breyer Dissent by: Stevens Joined by: Ginsburg
Laws applied
U.S. Const. art. III

Plaut v. Spendthrift Farm, Inc., 514 U.S. 211 (1995)^[1], 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. 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.

[edit] See also

List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 514

[edit] References

1. ^ 514 U.S. 211 Full text of the opinion courtesy of Findlaw.com.