Peter C. Reiter, et al. v. Langdon M. Cooper, Trustee for Carolina Motor Express, Inc., et al.

Decided March 8, 1993. Antonin Scalia delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 91-1496 · 507 U.S. 258 (1993) · Cited 660 times

Holding

When a defendant’s flight and recapture occur before appeal, the defendant’s former fugitive status may well lack the kind of connection to the appellate process that would justify an appellate sanction of dismissal.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 8–1.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Curtiss-Wright Corp. v. General Electric Co. · 446 U.S. 1 (1980)
• United States v. Western Pacific Railroad · 352 U.S. 59 (1956)
• Sears, Roebuck & Co. v. MacKey · 351 U.S. 427 (1956)
• Maislin Industries, U. S., Inc. v. Primary Steel, Inc. · 497 U.S. 116 (1990)
• Mitchell Coal & Coke Co. v. Pennsylvania Railroad · 230 U.S. 247 (1913)
• Chevron U. S. A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. · 467 U.S. 837 (1984)
• Myers v. Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp. · 303 U.S. 41 (1938)
• Heckler v. Ringer · 466 U.S. 602 (1984)
• Bull v. United States · 295 U.S. 247 (1935)
• Keogh v. Chicago & Northwestern Railway Co. · 260 U.S. 156 (1922)
• Port of Boston Marine Terminal Assn. v. Rederiaktiebolaget Transatlantic · 400 U.S. 62 (1970)
• Arizona Grocery Co. v. Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Co. · 284 U.S. 370 (1932)
• Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railway Co. v. Fink · 250 U.S. 577 (1919)
• Ricci v. Chicago Mercantile Exchange · 409 U.S. 289 (1973)
• Texas & Pacific Railway Co. v. Mugg · 202 U.S. 242 (1906)
• General American Tank Car Corp. v. El Dorado Terminal Co. · 308 U.S. 422 (1940)
• Cold Metal Process Co. v. United Engineering & Foundry Co. · 351 U.S. 445 (1956)
• Carnation Co. v. Pacific Westbound Conference · 383 U.S. 213 (1966)
• Southern Construction Co. v. Pickard · 371 U.S. 57 (1962)
• T. I. M. E. Inc. v. United States · 359 U.S. 464 (1959)
• Lowden v. Simonds-Shields-Lonsdale Grain Co. · 306 U.S. 516 (1939)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• City of Arlington v. Fed. Commc'ns Comm'n · 569 U.S. 290 (2013)
• Green v. Brennan · 578 U.S. 547 (2016)
• Heimeshoff v. Hartford Life & Accident Ins. Co. · 571 U.S. 99 (2013)
• Beach v. Ocwen Federal Bank · 523 U.S. 410 (1998)
• Corner Post, Inc. v. Board of Governors · 603 U.S. 799 (2024)
• Booth v. Churner · 532 U.S. 731 (2001)
• Concrete Pipe & Products of Cal., Inc. v. Construction Laborers Pension Trust for Southern Cal. · 508 U.S. 602 (1993)
• TRW Inc. v. Andrews · 534 U.S. 19 (2001)
• Bay Area Laundry & Dry Cleaning Pension Trust Fund v. Ferbar Corp. of California, Inc. · 522 U.S. 192 (1997)
• Graham County Soil & Water Conservation District v. United States Ex Rel. Wilson · 545 U.S. 409 (2005)
• Northwest Airlines, Inc. v. County of Kent · 510 U.S. 355 (1994)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

Explore from here

Antonin Scalia’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1993). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).