United States v. Munsingwear

In United States v. Munsingwear, Inc., 340 U.S. 36 (1950), the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed an appeal for mootness. It requires vacating the appealed-from decision by a Court of Appeals, with an order that it dismiss the pending case as moot.

For example, on January 25, 2021, the Supreme Court granted four petitions for cert. as follows, to order vacatur of the appealed-from decisions by the Courts of Appeal, along with an order for the Courts of Appeal to dismiss the cases:

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20-305 PLANNED PARENTHOOD, ET AL. V. ABBOTT, GOV. OF TX, ET AL. The petition for a writ of certiorari is granted. The judgment is vacated, and the case is remanded to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit with instructions to dismiss the case as moot. See United States v. Munsingwear, Inc., 340 U. S. 36 (1950). 20-330 TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF U.S. V. CREW, ET AL. The motion of Scholar Seth Barrett Tillman, et al. for leave to file a brief as amici curiae is granted. The motion of Professor Lawrence A. Hamermesh for leave to file a brief as amicus curiae is granted. The petition for a writ of certiorari is granted. The judgment is vacated, and the case is remanded to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit with instructions to dismiss the case as moot. See United States v. Munsingwear, Inc., 340 U. S. 36 (1950). 20-331 TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF U.S. V. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, ET AL. The motion of Scholar Seth Barrett Tillman, et al. for leave to file a brief as amici curiae is granted. The petition for a writ of certiorari is granted. The judgment is vacated, and the case is remanded to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit with instructions to dismiss the case as moot. See United States v. Munsingwear, Inc., 340 U. S. 36 (1950). 20-482 ATT'Y GEN. OF TN, ET AL. V. ADAMS & BOYLE, P.C., ET AL. The petition for a writ of certiorari is granted. The judgment is vacated, and the case is remanded to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit with instructions to direct the District Court to vacate as moot its April 17, 2020, order granting plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction. See United States v. Munsingwear, Inc., 340 U. S. 36 (1950).

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United States v. Munsingwear is the precedent for dismissal of a case on appeal when it becomes moot for any reason, including when a defendant passes away in a criminal case. See, e.g., Claiborne v. United States, 127 S. Ct. 2245 (2007).