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West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette
A significant ruling by the US Supreme Court declaring that the First Amendment's Free Speech Clause shields children from being forced to say the Pledge of Allegiance or salute the American flag in public schools. Justice Robert H. Jackson's 6-3 majority opinion is renowned for its vehement defense of free speech and other fundamental rights as being "beyond the grasp of majorities and authorities." -
Gideon v. Wainwright
In the historic case Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335, the U.S. Supreme Court declared that states must provide legal representation for criminal defendants who cannot afford it under the Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. -
Mapp v. Ohio
In a historic case known as Mapp v. Ohio, the U.S. Supreme Court held that state governments in the United States are likewise subject to the exclusionary rule, which prohibits prosecutors from utilizing evidence in court that was obtained by violating the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. -
Engel v. Vitale
In a significant decision known as Engel v. Vitale, the United States Supreme Court declared that it is illegal for state officials to create an official school prayer and promote its recitation in public schools since doing so would violate the First Amendment -
NY Times v. Sullivan
The United States (1971) The famous "Pentagon Papers" case, in which New York Times Co. v. United States was decided in 1971, protected the First Amendment freedom of the press from previous governmental constraints. -
Griswold v. Connecticut
In a landmark case known as Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479, the U.S. Supreme Court determined that married couples' freedom to purchase and use contraceptives without interference from the government is protected by the U.S. Constitution. -
Miranda v. Arizona
In the landmark decision Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibits prosecutors from using a person's statements made in response to questioning while they are in police custody as evidence at their trial unless they can demonstrate that the person was informed of their right to counsel both before and during questioning and of their right not to be compelled to testify against themselves. -
Tinker v. Des Moines
Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, 393 U.S. 503, was a major ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that recognized students' First Amendment rights in public schools throughout the country. -
Loving v. Virginia
The US Supreme Court declared in Loving v. Virginia in 1967 that laws prohibiting interracial marriage are against the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution. Mildred Loving, a white woman, and Richard Loving, a black man, were sentenced to one year in jail in 1958 as a result of the case. The Virginia Racial Integrity Act of 1924 forbade marriages between "white" and "colored" individuals, hence their union was illegal. -
Brandenburg v. Ohio
In the landmark case Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969). The Court ruled that the government cannot penalize someone for using inflammatory speech unless that speech is "directed at inciting or producing imminent criminal conduct and is likely to inspire or create such action." Because it substantially prohibited the simple promotion question, the Ohio criminal syndicalism Act was explicitly invalidated by the Court. -
Roe v. Wade
The U.S. Supreme Court made history in Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973), when it determined that women have the right to an abortion under the U.S. Constitution. The ruling sparked a heated discussion in the United States about the appropriate scope of abortion legality, who should make that determination, and the proper place of morality and religion in politics. -
NY Times v. U.S
The Supreme Court of the United States made a significant ruling on the First Amendment right to freedom of the press in New York Times Co. v. United States, 403 U.S. 713 (1971). The decision allowed The New York Times and The Washington Post to publish the at-the-time-classified Pentagon Papers without fear of retaliation from the government. -
Lemon v Kurtzman
Lemon v. Kurtzman, 403 U.S. 602 (1971), was a case that was brought before the US Supreme Court. The Pennsylvania Nonpublic Elementary and Secondary Education Act (represented by David Kurtzman) from 1968 was found to be unconstitutional by the court in an 8-0 decision, and Rhode Island's 1969 Salary Supplement Act was found to be unconstitutional in an 8-1 decision for violating the First Amendment's Establishment Clause. -
Furman v. Georgia
In the criminal case of Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238 (1972), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4, with each member of the majority penning a different opinion, to invalidate all death sentence laws in the country. Following Furman, states had to at least eliminate arbitrary and discriminatory effects in order to comply with the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution and reintroduce the death sentence. -
Gregg v. Georgia
It reaffirmed the Supreme Court's endorsement of the death penalty in the US and specifically sustained Troy Leon Gregg's death sentence. The case is referred to as the July 2 Case by a well-known professor, and it is also referred to as the main case Gregg in other contexts. The court outlined the Eighth Amendment's ban on "cruel and unusual punishments." -
New Jersey v. TLO
The Supreme Court of the United States established the threshold of reasonableness for student searches carried out by public school personnel in a school setting in the case of New Jersey v. T.L.O., 469 U.S. 325. -
Texas v. Johnson
Texas v. Johnson, 491 U.S. 397, was a significant Supreme Court of the United States case that declared, 5-4, that burning the American flag qualifies as protected political and symbolic expression under the First Amendment of the Constitution. -
Employment Division v. Smith
In Employment Division, Department of Human Resources of Oregon v. Smith, 494 U.S. 872, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the state may refuse to provide unemployment benefits to someone who was dismissed for using peyote despite the fact that doing so constituted a religious ceremony. -
Church of Lukumi Babalu v. Hialeah
The Supreme Court of the United States ruled in Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye, Inc. v. Hialeah, 508 U.S. 520 (1993), that a law enacted in Hialeah, Florida, prohibiting the "unnecessary" killing of "an animal in a public or private ritual or ceremony not for the primary purpose of food consumption" was unconstitutional. -
Morse v. Fredrick
The United States Supreme Court ruled in Morse v. Frederick, 551 U.S. 393 on a 5-4 vote that instructors are free to restrict student speech that they reasonably believe encourages the use of illicit drugs at or close to a school-sponsored event. -
DC v. Heller
In its historic case District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570, the U.S. Supreme Court determined that the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution safeguards a person's right to keep and bear weapons. -
McDonald v. Chicago
McDonald v. City of Chicago, 561 U.S. 742 (2010), was a significant ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States, concluding that the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment incorporates the Second Amendment's guarantee of the right to "keep and bear arms" and makes it enforceable against the states. -
Lemon v. Kurtman
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Snyder v. Phelps
In a historic judgment known as Snyder v. Phelps, the US Supreme Court determined that even when speech on a topic of public importance is seen or understood as "offensive" or "outrageous," it cannot serve as the foundation for liability for a tort of emotional distress. -
Obergefell v. Hodges
In the historic civil rights decision Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. 644, the Supreme Court of the United States determined that the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution both give same-sex couples the basic right to marry. -
Mahaney Area School district v. B.L.
A statement made in public that expressed disdain for the school's cheerleading and athletic teams outraged students, parents, and teachers. The Court rejected the Third Circuit's position that restricted a public school's regulatory powers created in Tinker to on-campus speech, stating that a school may have regulatory interests when off-campus communication involves bullying, harassment, and online learning. The First Amendment provided Mahanoy with protection, the US Supreme Court said.
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