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Court Cases
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Dred Scott v. Sanford
Dred Scott, a slave in Missouri, sued for his freedom on the grounds that he had lived for a time in a "free" territory. The Court ruled against him, saying that under the Constitution, he was his master's property. At the same time, the Court also ruled that the Missouri Compromise (1821) -- under which Missouri was admitted to the union as a slave state, Maine as a free state and slavery prohibited in the territory that later became Kansas and Nebraska -- was unconstitutional -
Plessy v. Ferguson
the Court upheld a Louisiana law requiring restaurants, hotels, hospitals, and other public places to serve African Americans in separate, but ostensibly equal, accommodations. In establishing the separate but equal" doctrine, the Court said that segregation is "universally recognized as within the competency of states in the exercise of their police powers." -
Powell v. Alabama
the Supreme Court overturned the convictions of the “Scottsboro boys,” and set a precedent that the right to counsel is required for death penalty cases under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process clause, whether in federal or state courts. -
Brown v. Board of Education
Chief Justice Earl Warren, reading his first major opinion from the bench, said: "We conclude, unanimously, that in the field of public education the doctrine of 'separate but equal' has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." -
Miranda v. Arizona
the Court held that detained criminal suspects must be informed of their constitutional rights prior to police questioning. These rights include the right to counsel and the right to be free of self-incrimination. -
Loving v. Virginia
the Court struck down state laws which prohibited inter-racial marriage and held that marriage was a fundamental right. -
Village of Arlington Heights v. Metropolitan Housing Development Corp
the Supreme Court upheld the denial of a zoning permit for construction of multi-family housing, which had the practical effect of excluding minority property owners. The Court did not apply strict scrutiny, as is required of an explicit racial classification. Further, the Court required proof of intentional discrimination, and did not allow a disparate impact claim, to establish a Fourteenth Amendment Equal Protection violation. -
Batson v. Kentucky
the Court held that a prosecutor’s use of a preemptory challenge to dismiss a juror, based solely on the juror’s race, is a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. -
Bragdon v. Abbott
first Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) case to make its way to the Court, which held, among other things, that HIV-positive individuals are protected under the ADA -
Boy Scouts of America v. Dale
the Court ruled that the Boy Scouts' First Amendment rights of free expression and association would be violated by enforcement of New Jersey's state antidiscrimination law to prohibit them from dismissing a gay Scoutmaster. -
Obergefell v. Hodges
the Court struck down state bans on same-sex marriage, thereby granting the constitutional right to marry to LGBT Americans throughout the country. -
King v. Burwell
the Supreme Court rejected a challenge to the Affordable Care Act that would have eliminated subsidies for people who purchased health insurance through the federal exchanges in 34 states. The Court’s holding ultimately means millions of Americans will be able to keep their health insurance.
