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PATTERSON V. COLORADO
its first free-press case — the U.S. Supreme Court determines it does not have jurisdiction to review the “contempt” conviction of U.S. senator and Denver newspaper publisher Thomas Patterson for articles and a cartoon that criticized the state supreme court. -
SCHENCK V. U.S.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Holmes sets forth his clear-and-present-danger test: “whether the words used are used in such circumstances and are of such a nature as to create a clear and present danger that they will bring about the substantive evils that Congress has the right to prevent.” -
DEJONGE V. OREGON
the U.S. Supreme Court reverses the conviction of an individual under a state criminal syndicalism law for participation in a Communist party political meeting. The Court writes that “peaceable assembly for lawful discussion cannot be made a crime. The holding of meetings for peaceable political action cannot be proscribed.” -
CANTWELL V. CONNECTICUT
the U.S. Supreme Court holds for the first time that the due-process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment makes the free-exercise clause of the First Amendment applicable to states. -
SHERBERT V VERNER
the U.S. Supreme Court rules that South Carolina officials violated the free-exercise rights of Seventh-day Adventist Adele Sherbert when they denied her unemployment-compensation benefits because she refused to work on Saturday, her Sabbath day.
1964 -
EPPERSON V ARKANSAS
the U.S. Supreme Court invalidates an Arkansas statute prohibiting public school teachers from teaching evolution. The Court finds that the statute violates the establishment clause because it bans the teaching of evolution for religious reasons. -
COHEN V CALIFORNIA
the U.S. Supreme Court reverses the breach-of-peace conviction of an individual who wore a jacket with the words “F— the Draft” into a courthouse. The Court concludes that offensive and profane speech are protected by the First Amendment. -
WISCONSIN V YODER
the U.S. Supreme Court rules that Wisconsin cannot require Amish children to attend school beyond the eighth grade on the grounds that doing so would violate the free exercise of religion. The Court holds that “only those interests of the highest order and those not otherwise served can overbalance legitimate claims to the free exercise of religion.” -
TEXAS V JOHNSON
the U.S. Supreme Court rules that burning the American flag is a constitutionally protected form of free speech.
1990 -
R.A.V. V. CITY OF ST PAUL
the U.S. Supreme Court invalidates a St. Paul, Minn., hate-speech ordinance, saying it violates the First Amendment. -
RENO V ACLU
rules that some provisions in the federal Communications Decency Act of 1996 are unconstitutional. The Court concludes that the act, which makes it a crime to display indecent or patently offensive material on the Internet where a child may find it, is too vague and tramples on the free-speech rights of adults.
1997 -
BROWN V ENTERTAINMENT MERCHANTS ASSOCIATION
the U.S. Supreme Court rules that video games are a form of speech protected by the First Amendment. The Court holds California’s law restricting the sale or rental of violent video games to minors is unconstitutional.
