Maxresdefault (1)

Landmark Cases

  • Plessy v. Ferguson

    Plessy v. Ferguson
    Does the Separate Car Act violate the Fourteenth Amendment?
    It was decided that the state law which required segregation in separate railway cars was constitutional.
  • Korematsu v. United States

    Korematsu v. United States
    Did the President and Congress go beyond their war powers by implementing exclusion and restricting the rights of Americans of Japanese descent?
    The Court ruled that the evacuation order violated by Korematsu was valid. It upheld that the Fourteenth Amendment could be waived during wartime emergencies.
  • Gideon v. Wainwright

    Gideon v. Wainwright
    Does the Sixth Amendment's right to counsel in criminal cases extend to felony defendants in state courts?
    The Court found that the Sixth Amendment's guarantee of a right to assistance of counsel applies to criminal defendants in state court by way of the Fourteenth Amendment. It is consistent with the Constitution to require state courts to appoint attorneys for defendants who could not afford to retain counsel on their own.
  • Miranda v. Arizona

    Miranda v. Arizona
    Does the Fifth Amendment’s protection against self-incrimination extend to the police interrogation of a suspect?
    In a 5-4 majority, it was concluded that the defendant's interrogation violated the Fifth Amendment. After this decision, police departments were required to always inform suspects of their rights prior to interrogation or their answers would be admissible in court. This is known as Miranda Rights.
  • Brandenburg v. Ohio

    Brandenburg v. Ohio
    Did Ohio's criminal syndicalism law, prohibiting public speech that advocates various illegal activities, violate Brandenburg's right to free speech as protected by the First and Fourteenth Amendments?
    The Court held that the law violated Brandenburg's right to free speech.The Court used a two-pronged test to evaluate speech acts.
  • New York Times Co. v. United States

    New York Times Co. v. United States
    Did the Nixon administration's efforts to prevent the publication of what it termed "classified information" violate the First Amendment?
    The court decided that it did violate the first amendment since the publication would not cause harm to the safety of American forces.
  • Roe v. Wade

    Roe v. Wade
    Does the Constitution recognize a woman's right to terminate her pregnancy by abortion?
    It was decided that the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment protects against state action the right to privacy, and a woman’s right to choose to have an abortion falls within that right to privacy. However, this decision was overturned in 2022.
  • Wisconsin v Yoder

    Wisconsin v Yoder
    Did Wisconsin's requirement that all parents send their children to school at least until age 16 violate the First Amendment by criminalizing the conduct of parents who refused to send their children to school for religious reasons?
    The Court decided that mandatory school attendance after eighth grade for Amish children violated their right to freedom of religion
  • United States v. Nixon

    United States v. Nixon
    Is the President's right to safeguard certain information, using his "executive privilege" confidentiality power, entirely immune from judicial review?
    The Court decided that it was not entirely immune from judicial review and Nixon had to produce the tapes and documents. He resigned shortly after the release of the tapes.
  • Texas v. Johnson

    Texas v. Johnson
    Is the desecration of an American flag, by burning or otherwise, a form of speech that is protected under the First Amendment?
    The Court decided that the burning of the flag was protected expression under the First Amendment and the government cannot prohibit expression simply because society finds it offensive.