Pre-Midterm Case Law

Barron v. Baltimore (1833)

Bill of Rights only applies to federal gov’t

Hurtado v. California (1886)

No grand jury requirement for states

Palko v. Connecticut (1937)

Selective incorporation; double jeopardy not fundamental

Duncan v. Louisiana (1968)

Jury trial required in state criminal cases

Timbs v. Indiana (2019)

Excessive fines clause applies to states

Schenck v. U.S. (1919)

Clear and present danger test

Abrams v. U.S. (1919)

Upheld convictions for anti-war speech; Holmes dissented

Gitlow v. New York (1925)

First Amendment applies to states

Dennis v. U.S. (1951)

Speech advocating communism not protected

Brandenburg v. Ohio (1968)

Speech protected unless incites imminent lawless action

Boy Scouts v. Dale (2000)

Private groups can exclude for expressive association

Janus v. AFSCME (2018)

Public employees can't be forced to pay union dues

Americans for Prosperity v. Bonta (2021)

Cannot require charities to disclose donor list

Central Hudson (1980)

Commercial speech gets intermediate scrutiny

NIFLA v. Becerra (2018)

Compelled disclosures violate free speech

West Virginia v. Barnette (1943)

Students can’t be forced to salute the flag

U.S. v. O’Brien (1968)

Burning draft card not protected; gov’t interest valid

Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)

Student speech protected unless disruptive

McCullen v. Coakley (2014)

Abortion buffer zones violated sidewalk speech

Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire (1942)

Fighting words not protected

Cohen v. California (1968)

Offensive speech (“F*** the draft”) protected

Morse v. Frederick (2007)

Schools can restrict drug-promoting speech

Snyder v. Phelps (2011)

Offensive protests on public issues are protected

Matal v. Tam (2017)

Disparaging trademarks protected; no viewpoint bias

Mahanoy v. B.L. (2021)

Schools limited in punishing off-campus speech

Roth v. U.S. (1957)

Obscenity not protected by 1A

Miller v. California (1973)

Miller test for obscenity: prurient, offensive, no value

U.S. v. Ferber (1982)

Child porn not protected

Brown v. EMA (2011)

Game sale ban to minors unconstitutional

Reno v. ACLU (1997)

CDA limits on indecency online struck down

U.S. v. Williams (2008)

Ban on offers to distribute child porn upheld

Griswold v. Connecticut (1965)

Married couples have right to contraceptive privacy

Eisenstadt v. Baird (1972)

Extended privacy right to unmarried individuals

Jacobson v. Massachusetts

Upheld vaccine mandate (police power)

Buck v. Bell (1927)

Upheld forced sterilization; never overturned

Roe v. Wade (1973)

Right to abortion under privacy (trimester framework)

Dobbs v. Jackson (2022)

Overruled Roe; no constitutional right to abortion

FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine

Challenge to abortion pill FDA approval

Cantwell v. Connecticut (1940)

Free exercise applies to states

Sherbert v. Verner (1963)

Gov’t must show compelling interest to burden religion

Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)

Amish exemption from school upheld

Employment Division v. Smith (1990)

Neutral laws that burden religion are OK

Fulton v. Philadelphia (2021)

Denied contract to religious foster agency violated 1A

Kennedy v. Bremerton (2022)

Coach’s post-game prayer protected by 1A

Ramirez v. Collier (2022)

Death row inmate may have pastor present/touch

Everson v. Board (1947)

Reimbursing busing to religious schools OK; strict separation applied

Espinoza v. Montana (2020)

States can’t exclude religious schools from public funding

Town of Greece v. Galloway (2014)

Town meetings may open with sectarian prayer

Shurtleff v. Boston (2022)

Flag policy excluding religious messages violated 1A

Carson v. Makin (2022)

Maine must fund religious schools if it funds private secular ones

Near v. Minnesota (1931)

State law censoring newspapers struck down; prior restraint unconstitutional

New York Times v. U.S. (1971)

“Pentagon Papers” case; gov’t can’t prevent publication without showing grave, immediate danger

Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier (1988)

Schools can censor student newspapers if related to legitimate pedagogical concerns

New York Times v. Sullivan (1964)

Public officials must prove “actual malice” to win defamation cases

Gertz v. Welch (1974)

Private figures don’t have to prove actual malice but must show negligence

Hustler v. Falwell (1988)

Parody of public figures is protected; emotional distress claims require actual malice