Religion + Speech

Everson v. Board of Education (1947)

New Jersey's funding for school transportation to both public and private schools does not violate the Establishment Clause.

Engel v. Vitale (1962)

Reading a prayer at the start of class violates the Establishment Clause, regardless of whether it is mandatory.

Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971)

Statutes providing state funding for non-public, non-secular schools violate the Establishment Clause.

Widmar v. Vincent (1981)

Colleges are open forums.

Employment Division v. Smith (1990)

States can deny unemployment benefits to workers fired for using illegal drugs for religious purposes.

Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah (1993)

Prohibiting the ritual of animal sacrifices violates the First Amendment's Free Exercise Clause.

Boerne v. Flores (1997)

RFRA conflicted with the First Amendment, prompting states to create their own RFRA laws.

Zelman v. Simmons-Harris (2002)

Providing tuition aid for both public and private schools, religious and secular, does not violate the Establishment Clause.

Locke v. Davey (2004)

States are not required to fund theology majors if they provide scholarships for secular majors.

Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores (2014)

RFRA allows employers to deny contraception to employees based on religious beliefs.

Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia v. Comer (2017)

Not giving churches access to a neutral secular aid program violates the First Amendment.

Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission (2018)

Refusing to serve a same-sex couple does not violate Free Speech and Free Exercise Clause due to cake being an art form.

The American Legion v. American Humanist Association (2019)

A large war memorial cross was not a violation of

the establishment clause because the symbol had a secular meaning rooted in history.

Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue (2020)

State laws prohibiting funding for religious schools violate the Free Exercise Clause.

Carson v. Makin (2022)

State laws prohibiting students from accessing aid programs for religious schools violate the Free Exercise Clause.

Kennedy v. Bremerton School District (2022)

SCOTUS ruled that the Lemon test was abandoned in favor of considering historical practices regarding religious expression.

Schenck v. United States (1919)

Established the 'clear and present danger' standard.

Near v. Minnesota (1931)

Prior restraint on publication violates the First Amendment.

Cantwell v. Connecticut (1940)

Cantwell's anti-Catholic actions were protected under the First Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment.

West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette (1943)

Forcing children to salute the flag in public school is unconstitutional and violates the First Amendment.

New York Times v. Sullivan (1964)

Alabama's libel law violates the First Amendment's protections of speech and press.

Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969)

Ohio's criminal syndicalism law violates the First Amendment.

Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969)

Prohibiting students from wearing armbands as protest violates the First Amendment.

Stanley v. Georgia (1969)

Georgia's law prohibiting obscene films violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments.

New York Times Co. v. United States (1971)

Preventing publication of classified information during the Pentagon Papers case violates the First Amendment.

Healy v. James (1972)

Students at public universities maintain First Amendment rights.

Papish v. University of Missouri (1973)

Prior restraint on university campuses is not allowed.

Miller v. California (1973)

The sale of obscene materials by mail is not protected under the First Amendment.

National Socialist Party of America v. Village of Skokie (1977)

Denying peaceful protest for the NSPA goes against the First Amendment.

FCC v. Pacifica Foundation (1978)

The First Amendment does not prevent the government from restricting indecent language on public broadcasts.

Board of Education v. Pico (1982)

Banning certain books from high school libraries due to content violates the First Amendment.

Perry Education Association v. Perry Local Educators' Association (1983)

Local school boards can restrict nonofficial unions from using school mailing systems.

Texas v. Johnson (1989)

Burning the American flag is considered protected expression under the First Amendment.

R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul (1992)

SCOTUS invalidated an ordinance based on content rather than action.

Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union (1997)

The Communications Decency Act was overly broad and violated the First and Fifth Amendments.

Rumsfeld v. Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights (2006)

The military recruiter access restrictions do not violate the First Amendment.

Morse v. Frederick (2007)

Schools can prohibit messages promoting illegal drug use at school events.

United States v. Stevens (2010)

Section 48 of 18 U.S.C. is unconstitutional under the Free Speech Clause.

Snyder v. Phelps (2011)

First Amendment protects protests at funerals from liability.

U.S. v. Alvarez (2012)

The Stolen Valor Act violates free speech rights.

Reed v. Town of Gilbert (2015)

Restrictions on temporary directional signs violate the First Amendment.

Elonis v. United States (2015)

Threat conviction requires proof of subjective intent to threaten.

B.L. v. Mahoney (2021)

Case related to Snapchat was not provided in notes.

303 Creative v. Elenis (2023)

Compelling an artist to speak or remain silent violates the Free Speech Clause.

Moody v. Netchoice (2024)

Corporations maintain First Amendment rights.

Watz v. U.S.

Involves true threats.

Chiplinsky v. U.S.

Establishes the fighting words doctrine.