S.C Pt. 2

Roth v. United States

Issue: What constitutes obscene material & what is protected under the 1st Amendment?

Result: Obscene material not protected under 1st Amendment

Obscence material is redefined as material whole that appeals to pruient (overly sexual) interest

Escobedo v. Illinois

Issue: Does denying lawyer during interrogation violate the 6th Amendment?
Result: Yes- if requested a lawyer, must be given.

Griswold v. Connecticut

Issue: Does constitution protect right to privacy

does Comstock Law violate the Constitution?
Result: Violated right to privacy
Comstock Law: Defined contraception as obscene

Loving v. Virginia

Issue: Can states ban interracial marriage?
Results: Banned laws againist interracial marriage; violates 14th Amendment due process clause; Marriage is fundamental right

United States v. O'Brien

Issue: Does a federal law prohibiting destruction of draft cards violate the 1st Amendment?
Result: Legal; Considered a binding document

Tinker v. Des Moines

Issue: Does the 1st Amendment protect public school student's right to engage in symbolic speech?
Result: Yes- it is protected.

New York Times v. United States

Issue: Does stopping publication of classified (and can they) violate the 1st Amendment?
Result: Cannot stop publishing anything.

Pentagon Papers- Top secret documents that revealed U.S misled about Vietnam War & progress

Furman v. Georgia

Issue: Is capital punishment fair or cruel & unusual punishment?
Result: Death penalty was unconstitutional & violates 8th and 14th Amendment.

United States v. Nixon

Issue: Can a president without information relevant to criminal trial throughout executive privilege?

Result: Executive privilege cannot be an excuse; a president is not above the law

Executive Privilege- Right of executive branch to maintain confidential communication under circumstances

Saturday Day Night Massacre- Firing of Watergate Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox & resignations of Attorney General Elliot Richardson and Deputy Wiliam Ruckelshaus

Gregg v. Georgia

Issue: Does the death penalty violate the 8th & 14th Amendment? Is mandatory death penalty constitutional?
Result: Death penalty is constitutional, as long as it is applied fairly and with proper legal safeguards

Ingraham v. Wright

Issue: Does corporal punishment violate the 8th Amendment?

Result: Corporal Punishment is legal in regards to 8th & 14th Amendment.

Corporal Punishment- Punishment which is intended to cause physical pain to a person

Hustler Magazine v. Falwell

Issue: Is a parody, character, or satire of a public figure that caused intentional infliction of distress protected by the 1st amendment?
Can you sue for damages if it causes distress?

Results: First Amendment will protect parodies of public figures, but it cannot cross the line with usage of actual facts- favoring parody ads.

Crozan v. Director, Missouri Department of Health

Issue: Can a state require strong proof of a person's wishes before removing life support treatment?

Result: States may require "clear and convincing evidence";

Recognized that individuals have a constitutional right to refuse medical treatment, but states can regulate how that right is proven

Clinton v. Jones

Issue: Can the sitting president of the US be sued in federal court for actions that occurred before taking office?

Result: They are subject to same law as all other members of the United States; Presidents are not granted immunity

Bush v. Gore

Issue: Were the recounts of the Presidential election votes, as they were being conducted in Florida, constitutional?;

If the recounts were unconstitutional, what is the remedy?

Result: The recounts, as being conducted, were unconstitutional

Boy Scout of America v. Dale

Issue: Can private organizations exclude membership based on the Freedom of Association due to the values and beliefs of the organization? (Expressive Conduct)

Result: Private organizations, under certain criteria, are allowed to exclude a person from membership based on the 1st Amendment in spite of state antidiscrimination laws

Gonzalez v. Oregon

Issue: Can the U.S. enforce the federal Controlled Substances Act against physicians who prescribe drugs, under the law, to terminally ill patients seeking to end their lives?

Results: The Controlled Substances Act does not allow the Justice Department to prohibit doctors from prescribing drugs for use in physician-assisted suicide that is permitted by state law

Obergefell v. Hodges

Issue: Does the 14th Amendment require a state to license a marriage between two people of the same sex?

Does the 14th Amendment require a state to recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex when their marriage was lawfully licensed and performed out-of-state?

Result: The 14th Amendment requires a state to license a marriage between two people of the same sex
State must recognize a marriage of two people of the same sex when lawfully licensed and performed out-of-state

Lemon v. Kutzman: List the 3 criteria that determines the legality of state monetary aid to parochial schools

The Lemon Test:

• Must have legitimate secular (non-religious) purpose

• Cannot have a primary effect of either advancing or inhibiting religious

• Cannot result in an excessive entanglement of government and religion

Miller v. California: List the 3 three criteria that determines what is considered obscene

• Whether the average person, applying contemporary community standards, would find the work, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest

• Whether the work depicts or describes, in an offensive way, sexual conduct or excretory functions, as defined by applicable state law

• Whether the work, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value