The US Supreme Court all examples

Examples of strict constructionist/ orignalists -

• E.g John Roberts (2005) (strict constructionist)

• E.g Antonin Scalia (1986 - 2010) (originalist)

• E.g Amy Coney Barrett (2020)

Examples of loose constructionists/ living Constitution

• E.g Sonia Sotomayor

• Elena Kagan

Examples of recent cases in which the Supreme Court has clearly taken the lead in shaping American society in terms of its rights and liberties

• Roe v Wade (1973) - guaranteed a woman;s right to choose an abortion 

• District of Columbia v Heller (2008) - guaranteed individual gun ownership rights 

• Obergerfell v Hodges (2015) - guaranteed rights to same-sex marriage 

• Dobbs v Jacksons (2022)

Examples of the Supreme Court protecting rights to religion

Zelman v Simmons-Harris (2002): The Court upheld an Ohio state programme giving financial aid to parents, allowing them if they so chose, to send their children to a religious or private school

• Significance: state government money could be finding its way to a religious, private school

Town of Greece v Galloway (2014): The Court allowed legislative bodies (such as town councils) to begin their meetings with prayer 

• Significance: strengthened individuals’ rights to practise their religion in public, even in state-constituted and state-funded bodies 

Burwell v Hobby Lobby Stores Inc (2010): The Court overturned the requirement under the Affordable Care Act (2010) (otherwise known as Obamacare) that family-owned firms had to pay for health insurance coverage for contraception as this violated the religious beliefs of some Christian-run companies

• Significance: strengthened individual rights of Christian business executives to run their companies along lines that agreed with their religious beliefs

Examples of the Supreme Court protecting freedom of speech

McConnell v Federal Election Commission (2004): Upheld federal law (Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act) banning soft money in election campaigns, stating that is ban did not violate freedom of speech

• Significance: limiting campaign finance is not incompatible with the freedom of speech provision of the Constitution

Citizens United v FEC (2010): Ruled that when it comes to rights of political speech, business corporations and labour unions have the same rights as individuals 

• Significance: Opened the door to unlimited spending by corporations in election campaigns, mostly funnelled through political action committees (PACs)

McCutcheon v FEC (2014): Struck down a 1970s’ limit on totals that wealthy individuals can contribute to candidates and PACs

• Significance: Reaffirmed giving of money to candidates and PACs as a fundamental right

Examples of the Supreme Court and gun control

District of Columbia v Heller (2008): Guaranteed individual gun ownership rights 

McDonald v City of Chicago (2010): extended the rights announced in Heller to state and local governments

• Significance: Never before had the courts ruled this interpretation of the Second Amendment 

Examples of The Supreme Court and the death penalty

Roper v Simmons (2005): Declared it to be unconstitutional to sentence anyone to death for a crime they committed under the age of 18

Glossip v Gross (2015): Declared that lethal injection did not infringe the Eighth Amendment’s ban on ‘cruel punishments’ 

• Significance: The Court was clearly seen telling us what 18th-century words in 21st-century America

Examples of The Supreme Court and abortion

Roe v Wade (1973): ruled that the state of law of Texas forbidding abortion was unConstitutional 

• Significance: Guaranteed a woman’s right to choose an abortion as a constitutionally protected right 

Gonzales v Carhart (2007): Upheld the Partial Birth Abortion Act (2003) which banned late-term abortions

• Significance: Established that a woman’s right to choose an abortion could be legally limited

Whole Woman’s Health v Hellerstedt (2016): Struck down as unconstitutional two parts of a Texas state law concerning abortion provision 

• Significance: Not all limits on a woman’s rights to choose would be regarded as constitutionally permissible

Examples of The Supreme Court and marriage equality

United States v Winsdor (2013): Declared the Defense of Marriage Act (1996) to be unconstitutional and that it is unconstitutional to treat same-sex married couples differently from other married couples in terms of federal benefits 

Obergefell v Hodges (2015): Declared that state bans on same-sex marriage were unconstitutional 

• Significance: Shows how the Court can reshape American society on a contemporary and contentious issue

Examples of The Supreme Court and federal government power

National Federation of Independent Business v Sebelius (2012): Uphold most of the provisions of the Affordable Care Act (2010) but ruled that the Act’s requirement that every American had to either get health insurance or pay a penalty could not be justified by Congress’s powers under the Commerce Clause, only by its power to collect taxes 

National Labor Relations Board v Noel Canning (2014): Declared President Obama’s ‘recess appointments’ to the NLRB in 2012 to be unconstitutional as the Senate was technically in recess

• Significance: The Court shows its power to say what Congress and the president can and cannot do according to its interpretation of their respective constitutional powers