IMPORTANT SUPREME COURT CASES

Trump v. United States 2024

Presidents have absolute immunity for acts within their core constitutional powers, and presumptive immunity for all other official acts (unless prosecutors can show that applying criminal law would pose no dangers to executive branch authority)

Trump v. Slaughter 2025

• September 22 SCOTUS granted a stay allowing President Trump to fire FTC Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter and will hear the case in December

• The Supreme Court has historically recognized that Congress can protect certain officials—particularly those in independent agencies—from being fired without "good cause”

Nixon v Fitzgerald (1982)

President has immunity for conduct in outer perimeter of their duties, not just executive actions

Clinton v Jones (1997)

President does not have temporary immunity for suits arising pre-presidency

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

Judicial review - examine actions of congress, executive branch, and states to determine constitutionality

Trump v. United States (2024)

Former presidents have immunity from criminal prosecution

Trump v. CASA (2025)

Federal courts lack authority to issue "universal injunctions"- this reinforces separation of powers by limiting judicial power to interfere with executive enforcement

Oregon v Mitchell (1970)

Overturned by 26th Amendment, which lowered voting age to 18

Barron v. The Mayor of Baltimore (1833)

Set up a dual system of civil liberties

Washington v. Glucksberg

• The Court decided that a law banning physician-assisted suicide does not violate the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment

• Glucksberg Test-the right must be "deeply rooted in this Nation's history and tradition” & society couldn't function properly without it)

Obergefell v Hodges (2015)

• Court held that the Fourteenth Amendment requires states to license and recognize same-sex marriage

• Emerging Awareness Test-The Court should consider contemporary insights about human dignity, autonomy, and equality & shouldn’t just be focused on the past

Lawrence v. Texas, 2003

Same-sex sexual privacy protections

Obergefell v. Hodges, 2015

Same-sex marriage protections

Griswold v. Connecticut, 1965

Contraceptives protections

Skinner v. Oklahoma, 1942

Protection against forced sterilization

Abortion protections

(Roe v. Wade, 1973) - overturned in Dobbs v. Jackson Hole Women's Health, 2022

1896 - Plessy v. Ferguson

Upholds racial segregation under the 'separate but equal' doctrine, legitimizing Jim Crow laws for decades

1927 - Buck v. Bell

Upholds forced sterilization laws, a dark chapter in civil liberties history

1944 - Korematsu v. United States

Upholds the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII, though later criticized and formally repudiated

1954 - Brown v. Board of Education

Overturns Plessy, declaring school segregation unconstitutional and marking a turning point in the civil rights movement

2008 - District of Columbia v. Heller

Recognizes an individual right to bear arms under the Second Amendment

2010 - Citizens United v. FEC

Finds that restrictions on corporate political spending violate the First Amendment

2013 - Shelby County v. Holder

Strikes down the Voting Rights Act's preclearance formula, significantly weakening federal oversight