Post Mid-Term Case Law

Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)

Held that Black people were not citizens and had no standing to sue. Denied Equal Protection before the 14th Amendment existed.

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

Established “separate but equal” doctrine. Legalized segregation. Harlan's dissent: the Constitution is "colorblind."

Shelley v. Kraemer (1948)

State enforcement of racially restrictive covenants violates Equal Protection. Expanded state action doctrine.

Moose Lodge v. Irvis (1972)

Private club's discrimination upheld; state liquor license ≠ state action. Limited the state action doctrine.

Sweatt v. Painter (1950)

Held that separate Black law school was not equal. Early crack in Plessy; prelude to Brown.

Brown v. Board of Education I (1954)

Struck down segregation in public schools. Declared separate is inherently unequal. Overturned Plessy.

Brown v. Board II (1955)

Ordered desegregation with “all deliberate speed.” Entrusted lower courts with enforcement.

Cooper v. Aaron (1958)

States cannot nullify federal law. Reaffirmed supremacy of Constitution and Court interpretations.

Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg (1971)

Approved busing and redistricting to desegregate schools. Gave courts broad remedial powers.

Regents v. Bakke (1978)

Struck down racial quotas but allowed race as one factor in holistic admissions. Diversity = compelling interest.

Grutter v. Bollinger (2003)

Upheld race-conscious admissions with holistic review. Narrow tailoring satisfied strict scrutiny.

Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard & UNC (2023)

Ended affirmative action in college admissions. Overturned Grutter by rejecting race as a factor under Equal Protection.

Reed v. Reed (1971)

First time the Court struck down a sex-based law under Equal Protection. Applied rational basis review.

Frontiero v. Richardson (1973)

Held that sex-based military benefit law was unconstitutional. Plurality advocated strict scrutiny.

Craig v. Boren (1976)

Created intermediate scrutiny for sex-based classifications. Struck down gender-based drinking age.

Rostker v. Goldberg (1981)

Upheld male-only draft. Gender-based classification was justified by military combat roles.

United States v. Virginia (1996)

A Military School’s male-only policy violated Equal Protection. Separate women's program was not equal. Applied heightened intermediate scrutiny.

Shelley v. Kraemer vs. Moose Lodge v. Irvis

State enforcement = state action; State license ≠ state action.

Shows limits of state action doctrine.

Loving v. Virginia (1967)

Struck down bans on interracial marriage. Marriage is a fundamental right; racial classifications must pass strict scrutiny.

Bowers v. Hardwick (1986)

Upheld Georgia sodomy law; no fundamental right to same-sex intimacy. Focused on tradition. Later overruled.

Romer v. Evans (1996)

Struck down Colorado law blocking LGBTQ+ protections. No rational basis—motivated by animus.

United States v. Windsor (2013)

Struck down federal DOMA; federal gov't must recognize same-sex marriages approved by states. Violated 5th Amendment.

Obergefell v. Hodges (2015)

Legalized same-sex marriage nationwide under Equal Protection and Due Process. Marriage = fundamental right.

Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado (2018)

Ruled narrowly for baker due to religious hostility by Colorado commission. Did not broadly legalize LGBTQ+ discrimination.

Fulton v. Philadelphia (2021)

City violated Free Exercise Clause by ending foster contract with Catholic agency. Law not generally applicable.

Bostock v. Clayton County (2020)

Title VII protects LGBTQ+ employees. Discrimination “because of sex” includes sexual orientation and gender identity.

303 Creative LLC v. Elenis (2023)

Web designer refused same-sex wedding services. Court ruled for her on Free Speech grounds—can’t compel expressive conduct.

San Antonio v. Rodriguez (1973)

Education is not a fundamental right. Wealth is not a suspect class. School funding inequality upheld under rational basis.

Plyler v. Doe (1982)

Struck down Texas law denying education to undocumented children. Not suspect class, but law failed intermediate scrutiny.

Saenz v. Roe (1999)

Struck down California law limiting welfare for new residents. Violated right to travel under Privileges or Immunities Clause.

City of Grants Pass v. Johnson (2024)

Upheld ban on public camping. Law punished conduct (not status). Did not violate Eighth Amendment.

United States v. Miller (1939)

Second Amendment tied to militia purpose. No right to sawed-off shotgun—no militia connection shown.

District of Columbia v. Heller (2008)

Recognized individual right to bear arms for self-defense in federal jurisdictions. Invalidated DC handgun ban.

McDonald v. City of Chicago (2010)

Applied Heller to states via Due Process Clause. Incorporated Second Amendment.

NYS Rifle & Pistol Ass'n v. Bruen (2022)

Struck down NY concealed carry law. Created “text and historical tradition” test for gun regulations.

United States v. Rahimi (2024)

Upheld ban on firearm possession for those under domestic violence orders. Historical tradition supports disarming dangerous individuals.

Parents Involved v. Seattle (2007)

Struck down voluntary school desegregation plan; race cannot be the sole factor in assignment decisions; strict scrutiny applied; diversity in K–12 not a compelling interest on its own