Landmark Court Cases

Tinker vs. Des Moines School District

• Description: A student wore black armbands to school as a form of protest.
• Key Idea: Freedom of expression.
• Details: The armbands did not cause any disturbance or harm to others.

Loving vs. Virginia

• Description: An interracial couple, Mildred Jeter (Black) and Richard Loving (White), married in Washington D.C. and returned to Virginia, where interracial marriage was illegal. They were arrested.
• Question: Did Virginia’s law violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment?
• Supreme Court Decision: Yes, the law violated the Equal Protection Clause.
• Year: 1967
• Key Ideas: Interracial marriage, Equal Protection Clause.

Hazelwood School District v. Kulmeier

• Description: A high school newspaper planned to publish articles about teen pregnancy and divorce, including negative comments about an author’s father. The principal removed the articles before publication.
• Supreme Court Ruling: 5 justices favored the principal’s action, and 3 favored the students’ right to freedom of expression.
• Key Idea: Freedom of Expression.

Plessy vs. Ferguson (1896)

• Background: Louisiana law required railroad companies to provide separate cars for White and Black passengers.
• Event: Homer Plessy, who was of mixed race, sat in the White car and refused to move. He was arrested.
• Argument: Plessy argued the law violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.
• Supreme Court Ruling: The Court ruled against Plessy, stating that segregation does not imply one race is superior to the other. The Court deemed that because the cars were 'separate but equal', there was no discrimination.
• Key Ideas: Segregation, Equal Protection Clause, Separate but equal.

Brown v. Board of Education

• Background: Linda Brown, a 7-year-old, lived near a White school but had to travel further to attend a Black school.
• Lawsuit: Linda’s parents and other parents sued the school board in Topeka, Kansas.
• Argument: Thurgood Marshall argued that 'separate but equal' violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.
• Supreme Court Decision: The Supreme Court agreed that segregation was unconstitutional.
• Key Ideas: Segregation, Separate but Equal, Equal Protection Clause.
• Related Case: Bailey v. Patterson.

Texas v. Johnson

• Event: Gregory Johnson burned an American flag outside the Republican National Convention.
• Charge: Johnson was arrested under a Texas law that prohibited flag desecration.
• Argument: Johnson argued that burning a flag was a form of free speech and protected by the First Amendment.
• Supreme Court Decision: The Supreme Court agreed with Johnson, affirming that actions can be a form of speech.
• Key Ideas: Freedom of Speech, First Amendment.

In re Gault

• Event: A 15-year-old was arrested for making prank calls.
• Issue: His parents were not notified of the arrest, and he was sentenced to a school until age 21.
• Question: Did this violate the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment?
• Supreme Court Decision: The Court decided in favor of Gault, stating that juvenile proceedings must adhere to the Due Process Clause.
• Key Ideas: Due Process Clause, 14th Amendment.