Court Casess

• Mapp v. Ohio (1961)

Dolly Mapp was accused of housing a bomber in Ohio, and the police searched her house using a fake warrant(no warrant) and found ‘obscene’ photos in her basement.

Lower Court Ruling: She was found guilty, but appealed the court’s decision.

S.C. Ruling: 6–3, ruled in favor of Mapp; set a precedent that any evidence obtained from an illegal search or seizure can not be used in court; the Exclusionary Rule in the 4th Amendment applies to all levels of government.

Amendment: 4th Amendment; established the Exclusionary Rule for states.

• Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)

Clarence Gideon committed a breaking and entering and was charged with a felony. Even after requesting an attorney, he was denied one because it was not a federal or capital offense/crime and because he couldn’t afford one.

Lower Court Rulings: Both(2) ruled in favor of Wainwright(Director at the Division of Corrections).

S.C. Ruling: 9-0(unanimous), ruled in favor of Gideon; set a precedent that 6th 

Amendment rights are applied to all criminals, regardless of the complexity or size of the crime.

Amendment: 6th Amendment; lawyers must be provided in all cases, at all levels, even if someone cannot afford one.

• Miranda v. AZ (1966)

Ernesto Miranda admitted to kidnapping and raping a woman when questioned. He sued the state because he claimed he did not know he was not required to confess to the crime/admit guilt.

S.C. Ruling: 5-4, ruled in favor of Miranda; set a precedent that all people must be told their rights at the time of their arrest. (Miranda Rights)

Amendment: 5th Amendment; the Miranda Rights are an application of the 5th Amendment and must be followed as a part of the proper processes when arresting someone to ensure they are aware of their rights against self-incrimination.

• In re Gault (1967)

While Jerry Gault was on probation, he prank-called a woman(Ms. Cook) down the street, who called the police on him. He was taken down to the police station, however, his parents were not notified of where he was.

S.C. Ruling: 8-1, ruled in favor of Gault; set a precedent that the due process procedures under the 5th Amendment must be followed by all levels of government and all ages(even in school).

Amendment: 5th Amendment; His arrest did not follow the proper procedures listed in the 5th Amendment.

• Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)

Mary Beth Tinker and another student continued to wear armbands in protest of the Vietnam War, causing her to get suspended. Because of this, she sued the Des Moines School District(located in Iowa).

Lower Court Rulings: Tinker lost in both(2) of the lower courts

S.C. Ruling: 7-2, ruled in favor of the students; set a precedent that students had freedom of expression as long as it did not disrupt learning, symbolic speech is protected under the 1st Amendment.

Amendment: 1st Amendment; The right to freedom of expression and symbolic speech.

• Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971)

Lemon was angry at Kurtzman for allowing tax money to go towards funding religious schools. 

Lower Court Rulings: Lemon lost in lower courts because Kurtzman claimed the money was going towards academic textbooks.

S.C. Ruling: 8-1, ruled in favor of Lemon; set a precedent that taxpayer money could not go to support private/religious schools. Lemon test determines school budgets.

Amendment: 1st Amendment; The Establishment Clause prevents the government from favoring any one religion, which means taxpayer money can not go to religious schools.

• Gregg v. GA (1976)

When Troy Leon Gregg was hitchhiking, he robbed and killed the people who picked him and another person up and stole their car. He was caught and sentenced to death but appealed his sentence.

Lower Court Rulings: Both(2) lower courts ruled against Gregg.

S.C. Ruling: 7-2, ruled in favor of Georgia; set a precedent that receiving the death penalty for murder was constitutional.

Amendment: 8th Amendment; Gregg believed his death sentence was a “cruel and unusual punishment” that violated his rights.

• NJ v. TLO (1985)

Tracy Lois Odem was found smoking in the school bathroom and was taken to the principal’s office where her purse was forcefully searched without her consent.

S.C. Ruling: 6-3, ruled in favor of NJ; set a precedent that schools can search students without a warrant with only reasonable suspicion. The ruling was based on a precedent set in Mapp v. Ohio.

Amendment: 4th Amendment; TLO sued NJ for searching her purse without a warrant, which supposedly goes against the 4th Amendment.

• Bethel v. Fraser (1986)

Matt Fraser, a senior, gave a speech for his friend who was running for student council. He was suspended for 2 days because his speech was considered lewd.

S.C. Ruling: 7-2, ruled in favor of the Bethel School District; set a precedent that schools could limit speech if it was lewd or vulgar. Since the speech disrupted the school atmosphere, it was not protected by the 1st Amendment. The ruling was made based on the precedent set in Tinker v. Des Moines.

Amendment: 1st Amendment; Further restricted the 1st Amendment rights of students.

• Thompson v. Oklahoma (1988)

William Thompson shot, killed, and mutilated the body of Charles Keene, his sister’s husband who had been abusing and threatening her. He was tried as an adult and sentenced to death.

S.C. Ruling: 5-3, ruled in favor of Thompson; set a precedent that minors 15 y.o and younger could not be given the death penalty.

Amendment: 8th Amendment

• Hazelwood BOE v. Kuhlmeier (1988)

Student journalists writing for their school newspaper covered topics such as teen pregnancy and divorce, which were censored by the school. Cathy Kuhlmeier sued the school district.

Lower Court Rulings:  

S.C. Ruling: 5-3, ruled in favor of the Hazelwood BoE; set a precedent that as long as the school finds a topic inappropriate, they can censor it without violating the rights of students.

Amendment: 1st Amendment; the students in the school newspaper believed their rights to freedom of expression, speech, and press were violated due to the schools’ censorship.

• Board of Ed v Earls  (2002)

Lindsay Earls sued her school district because of a requirement/policy that forced students participating in competitive extracurriculars to take a urinary/drug test. 

Lower Court Rulings: The first court sided with the school, while the second court sided with the students.

S.C. Ruling: 5-4, ruled in favor of the Board of Education; set a precedent that mandatory drug testing does not violate students’ 4th Amendment rights against unreasonable seizures.

Amendment: 4th Amendment; Unwarranted seizure of urine sample, invasion of privacy.

• Morse v. Frederick (2005)

Joseph Frederick was suspended after refusing to put a sign away that contained a positive message regarding illegal substances(marijuana) during a school event. Frederick decided to sue his principal.

Lower Court Rulings: The first court ruled in favor of the principal, while the second ruled in favor of Frederick.

S.C. Ruling: 5-4, ruled in favor of Morse; set a precedent that students were not given the same rights of speech as adults and that schools could limit and punish pro-illegal substance messages. The ruling was made based on the precedent set in Tinker v. Des Moines. 

Amendment: 1st Amendment; Frederick claimed that his right to freedom of speech was violated by the principal.

• Roper v. Simmons (2005)

Christopher Simmons, along with a friend, planned a burglary on Shirley Crook’s home, however, when she spotted them, they abducted her and threw her over a bridge, killing her.

Lower Court Rulings: The 1st court sentenced him to death, but the 2nd court found that giving the death penalty to minors was unconstitutional.

S.C. Ruling: 5-4, ruled in favor of Simmons; set a precedent that it was unconstitutional to sentence a minor to death, no matter what crime they committed.

Amendment: 8th Amendment: prohibits the use of cruel and unusual punishments. The Supreme Court ruled that giving a minor the death sentence was cruel and unusual, making it unconstitutional.

• D.O.C. vs. Heller (2008)

Residents in D.C. challenged the constitutionality of a law that prohibited carrying handguns and banned gun license registrations. Heller was denied a gun license to use a gun for self–defense.

Lower Court Rulings: The 1st court ruled that the 2nd Amendment does not extend to individual rights, only militias, and the 2nd court ruled in favor of Heller.

S.C. Ruling: 5-4, ruled in favor of Heller; set a precedent that the 2nd Amendment was interpreted to apply to individuals/personal rights and that gun bans were not allowed.

Amendment: 2nd Amendment; Heller’s right to bear arms was violated by the law. The banning of registered handguns violates the Constitution.