Civil Rights & Liberties: Supreme Court Cases

Barron v. Baltimore (1833)

• Supreme Court decision holding that the Bill of Rights restrained only the national government, not the states and cities.

Gitlow v. New York (1925)

• Established selective incorporation of the Bill of Rights.
• Freedoms of press and speech are fundamental personal rights protected by the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment from impairment by states.

Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971)

• Established the Lemon test for state aid to church-related schools:
  1. Have a secular legislative purpose.
  2. Have a primary effect that neither advances nor inhibits religion.
  3. Not foster excessive government entanglement with religion.

Zelman v. Simmons-Harris (2002)

• Upheld state provision of vouchers for tuition at religious schools, allowing public funds to aid disadvantaged children to attend religious schools.

Engel v. Vitale (1962)

• Ruled that state officials violated the First Amendment by promoting a prayer for recitation by New York's schoolchildren.

School District of Abington Township, Pennsylvania v. Schempp (1963)

• Held that a Pennsylvania law requiring Bible reading in schools violated the establishment clause of the First Amendment.

Near v. Minnesota (1931)

• First Amendment protects newspapers from prior restraint, affirming freedom of the press.

Schenck v. United States (1919)

• Upheld the conviction of a socialist urging resistance to the draft during World War I.
• Established that speech can be limited if it poses a "clear and present danger".

Roth v. United States (1957)

• Ruling that obscenity is not protected by the First Amendment.

Miller v. California (1973)

• Avoided a strict definition of obscenity, ruling that community standards can determine if material is obscene based on:
  • Appealing to a "prurient interest".
  • Being "patently offensive".
  • Lacking in value.

New York Times v. Sullivan (1964)

• Public figures must prove that defamatory statements were made with "actual malice" to win libel suits.

Texas v. Johnson (1989)

• Struck down a law banning flag burning, ruling it was symbolic speech protected by the First Amendment.

Zurcher v. Stanford Daily (1978)

• A proper search warrant can be executed on a newspaper without violating First Amendment rights.

Miami Herald Publishing Co. v. Tornillo (1974)

• Held that a state could not force newspapers to print replies from criticized candidates, illustrating limited government power over media.

Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. Federal Communications Commission (1969)

• Upheld tighter restrictions on broadcasting compared to print media due to fewer broadcasting frequencies available.

NAACP v. Alabama (1958)

• Right to assemble protects the NAACP from being required to disclose its membership list.

Mapp v. Ohio (1961)

• Expanded Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures to the states.

Miranda v. Arizona (1966)

• Set guidelines for police questioning to protect against self-incrimination and ensure the right to counsel.

Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)

• Right to a lawyer is guaranteed for anyone accused of a felony.

Gregg v. Georgia (1976)

• Upheld the constitutionality of the death penalty for extreme crimes, declaring it not cruel and unusual punishment.

McCleskey v. Kemp (1987)

• Upheld the death penalty against claims of racial bias in its application.

Roe v. Wade (1973)

• Ruled that a state ban on abortions was unconstitutional, allowing states to regulate abortions particularly in the third trimester.

Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992)

• Loosened restrictions on abortion, adopting the "undue burden" standard to evaluate regulations.

Scott v. Sandford (1857)

• Ruled that an escaped slave had no rights as a citizen and that Congress had no authority to ban slavery in territories.

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

• Provided constitutional justification for segregation under "equal but separate" accommodations.

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

• Overturned Plessy v. Ferguson, declaring school segregation inherently unconstitutional based on the Fourteenth Amendment’s equal protection clause.

Loving v. Virginia (1967)

• Invalidated laws prohibiting interracial marriage, establishing marriage as a fundamental freedom.

Hernandez v. Texas (1954)

• Extended legal protections against discrimination to Hispanic individuals.

Korematsu v. United States (1944)

• Upheld the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II as constitutional.

Reed v. Reed (1971)

• First case to uphold a gender discrimination claim.

Craig v. Boren (1976)

• Established "intermediate scrutiny" standard for gender discrimination cases.

Bowers v. Hardwick (1986)

• Allowed states to ban homosexual relations.

Romer v. Evans (1996)

• Invalidated a Colorado constitutional amendment denying homosexuals protection against discrimination.

Lawrence v. Texas (2003)

• Overturned Bowers v. Hardwick, decriminalizing homosexual acts.

United States v. Windsor (2013)

• Ruled that restricting the federal interpretation of marriage to heterosexual unions is unconstitutional.

Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978)

• Allowed consideration of race in university admissions but prohibited quota systems for racial groups.

Adarand Constructors v. Pena (1995)

• Declared federal programs classifying people by race to be presumptively unconstitutional.

Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission (2010)

• Held that independent political expenditures by corporations and unions are protected speech under the First Amendment.

Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)

• Ruled that Wisconsin could not force Amish children to attend school beyond eighth grade due to violation of their religious beliefs.

Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)

• Affirmed that students do not lose constitutional rights at school unless their protests disrupt school discipline or the rights of others.

Snyder v. Phelps (2011)

• Held that speech on public sidewalks is protected, even if it causes emotional distress.

Palko v. Connecticut (1927)

• Declared that the Fifth Amendment right against double jeopardy is not a fundamental right incorporated by the Fourteenth Amendment.

Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier (1988)

• Determined that student newspapers not established as forums for free expression have lower First Amendment protection.

District of Columbia v. Heller (2008)

• Affirmed that the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to possess a firearm for lawful purposes, like self-defense.

Obergefell v. Hodges (2015)

• Guaranteed same-sex couples the fundamental right to marry under the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Shelby County v. Holder (2013)

• Held that certain provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 are unconstitutional due to outdated criteria for determining jurisdictions that require preclearance for voting law changes.