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44 Liquormart, Inc. v. Rhode Island 

44 Liquormart, Inc. v. Rhode Island The newspaper advertisement that a discount liquor store in Rhode Island placed in newspapers in December 1991 had no earmarks of a First Amendment test case in th . . .

Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Pena 

Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Pena Ever since the 1970s, federal law required prime contractors doing work for the government to set aside a certain percentage of the contract for minority subcontrac . . .

Aetna Health Inc. v. Davila 

Aetna Health Inc. v. Davila, decided by a 9–0 vote, June 21, 2004; Thomas wrote the opinion. Ruby Calad's doctor wanted her to stay in a hospital after unexpected complications following surg . . .

Agostini v. Felton 

Agostini v. Felton For more than a decade, the New York City school system used a cumbersome procedure to provide federally funded, remedial education for low-income students at parochial schools. Ac . . .

Aguilar v. Felton 

Aguilar v. Felton Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 provided funding “to local educational institutions to meet the needs of educationally deprived children from low . . .

Amchem Products, Inc. v. Windsor 

Amchem Products, Inc. v. Windsor, decided by a 6-2 vote, June 25, 1997; Ginsburg wrote the opinion; Breyer and Stevens dissented in part; O'Connor did not participate. Millions of American workers wer . . .

Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition 

Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition The Child Pornography Prevention Act of 1996 banned “virtual child pornography” produced without real children and images presented as child pornography, . . .

Ashcroft, Attorney General v. American Civil Liberties Union 

Ashcroft, Attorney General v. American Civil Liberties Union, decided by a 5–4 vote, June 29, 2004; Kennedy wrote the opinion; Breyer, Rehnquist, O’Connor, and Scalia dissented. The info . . .

Atkins v. Virginia 

Atkins v. Virginia Daryl Renard Atkins and William Jones abducted, robbed, and murdered Eric Nesbitt, an airman assigned to Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, Virginia. Atkins freely gave police deta . . .

Atwater v. Lago Vista 

Atwater v. Lago Vista Gail Atwater was arrested, handcuffed, fingerprinted, and put in jail for failing to make her children wear seat belts as she drove them home from soccer practice. Bart Turek, a . . .

Austin v. United States 

Austin v. United States, decided by a 9-0 vote, June 28, 1993; Blackmun wrote the opinion. Frustrated in the fight against drug trafficking and other lucrative crimes, law enforcement officials decide . . .

Barnes v. Glen Theatre, Inc. 

Barnes v. Glen Theatre, Inc. An Indiana statute outlawed appearing in a public place “in a state of nudity,” and, as the law applied to entertainment, female dances had to wear at least p . . .

Batson v. Kentucky 

Batson v. Kentucky James Kirkland Batson, an African American, was prosecuted in Kentucky for second-degree burglary. At trial, the prosecutor used his peremptory challenges to remove all blacks in t . . .

Bennis v. Michigan 

Bennis v. Michigan The government may seize property even if the owner had no knowledge that someone else was using it for criminal activity. The closely divided decision rejected Tina B. Bennis's cl . . .

Blakely v. Washington 

Blakely v. Washington, decided by a 5–4 vote, June 24, 2004; Scalia wrote the opinion; O’Connor, Rehnquist, Kennedy, and Breyer dissented.Ralph Blakely committed a bizarre crime. A diagn . . .

BMW of North America, Inc. v. Gore 

BMW of North America, Inc. v. Gore Ira Gore Jr. paid $40,750.08 for a new BMW sedan in January 1990. Nine months later, when he took the car to a shop for detailing, Gore was surprised to discover th . . .

Board of Education of Independent School District No. 92 of Pottawatomie County v. Earls 

Board of Education of Independent School District No. 92 of Pottawatomie County v. Earls In September 1998 the Tecumseh, Oklahoma, school board instituted an aggressive drug education and detection p . . .

Board of Education of Kiryas Joel Village School District v. Grumet 

Board of Education of Kiryas Joel Village School District v. Grumet The village of Kiryas Joel is a tiny enclave inhabited exclusively by members of a small orthodox Jewish sect—the Satmar Hasi . . .

Board of Education of Westside Community Schools v. Mergens 

Westside Community Board of Education v. Mergens The Supreme Court's decisions in the early 1960s prohibiting sponsored prayer or Bible readings in public elementary and secondary classrooms provoked . . .

Board of Trustees of the University of Alabama v. Garrett 

Board of Trustees of the University of Alabama v. Garrett Patricia Garrett was a director of nursing services at the University of Alabama in Birmingham Hospital. After being diagnosed with breast ca . . .

Bowers v. Hardwick 

Bowers v. Hardwick A Georgia statute criminalized consensual sodomy, providing up to twenty years imprisonment for anyone who “performs or submits to any sexual act involving the sex organs of . . .

Bowsher v. Synar 

Bowsher v. Synar The purpose of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 was to eliminate the federal budget deficit. If, in any fiscal year, the federal budget deficit exceeded . . .

Boy Scouts of America v. Dale 

Boy Scouts of America v. Dale The Constitution does not mention “freedom of association,” but the Supreme Court has held that the right of private organizations to adopt membership polici . . .

Bray v. Alexandria Women's Health Clinic 

Bray v. Alexandria Women's Health Clinic Beginning in the late 1980s, a militant antiabortion group calling itself Operation Rescue adopted the strategy of physically blocking the entrances to clinic . . .

Buckley v. Valeo 

Buckley v. Valeo In 1971 Congress passed two statutes to regulate campaign contributions and to substitute public money for private funds in presidential campaigns. In 1974, in the wake of the Waterg . . .

Burlington Industries, Inc. v. Ellerth 

Burlington Industries, Inc. v. Ellerth See Faragher v. City of Boca Raton . . . .

Bush v. Gore 

Bush v. Gore Shortly after the polls closed in Florida during the 2000 presidential election, all of the major television networks, relying on voter exit polls, announced that Albert Gore Jr., the De . . .

Bush v. Vera 

Bush v. Vera For the third time in four years, the Supreme Court addressed the contentious issue of racial redistricting. Once again, by narrow majorities and with sharp divisions, the justices rejec . . .

Califano v. Goldfarb 

Califano v. Goldfarb Leon Goldfarb sued because a federal statute denied him Social Security payments because he had not been receiving at least half of his support from his spouse, Hannah Goldfarb, . . .

Carey v. Population Services International 

Carey v. Population Services International A New York statute prohibited the sale of contraceptives to anyone under sixteen, the sale of contraceptives except by licensed pharmacists, and the adverti . . .

Central Bank of Denver, N.A. v. First Interstate Bank of Denver, N.A. 

Central Bank of Denver, N.A. v. First Interstate Bank of Denver, N.A., decided by a 5-4 vote, April 19, 1994; Kennedy wrote the opinion; Stevens, Blackmun, Souter, and Ginsburg dissented. The financia . . .

Cheney v. United States Dist. Court for the Dist. of D.C. 

Cheney, Vice President of the United States v. United States District Court for the District of Columbia, decided by a 7–2 vote, June 24, 2004; Kennedy wrote the opinion; Ginsburg and Souter d . . .

Chevron U.S.A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. 

Chevron U.S.A. v. Natural Resources Defense Council Congress became involved in the quality of the nation's environment in the 1950s and 1960s. The post–World War II boom had created industrial . . .

Chisom v. Roemer, Governor of Louisiana; United States v. Roemer, Governor of Louisiana 

Chisom v. Roemer, Governor of Louisiana; United States v. Roemer, Governor of Louisiana, decided by a 6-3 vote, June 20, 1991; Stevens wrote the opinion; Scalia, Rehnquist, and Kennedy dissented. In t . . .

Cipollone v. Liggett Group, Inc. 

Cipollone, Individually and as Executor of the Estate of Cipollone v. Liggett Group, Inc., decided by a 7-2 vote, June 24, 1992; Stevens wrote the opinion; Scalia and Thomas dissented. Cigarette manuf . . .

City of Boerne v. Flores 

City of Boerne v. Flores In 1993 Congress passed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). The law was a response to the Supreme Court's opinion in Employment Division, Department of Human Resour . . .

City of Chicago v. Morales 

City of Chicago v. Morales In this case a novel initiative by the city of Chicago to get youth gangs off the streets ran afoul of the Constitution. The Supreme Court invalidated a Chicago ordinance t . . .

City of Richmond v. J.A. Croson Co. 

City of Richmond v. J.A. Croson Co. In 1983 Richmond, Virginia, adopted the Minority Business Utilization Plan, which was modeled on federal “minority set-aside” programs. The ordinance r . . .

Clinton v. City of New York 

Clinton v. City of New York In 1996 Congress passed the Line Item Veto Act, giving the president the power to delete specific items in a budget bill without having to veto the entire bill. Several me . . .

Clinton v. Jones 

Clinton v. Jones Less than two years into his presidency, Bill Clinton was accused by a former Arkansas state employee of sexually harassing her while he was governor. The political scandal turned in . . .

Cohen v. Cowles Media Co. 

Cohen v. Cowles Media Co. The dispute at the heart of this case arose from the 1982 Minnesota gubernatorial race, in which Dan Cohen, a Republican political consultant, offered to turn over to report . . .

Coker v. Georgia 

Coker v. Georgia (433 U.S. 584), decided by votes of 7-2 and 6-3, June 29, 1977. White wrote an opinion announcing the court's decision and setting out the views of four justices; Brennan and Marshall . . .

College Savings Bank v. Florida Prepaid Postsecondary Educational Expenses Board 

College Savings Bank v. Florida Prepaid Postsecondary Educational Expenses Board A commercial dispute between a New Jersey bank and a Florida state agency, both of which marketed savings plans for co . . .

Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Commission v. Federal Election Commission 

Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Commission v. Federal Election Commission Colorado Republicans had not yet chosen their candidate for the U.S. Senate in the spring of 1986 when they started thei . . .

Committee for Public Education & Religious Liberty v. Nyquist 

Committee for Public Education & Religious Liberty v. Nyquist The New York legislature appropriated funds for the maintenance and repair of religiously affiliated schools, tuition reimbursement grant . . .

Craig v. Boren 

Craig v. Boren An Oklahoma law prohibited the sale of 3.2 percent beer to men under age twenty-one and women under eighteen. Two men between the ages of eighteen and twenty-one, Curtis Craig and Mark . . .

Cruzan v. Director, Missouri Department of Health 

Cruzan v. Director, Missouri Department of Health While Nancy Cruzan was driving home from work, her car hit a patch of ice. The car flipped over, and she was thrown out, landing face down in a shall . . .

Cutter v. Wilkinson, Director, Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction 

Cutter v. Wilkinson, Director, Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, decided by a 9-0 vote, May 31, 2005; Ginsburg wrote the opinion. A federal law requiring state prison officials to a . . .

Dames & Moore v. Regan 

Dames & Moore v. Regan In response to the seizure of American citizens working in the American Embassy in Tehran, President Jimmy Carter froze all assets of the Iranian government within the United S . . .

Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 

Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc. For more than two decades, doctors prescribed the drug Bendectin for pregnant women to control the common, and sometimes serious, problem of nausea or  . . .

Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education 

Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education LaShonda Davis was only ten years old when she suffered through five months of crude sexual taunts and advances in the 1992–1993 school year. Her torme . . .

Demore v. Kim 

Demore v. Kim Demore v. Kim, decided by a 5-4 vote, April 29, 2003; Rehnquist wrote the opinion; Souter, Stevens, Ginsburg, and Breyer dissented. . . .

Denver Area Educational Telecommunications Consortium, Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission 

Denver Area Educational Telecommunications Consortium, Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission Critics of offensive and indecent cable television programming managed to get a three-part provision d . . .

Department of Commerce v. United States House of Representatives 

Department of Commerce v. United States House of Representatives The Constitution requires a census of the population every ten years to determine how many seats each state will have in the House of . . .

DeShaney v. Winnebago County Department of Social Services (489 U.S. 189) 

DeShaney v. Winnebago County Department of Social Services (489 U.S. 189), decided by a 6-3 vote, Feb. 22, 1989. Rehnquist wrote the opinion; Brennan, Marshall and Blackmun dissented. A county social . . .

Dickerson v. United States 

Dickerson v. United States The Supreme Court came under fierce political attack in 1966 when it handed down Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, a decision requiring police to tell suspects of their rig . . .

Eastern Enterprises v. Apfel, Commissioner of Social Security 

Eastern Enterprises v. Apfel, Commissioner of Social Security, decided by a 5-4 vote, June 25, 1998; O'Connor wrote the plurality opinion; Breyer, Stevens, Souter, and Ginsburg dissented. In the long . . .

Edmonson v. Leesville Concrete Co. 

Edmonson v. Leesville Concrete Co. Thaddeus Donald Edmonson, an African American construction worker, was injured in a job-site accident in Fort Polk, Louisiana, and sued Leesville Concrete Company f . . .

Edwards v. Aguillard 

Edwards v. Aguillard Louisiana's creationism act—formally called “Balanced Treatment for Creation-Science and Evolution-Science in Public School Instruction”—prohibited the pu . . .

Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow 

Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow, decided by an 8–0 vote on result and a 5–3 vote on legal issue, June 14, 2004; Stevens wrote the opinion; Rehnquist, O’Connor, and Thom . . .

Employment Division, Department of Human Resources of Oregon v. Smith 

Employment Division, Department of Human Resources of Oregon v. Smith Alfred Smith was a member of the Klamath tribe of southern Oregon, and, after a number of difficult years involving drug and alco . . .

Erznoznik v. City of Jacksonville 

Erznoznik v. City of Jacksonville A Florida statute prohibited drive-in movie theaters from showing films containing nudity if the screen was visible from a street or public place. Richard Erznoznik, . . .

Ewing v. California 

Ewing v. California Ewing v. California, decided by a 5-4 vote, March 5, 2003; O’Connor wrote the plurality opinion; Scalia and Thomas concurred in the judgment; Breyer, Stevens, . . .

Faragher v. City of Boca Raton 

Faragher v. City of Boca Raton When Kimberly Ellerth and Beth Ann Faragher thought their bosses were making improper sexual advances, they did what most women do when they confront sexual harassment . . .

Federal Communications Commission v. Pacifica Foundation 

Federal Communications Commission v. Pacifica Foundation In October 1973 a New York City radio station owned by Pacifica Foundation played a twelve-minute monologue by Grammy Award-win . . .

Federal Election Commission v. Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Commission 

Federal Election Commission v. Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Commission Under the Federal Election Campaign Act, any expenditure made by an individual or a political party “in cooperatio . . .

Federal Maritime Commission v. South Carolina State Ports Authority 

Federal Maritime Commission v. South Carolina State Ports Authority Maritime Services, owners of the cruise ship Tropic Sea, thought it was being treated unfairly when the South Carolina State Ports . . .

Ferguson v. Charleston 

Ferguson v. Charleston Drug testing for pregnant women emerged as a divisive issue in the 1980s and 1990s against the backdrop of a growing incidence of “crack babies” born to women who u . . .

Firefighters Local Union #1784 v. Stotts 

Firefighters Local Union #1784 v. Stotts, decided by a 6-3 vote, June 11, 1984. White wrote the opinion; Brennan, Marshall and Stevens dissented. Federal judges may not override a valid seniority syst . . .

First National Bank of Boston v. Bellotti 

First National Bank of Boston v. Bellotti Two national banks and three corporations sued the attorney general of Massachusetts to challenge a state criminal statute forbidding banks and corporations . . .

Flood v. Kuhn 

Flood v. Kuhn, decided by a 5-3 vote, June 19, 1972. Blackmun wrote the opinion; Powell did not participate; Douglas, Brennan and Marshall dissented. Professional baseball remains exempt from federal . . .

Florida Prepaid Postsecondary Educational Expenses Board v. College Savings Bank 

Florida Prepaid Postsecondary Educational Expenses Board v. College Savings Bank See College Savings Bank v. Florida Prepaid Postsecondary Educational Expenses Board . . .

Food and Drug Administration v. Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. 

Food and Drug Administration v. Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposed regulations in August 1995 that made it a federal offense to sell cigarettes to anyone . . .

Frontiero v. Richardson 

Frontiero v. Richardson Sharon Frontiero, a lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force, challenged a federal statute that provided an extra housing allowance and extra medical benefits to all married men in th . . .

Fullilove v. Klutznick 

Fullilove v. Klutznick The “minority business enterprise” (MBE) provision of the Public Works Employment Act of 1977 required that at least 10 percent of all federal funds disbursed for l . . .

Furman v. Georgia 

Furman v. Georgia This case involved three appeals from death penalty convictions, one for murder and two for rape. The cases came from Georgia and Texas. The majority held that the death penalty, as . . .

Garcia v. San Antonio Metropolitan Transit Authority 

Garcia v. San Antonio Metropolitan Transit Authority The question before the Supreme Court was whether the San Antonio Metropolitan Transit Authority (SAMTA), a public transit authority organized on . . .

Gebser v. Lago Vista Independent School District 

Gebser v. Lago Vista Independent School District When the principal of Lago Vista High School outside San Antonio, Texas, received complaints in October 1992 that teacher Frank Waldrop was making sex . . .

Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc. 

Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc. Elmer Gertz, a Chicago lawyer, represented the family of a young boy named Nelson, who had been shot by Nuccio, a Chicago police officer. Nuccio was eventually convicted o . . .

Gonzales, Attorney General v. Raich 

Gonzales, Attorney General v. Raich, decided by a 6-3 vote, June 6, 2005; Stevens wrote the opinion; O’Connor, Rehnquist, and Thomas dissented. Diane Monson tried various medications to relieve . . .

Good News Club v. Milford Central School 

Good News Club v. Milford Central School By 2000 the Child Evangelism Fellowship had organized over 4,600 Good News Clubs around the country about 500 of which met in public school buildings. The Goo . . .

Granholm, Governor of Michigan v. Heald 

Granholm, Governor of Michigan v. Heald, decided by a 5-4 vote, May 16, 2005; Kennedy wrote the opinion; Thomas, Rehnquist, Stevens, and O’Connor dissented. Juanita Swedenburg welcomed visitors . . .

Gratz v. Bollinger and Grutter v. Bollinger 

Gratz v. Bollinger and Grutter v. Bollinger Gratz v. Bollinger, decided by a 6-3 vote, June 23, 2003; Rehnquist wrote the opinion; Stevens, Souter, and Ginsburg dissented. . . .

Gravel v. U.S., U.S. v. Gravel 

Gravel v. U.S., U.S. v. Gravel, decided by a 5-4 vote, June 29, 1972. White wrote the opinion; Douglas, Stewart, Brennan and Marshall dissented. The constitutional immunity of members of Congress ext . . .

Gregg v. Georgia 

Gregg v. Georgia In Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238 (1972), the Court struck down all of the nation's death penalty statutes. The Court said that because the statutes failed to provide . . .

Hamdi v. Rumsfeld (With related case: Rumsfeld v. Padilla) 

Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense, decided by a 6–3 vote, June 28, 2004; O’Connor wrote the plurality opinion; Souter and Ginsburg concurred in the judgment; Scalia and Stevens dis . . .

Harris v. Forklift Systems, Inc. 

Harris v. Forklift Systems, Inc. An employee claiming job discrimination on the basis of sexual harassment must prove the existence of a “hostile” or “abusive” work environmen . . .

Harris v. McRae 

Harris v. McRae The Medicaid program was established in 1965 as Title XIX of the Social Security Act. Title XIX provided federal financial assistance to states to reimburse certain costs of medical t . . .

Herrera v. Collins 

Herrera v. Collins The question of whether the Constitution permits the government to execute an innocent person was at issue in the case of a Texas prisoner, who, long after his 1982 conviction for . . .

Hodgson v. Minnesota, Minnesota v. Hodgson 

Hodgson v. Minnesota, Minnesota v. Hodgson, decided by separate 5-4 votes, June 25, 1990; Stevens wrote the opinion striking down a statute that required a teen-age girl to notify both biological pare . . .

Holder v. Hall 

Holder v. Hall, decided by a 5-4 vote, June 30, 1994; Kennedy wrote a plurality opinion; Blackmun, Stevens, Souter, and Ginsburg dissented. Black voters in a tiny county in central Georgia mounted a l . . .

Honda Motor Co., Ltd. v. Oberg 

Honda Motor Co., Ltd. v. Oberg, decided by a 7-2 vote, June 24, 1994; Stevens wrote the opinion; Ginsburg and Rehnquist dissented. Five times since 1980, business and insurance groups had gotten the . . .

Hustler Magazine, Inc. v. Falwell 

Hustler Magazine v. Falwell Hustler magazine ran a parody of an advertisement on the inside front cover of its November 1983 issue. Copying the format of a Campari Liqueur advertisement featuring pub . . .

Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Chadha 

Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Chadha Jagdish Rai Chadha, an East Indian born in Kenya, held a British passport when he was lawfully admitted to the United States in 1966 on a student visa . . .

Immigration and Naturalization Service v. St. Cyr 

Immigration and Naturalization Service v. St. Cyr Enrico St. Cyr was admitted to the United States as a legal alien. In 1996 he pleaded guilty to selling narcotics in violation of a Connecticut state . . .

Ingraham v. Wright 

Ingraham v. Wright Challenging the constitutionality of corporal punishment in public schools, junior high school students James Ingraham and Roosevelt Andrews sued the Dade County, Florida, public s . . .

Jacobson v. United States 

Jacobson v. United States This case began in February 1984, when Keith Jacobson ordered two issues of a magazine called Bare Boys, which contained photographs of nude preteens and teenagers. Althoug . . .

Johnson v. Transportation Agency, Santa Clara County 

Johnson v. Transportation Agency, Santa Clara County In 1980 Paul E. Johnson, an employee for the Transportation Agency in Santa Clara County, California, was passed over for promotion to road dispat . . .

Johnson, Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives v. De Grandy 

Johnson, Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives v. De Grandy, decided by a 7-2 vote, June 30, 1994; Souter wrote the opinion; Thomas and Scalia dissented. The Supreme Court closed its 1992-19 . . .

Kansas v. Hendricks 

Kansas v. Hendricks Leroy Hendricks began sexually abusing children in 1955 at the age of twenty. Over the next thirty years, he accumulated five convictions for molesting a total of ten childrenR . . .

Keeney, Superintendent, Oregon State Penitentiary v. Tamayo-Reyes 

Keeney, Superintendent, Oregon State Penitentiary v. Tamayo-Reyes, decided by a 5-4 vote, May 4, 1992; White wrote the opinion; O'Connor, Blackmun, Stevens, and Kennedy dissented. The Supreme Court co . . .

Kelo v. City of New London 

Kelo v. City of New London, decided by a 5-4 vote, June 23, 2005; Stevens wrote the opinion; O’Connor, Rehnquist, Scalia, and Thomas dissented. Susette Kelo loved the riverfront view from the ni . . .

Kimel v. Florida Board of Regents 

Kimel v. Florida Board of Regents Physics professor J. Daniel Kimel was one of thirty-six faculty members and librarians at two Florida state universities who claimed they had been discriminated agai . . .

Kolstad v. American Dental Association 

Kolstad v. American Dental Association After working for the American Dental Association for four years, Carole Kolstad thought she was the best-qualified candidate when the group's top lobbying job . . .

Kyllo v. United States 

Kyllo v. United States On information that led him to believe Danny Lee Kyllo was growing marijuana in his house, a federal agent used a thermal imaging device to scan the building to determine wheth . . .

Laird v. Tatum 

Laird v. Tatum, decided by a 5-4 vote, June 26, 1972. Burger wrote the opinion; Douglas, Brennan, Stewart and Marshall dissented. Persons who cannot claim that their own activities have been affected . . .

Lamb's Chapel v. Center Moriches Union Free School District 

Lamb's Chapel v. Center Moriches Union Free School District A dispute between a small evangelical Christian church and a school district in eastern Long Island, New York, over showing films about chi . . .

Lassiter v. Department of Social Services 

Lassiter v. Department of Social Services In 1975 a North Carolina court determined that Abby Gail Lassiter's infant son, William, was neglected after hearing evidence that Lassiter failed to obtain . . .

Lawrence v. Texas 

Lawrence v. Texas, decided by a 6-3 vote, June 26, 2003; Kennedy wrote the opinion; Scalia, Rehnquist, and Thomas dissented. . . .

Lee v. Weisman 

Lee v. Weisman When Daniel Weisman's older daughter graduated from Nathan Bishop Middle School in Providence, Rhode Island, a Christian clergyman gave the traditional invocation and benediction. The . . .

Locke, Governor of Washington v. Davey 

Locke, Governor of Washington v. Davey, decided by a 7–2 vote, February 25, 2004; Rehnquist wrote the opinion; Scalia and Thomas dissented. Joshua Davey wanted to go to college for one reason: . . .

Lorillard Tobacco Co. v. Reilly 

Lorillard Tobacco Co. v. Reilly Congress took its first steps to regulate cigarette advertising in the 1960s. The Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act (FCLAA) of 1965 required manufacturers . . .

Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council 

Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council In 1986 David H. Lucas paid $975,000 for two beachfront lots, on which he intended to build single-family houses. Two years later, South Carolina passed the Be . . .

Lujan, Secretary of the Interior v. National Wildlife Federation 

Lujan, Secretary of the Interior v. National Wildlife Federation, decided by a 5-4 vote, June 27, 1990; Scalia wrote the opinion; Blackmun, Brennan, Marshall, and Stevens dissented. The National Wildl . . .

Lynch v. Donnelly 

Lynch v. Donnelly The town of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, annually placed a holiday “ display” in a private park owned by a nonprofit organization. The city owned the materials in the displa . . .

Lyng v. Northwest Indian Cemetery Protective Association 

Lyng v. Northwest Indian Cemetery Protective Association Native Americans sought to enjoin the U.S. Forest Service from building a six-mile road in a national forest, claiming the road would interrup . . .

Madsen v. Women's Health Center, Inc. 

Madsen v. Women's Health Center, Inc. Lawyers for the Aware Woman Center for Choice, in Melbourne, Florida, went to state court claiming that antiabortion demonstrators were trying to close the facil . . .

Marsh v. Chambers (463 U.S. 783) 

Marsh v. Chambers (463 U.S. 783), decided by a 6-3 vote, July 5, 1983. Burger wrote the opinion; Brennan, Marshall and Stevens dissented. The First Amendment ban on establishment of religion is not of . . .

Maryland v. Craig 

Maryland v. Craig, decided by a 5-4 vote, June 27, 1990; O'Connor wrote the opinion; Scalia, Brennan, Marshall, and Stevens dissented. States may shield victims of child abuse by allowing them to test . . .

McCleskey v. Kemp 

McCleskey v. Kemp In 1978 a jury in Atlanta, Georgia, convicted Warren McCleskey, an African American, for killing a white policeman during a robbery. The jury recommended the death sentence. After u . . .

McConnell, United States Senator v. Federal Election Commission 

McConnell, United States Senator v. Federal Election Commission, decided by a 5–4 vote on major issues, December 10, 2003; Stevens and O’Connor wrote the main opinion; Rehnquist and Brey . . .

McFarland v. Scott, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Institutional Division 

McFarland v. Scott, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Institutional Division, decided by 6-3 and 5-4 votes, June 30, 1994; Blackmun wrote the opinion; O'Connor dissented in part; Thomas, . . .

McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Commission 

McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Commission Margaret McIntyre thought of herself as a concerned citizen and taxpayer when she passed out leaflets in 1988 opposing a proposed school tax levy in the Westervi . . .

Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson (477 U.S. 57) 

Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson (477 U.S. 57), decided by a 9-0 vote, June 19, 1986. Rehnquist wrote the opinion. In its first ruling on the issue, the court held that sexual harassment in the work pla . . .

Metro Broadcasting, Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission 

Metro Broadcasting, Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission In an endorsement of affirmative action, the Supreme Court ruled that Congress may order preferential treatment of blacks and other minor . . .

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. v. Grokster, Ltd. 

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. v. Grokster, Ltd., decided by a 9-0 vote, June 27, 2005; Souter wrote the opinion. Millions of music and film lovers began turning to their computers in the late 1990s . . .

Michael H. v. Gerald D. (491 U.S. 110) 

Michael H. v. Gerald D. (491 U.S. 110), decided by a 5-4 vote, June 15, 1989. Scalia wrote the opinion; White, Brennan, Marshall and Blackmun dissented. The Court refused to invalidate a state law tha . . .

Michael M. v. Superior Court of Sonoma County 

Michael M. v. Superior Court of Sonoma County Michael M., a seventeen-and-a-half-year-old boy, was charged with violating California's statutory rape law for having sex with a girl under eighteen yea . . .

Miller v. California 

Miller v. California In this case, the Supreme Court tried to resolve the conflict between the efforts of communities to regulate obscene material and the freedom of expression and of adults to read . . .

Miller v. Johnson 

Miller v. Johnson Georgia in 1991 adopted a redistricting plan that called for two of the state's eleven congressional districts to have majority black populations. Under the Voting Rights Act of 196 . . .

Mississippi University for Women v. Hogan 

Mississippi University for Women v. Hogan The state-supported Mississippi University for Women had, historically, limited its enrollment to women. In 1971 the university established a nursing school, . . .

Missouri v. Jenkins (1995) 

Missouri v. Jenkins decided by a 5-4 vote, June 12, 1995; Rehnquist wrote the opinion; Souter, Stevens, Ginsburg, and Breyer dissented. The federal judge overseeing a school desegregation suit in Kans . . .

Mistretta v. United States 

Mistretta v. United States Congress passed the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 to standardize criminal punishments. The impetus for the law was the recognition that without uniform guidelines for sente . . .

Mitchell v. Helms 

Mitchell v. Helms In 1985 Mary Helms and Marie Schneider were public school parents in suburban Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, when they began wondering why public school buses were transporting paroch . . .

Moore v. City of East Cleveland 

Moore v. City of East Cleveland Inez Moore lived in the City of East Cleveland with her son and his child. Another grandson, John, moved in with Moore after his mother died. Under a city housing ordi . . .

Morrison v. Olson 

Morrison v. Olson In the aftermath of the Watergate scandals and, in particular, the firing of Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox by President Richard Nixon, Congress enacted the Ethics in Government A . . .

NAACP v. Claiborne Hardware Co. (458 U.S. 886) 

NAACP v. Claiborne Hardware Co. (458 U.S. 886), decided by an 8-0 vote, July 2, 1982. Stevens wrote the opinion; Marshall did not participate in the decision. A non-violent 1966 boycott by civil righ . . .

National League of Cities v. Usery 

National League of Cities v. Usery When it was first enacted, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) did not apply to state employees. In 1961 Congress amended the act to apply its minimu . . .

National Organization for Women, Inc. v. Scheidler 

National Organization for Women, Inc. v. Scheidler Frustrated in their efforts to overturn abortion rights rulings in the Supreme Court or Congress, opponents of abortion in the 1990s took their figh . . .

Nevada Department of Human Resources v. Hibbs 

Nevada Department of Human Resources v. Hibbs Nevada Department of Human Resources v. Hibbs, decided by a 6-3 vote, May 27, 2003; Rehnquist wrote the opinion; Kennedy, Scalia, and Thom . . .

New Jersey v. T.L.O. 

New Jersey v. T.L.O. T.L.O., a fourteen-year old freshman, and a companion were discovered smoking by a teacher at Piscataway High School in Middlesex County, New Jersey. Smoking was a violation of a . . .

New York v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 

New York v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, decided by 9–0 and 6–3 votes, March 4, 2002; Stevens wrote the opinion; Thomas, Scalia, and Kennedy dissented in part. The Court upheld a . . .

New York v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 

New York v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, decided by 9–0 and 6–3 votes, March 4, 2002; Stevens wrote the opinion; Thomas, Scalia, and Kennedy dissented in part. The Court upheld a . . .

Nixon v. Administrator of General Services 

Nixon v. Administrator of General Services Former president Richard Nixon entered into an agreement regarding the disposition of his presidential papers and recordings with Arthur F. Sampson, the hea . . .

Nixon v. Shrink Missouri Government PAC 

Nixon v. Shrink Missouri Government PAC Zev David Fredman was a thirty-four-year-old political neophyte when he declared his candidacy for the Republican nomination for state auditor in 1997. A polit . . .

Nollan v. California Coastal Commission 

Nollan v. California Coastal Commission James and Marilyn Nollan owned beachfront property in Ventura County, California. They leased their property with an option to buy, which was conditioned on th . . .

Northern Pipeline Construction Co. v. Marathon Pipe Line Co. 

Northern Pipeline Construction Co. v. Marathon Pipe Line Co. In this case, the Supreme Court held that Congress's grant of full Article III jurisdiction to Article I bankruptcy courts was unconstitut . . .

Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc. 

Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc., decided by a 9-0 vote, March 4, 1998; Scalia wrote the opinion. An offshore oil rig is a quintessentially male workplace: an isolated job site where tough . . .

Pacific Mutual Life Insurance Co. v. Haslip 

Pacific Mutual Life Insurance Co. v. Haslip, decided by a 7-1 vote, March 4, 1991; Blackmun wrote the opinion; O'Connor dissented; Souter took no part in the case. The Court held that juries have broa . . .

Parham v. J.R. 

Parham v. J.R. Three minor children challenged the Georgia commitment scheme that allowed parents to “voluntarily” commit their children to state mental health care. The district court fo . . .

Paris Adult Theatre I v. Slaton 

Paris Adult Theatre I v. Slaton The state of Georgia sought to enjoin the proprietor of an adult film emporium from exhibiting two movies alleged to be obscene. The Georgia Supreme Court held that th . . .

Payne v. Tennessee 

Payne v. Tennessee Pervis Tyrone Payne was convicted by a Tennessee jury of the murders of a woman and her two-year-old daughter and of assault with intent to murder her three-year-old son. During hi . . .

Penn Central Transportation Company v. New York City 

Penn Central Transportation Company v. New York City New York City's Landmarks Preservation Commission refused to allow the owners of the city's historic Grand Central Terminal to build a fifty-story . . .

Personnel Administrator of Massachusetts v. Feeney 

Personnel Administrator of Massachusetts v. Feeney (442 U.S. 256), decided by a 7-2 vote, June 5, 1979. Stewart wrote the majority opinion; Marshall and Brennan dissented. A state does not violate the . . .

PGA Tour, Inc. v. Martin 

PGA Tour, Inc. v. Martin Golfer Casey Martin suffered from Klippel-Trenaunay-Weber Syndrome, a rare circulatory disorder that made walking painful and posed a long-term risk to his health. In college . . .

Planned Parenthood of Central Missouri v. Danforth 

Planned Parenthood of Central Missouri v. Danforth This case was a “logical and anticipated corollary” to Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973), and Doe v. Bolton, 410 U.S. 179 . . .

Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey 

Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey Ever since the ruling in Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973), abortion opponents had tried to get legislation enacted that would make it difficul . . .

Plyer v. Doe 

Plyer v. Doe Illegal alien parents sued to enjoin the state of Texas from enforcing its law prohibiting the children of illegal aliens from attending Texas public schools. The district court and the . . .

Printz v. United States 

Printz v. United States In 1993 Congress enacted the so-called Brady bill, named for President Reagan's press secretary, James Brady, who was seriously wounded March 30, 1981, when an attempt was mad . . .

R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul 

R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul Early one morning in June 1990, R.A.V. and several other teenagers burned a cross in the front yard of a black family who had recently moved into their neighborhood. Althou . . .

Rasul v. Bush 

Rasul v. Bush, President of the United States, decided by a 6–3 vote, June 28, 2004; Stevens wrote the opinion; Scalia, Rehnquist, and Thomas dissented. They were rounded up by the hundreds on . . .

Regents of the University of California v. Bakke 

Regents of the University of California v. Bakke The University of California at Davis Medical School set aside sixteen spaces in its entering class of one hundred for African American, Hispanic, Asi . . .

Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union 

Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union As part of its wide-ranging Telecommunications Act of 1996, Congress passed the Communications Decency Act (CDA). One provision made it a criminal offense to kn . . .

Republican Party of Minnesota v. White 

Republican Party of Minnesota v. White Gregory Wersal, a Minneapolis-area lawyer and a self-described strict constructionist, wanted to get Republican Party support for a campaign for the Minnesota S . . .

Richmond Newspapers, Inc. v. Virginia 

Richmond Newspapers, Inc. v. Virginia Between July 1976 and June 1978 John Paul Stevenson was tried three times for murder. His initial conviction was reversed by the Virginia Supreme Court. Two othe . . .

Ring v. Arizona 

Ring v. Arizona In 1996 three men were arrested and tried for robbing an armored car and killing its driver, John Magosh. None of the three men testified at trial, and the jury was unable to determin . . .

Roe v. Wade 

Roe v. Wade Jane Roe, a pseudonym for Norma McCorvey, an unmarried pregnant woman in Dallas, Texas, wanted to terminate the pregnancy and brought suit in 1970 to prevent the Dallas County prosecutor, . . .

Romer v. Evans 

Romer v. Evans Gay rights advocates won a rare victory from the Supreme Court with a decision striking down a Colorado initiative that sought to prohibit passage of state or local laws banning discri . . .

Roper, Superintendent, Potosi Correctional Center v. Simmons 

Roper, Superintendent, Potosi Correctional Center v. Simmons, decided by a 5-4 vote, March 1, 2005; Kennedy wrote the opinion; Scalia, Rehnquist, O’Connor, and Thomas dissented. Christopher Simm . . .

Rosenberger v. Rector and Visitors of University of Virginia 

Rosenberger v. Rector and Visitors of University of Virginia Many colleges and universities help finance campus publications and organizations by imposing a mandatory “activity fee” on st . . .

Rostker v. Goldberg 

Rostker v. Goldberg The Selective Service Act allowed the president to require registration of young men for the purposes of potential conscription. Although the registration process had been discont . . .

Rummel v. Estelle 

Rummel v. Estelle (445 U.S. 263), decided by a 5-4 vote, March 18, 1980. Rehnquist wrote the opinion; Powell, Brennan, Marshall and Stevens dissented. The Eighth Amendment ban on cruel and unusual pun . . .

Rumsfeld v. Padilla 

Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense v. Padilla, decided by a 5–4 vote, June 28, 2004; Rehnquist wrote the opinion; Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg, and Breyer dissented. A U.S. citizen challenging his d . . .

Rust v. Sullivan 

Rust v. Sullivan An abortion-related funding dispute forced the Supreme Court to decide how far the government could go in limiting the activities of private organizations that receive federal financ . . .

Rutan v. Republican Party of Illinois 

Rutan v. Republican Party of Illinois James R. Thompson, the Republican governor of Illinois, froze hiring and promotions in state agencies. The only exceptions, according to Thompson's executive ord . . .

Saenz v. Roe 

Saenz v. Roe “Brenda Roe,” who was pregnant with her first child, and her husband moved to California from Oklahoma in 1997 after he lost his job. Roe—a pseudonym used in later liti . . .

Sale, Acting Commissioner, Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Haitian Centers Council, Inc. 

Sale, Acting Commissioner, Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Haitian Centers Council, Inc., decided by an 8-1 vote, June 21, 1993; Stevens wrote the opinion; Blackmun dissented. For most of it . . .

San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez 

San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez This case stemmed from a class action suit brought in 1968 by parents “on behalf of schoolchildren throughout the State [of Texas] who are m . . .

Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe 

Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe Marian Ward received a standing ovation at the Santa Fe, Texas, high school football team's season opener in September 1999 after she delivered a pregame p . . .

Schlesinger v. Reservists to Stop the War 

Schlesinger v. Reservists to Stop the War Members of the Reservists Committee sued to enjoin certain members of Congress from holding positions in the army reserves on the grounds that Article I, Sec . . .

Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida 

Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida Congress has authority under Article I, Section 8, to regulate any commerce affecting or involving Indian tribes. Under this authority, it passed the Indian Gamin . . .

Shaw v. Hunt 

Shaw v. Hunt See Bush v. Vera . . . .

Shaw v. Reno 

Shaw v. Reno The Voting Rights Act of 1965 aimed not only at ensuring access to the ballot box, but also that the minority vote would count. Section 2 sought to guarantee racial minorities an equal o . . .

Sierra Club v. Morton 

Sierra Club v. Morton This case involved the standing of an environmental advocacy organization to sue to prevent environmental damage that does not specifically harm any members of th . . .

Simon & Schuster, Inc. v. Members of New York State Crime Victims Board 

Simon & Schuster, Inc. v. Members of New York State Crime Victims Board In an effort to prevent criminals from profiting from books or other accounts of their offenses, New York passed a law requirin . . .

Smith v. City of Jackson, Mississippi 

Smith v. City of Jackson, Mississippi, decided by a 5-3 vote on the legal issue and an 8-0 vote on the result, March 30, 2005; Stevens wrote the main opinion; Scalia concurred in the judgment; O’ . . .

Smith v. Doe and Connecticut Department of Public Safety v. Doe 

Smith v. Doe and Connecticut Department of Public Safety v. Doe Smith v. Doe, decided by a 6-3 vote, March 5, 2003; Kennedy wrote the opinion; Stevens, Ginsburg, and Breyer dissented . . .

Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain 

Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain, decided by a 9–0 vote, June 29, 2004; Souter wrote the opinion. A Mexican doctor kidnapped to stand trial in the United States but later acquitted was barred from brin . . .

South Dakota v. Dole 

South Dakota v. Dole In 1984 Congress enacted a law that directed the secretary of transportation to withhold a percentage of federal highway funds from states “in which the purchase or public . . .

Spallone v. United States, Chema v. United States, Longo v. United States 

Spallone v. United States, Chema v. United States, Longo v. United States, decided by a 5-4 vote, January 10, 1990; Rehnquist wrote the opinion; Brennan, Marshall, Blackmun, and Stevens dissented. Cal . . .

St. Mary's Honor Center v. Hicks 

St. Mary's Honor Center v. Hicks, decided by a 5-4 vote, June 25, 1993; Scalia wrote the opinion; Souter, White, Blackmun, and Stevens dissented. When the Supreme Court handed down a series of decisio . . .

State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. v. Campbell 

State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. v. Campbell State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. v. Campbell, decided by a 6-3 vote, April 7, 2003; Kennedy wrote the opinion; Scalia, . . .

Stenberg v. Carhart 

Stenberg v. Carhart LeRoy Carhart was one of only three physicians performing abortions in Nebraska in the late 1990s and the only one who performed the operation on women more than sixteen weeks pre . . .

Sutton v. United Air Lines, Inc. 

Sutton v. United Air Lines, Inc. Twin sisters, Karen Sutton and Kimberly Hinton, long had the ambition to become pilots for a major commercial airline. They had both flown for regional carriers and w . . .

Swidler & Berlin v. United States 

Swidler & Berlin v. United States, decided by a 6-3 vote, June 25, 1998; Rehnquist wrote the opinion; O'Connor, Scalia, and Thomas dissented. Vincent Foster was under a lot of stress when he went to t . . .

Tennessee v. Lane 

Tennessee v. Lane, decided by a 5–4 vote, May 17, 2004; Stevens wrote the opinion; Rehnquist, Scalia, Kennedy, and Thomas dissented. When George Lane arrived at the Polk County, Tennessee, cou . . .

Tennessee Valley Authority v. Hill 

Tennessee Valley Authority v. Hill (437 U.S. 153), decided by a 6-3 vote, June 15, 1978. Burger wrote the opinion; Powell, Blackmun and Rehnquist dissented. The Endangered Species Act—reflecting . . .

Texas v. Johnson 

Texas v. Johnson During the 1984 Republican National Convention in Dallas, Gregory Lee Johnson, a Vietnam veteran, burned an American flag to protest the policies of President Ronald Reagan. Johnson . . .

Town of Castle Rock, Colorado v. Gonzales 

Town of Castle Rock, Colorado v. Gonzales, decided by a 7-2 vote, June 27, 2005; Scalia wrote the opinion; Stevens and Ginsburg dissented. Local police officers did not deprive a woman of a constitu . . .

Trimble v. Gordon 

Trimble v. Gordon (430 U.S. 762), decided by a 5-4 vote, April 26, 1977. Powell wrote the opinion; Burger, Stewart, Blackmun and Rehnquist dissented. State denies illegitimate children equal protectio . . .

Troxel v. Granville 

Troxel v. Granville Gary and Jenifer Troxel's son, Brad, fathered two children with Tommie Granville, although the two never married. They separated in 1991, before the younger daughter, Isabelle, wa . . .

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission 

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission The passage of the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992, a federal law requiring cable systems to car . . .

U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton 

U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton In a few short years the idea of term limits for members of Congress grew from a fringe political notion into a national movement. The Supreme Court dealt the cause . . .

United States v. Alvarez-Machain 

United States v. Alvarez-Machain Humberto Alvarez-Machain was a citizen and resident of Mexico. In April 1990, under the direction of U.S. officials, he was abducted from his home in Guadalajara, Mex . . .

United States v. American Library Association, Inc. 

United States v. American Library Association, Inc. United States v. American Library Association, Inc., decided by a 6-3 vote, June 23, 2003; Rehnquist wrote the main opinion; Steven . . .

United States v. Bajakajian 

United States v. Bajakajian, decided by a 5-4 vote, June 22, 1998; Thomas wrote the opinion; Kennedy, Rehnquist, O'Connor, and Scalia dissented. When a federal customs inspector at Los Angeles Interna . . .

United States v. Dominguez Benitez 

United States v. Dominguez Benitez, decided by a 9–0 vote, June 14, 2004; Souter wrote the opinion. A defendant who fails to object to incomplete warnings before entering a guilty plea in fede . . .

United States v. Eichman 

United States v. Eichman One of the most difficult First Amendment issues the Court has faced is desecration of the American flag, a symbol held in near reverence by most Americans. Next to the abort . . .

United States v. Fordice, Governor of Mississippi; Ayers v. Fordice, Governor of Mississippi 

United States v. Fordice, Governor of Mississippi; Ayers v. Fordice, Governor of Mississippi, decided by an 8-1 vote, June 26, 1992; White wrote the opinion; Scalia dissented. Thirty-eight years after . . .

United States v. Lopez 

United States v. Lopez In 1990, following a rash of shootings in schools, Congress passed the Gun-Free School Zones Act, making it a federal offense for anyone to knowingly possess a firearm within a . . .

United States v. Morrison 

United States v. Morrison Congress passed the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 in an attempt to stem what it called the “escalating problem” of attacks against women. The law's many pro . . .

United States v. Nixon 

United States v. Nixon This case was one of the most dramatic decisions in American constitutional history. It had the immediate consequence of forcing President Richard Nixon to release secretly mad . . .

United States v. O'Hagan 

United States v. O'Hagan, decided by 6-3, 7-2, and 9-0 votes, June 25, 1997; Ginsburg wrote the opinion; Thomas, Rehnquist, and Scalia dissented in part. James O'Hagan made a $4.3 million killing in s . . .

United States v. Ursery 

United States v. Ursery, decided by an 8-1 vote, June 24, 1996; Rehnquist wrote the opinion; Stevens dissented in part. Tina Bennis had reason enough to be upset when Detroit police arrested her husba . . .

United States v. Virginia 

United States v. Virginia Single-sex schools have a long history in the United States, especially in higher education. Whatever their educational advantages or disadvantages, single-sex public school . . .

Vacco v. Quill 

Vacco v. Quill Laws making it a crime to assist someone to commit suicide date back centuries. The laws—widely accepted but rarely used—came under attack in the late twentieth century fro . . .

Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v. Natural Resources Defense Council; Consumers Power Co. v. Aeschliman 

Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v. Natural Resources Defense Council; Consumers Power Co. v. Aeschliman (435 U.S. 519), decided by a vote of 7-0, April 3, 1978. Rehnquist wrote the opinion; Powell . . .

Vernonia School District 47J v. Acton 

Vernonia School District 47J v. Acton Vernonia, Oregon, a logging community of about three thousand people in the northwestern tip of the state, might seem far removed from the problem of teenage dru . . .

Vieth v. Jubelirer 

Vieth v. Jubelirer, President of the Pennsylvania Senate, decided by a 5–4 vote, April 28, 2004; Scalia wrote the plurality opinion; Kennedy concurred in the judgment; Stevens, Souter, Ginsbur . . .

Virginia State Board of Pharmacy v. Virginia Citizens Consumer Council, Inc. 

Virginia State Board of Pharmacy v. Virginia Citizens Consumer Council, Inc. In Valentine v. Chrestensen, 316 U.S. 52 (1942), the Supreme Court held that commercial speech lacked basic First Amendmen . . .

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Samara Brothers, Inc. 

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Samara Brothers, Inc., decided by a 9-0 vote, March 22, 2000; Scalia wrote the opinion. The design of a product is not ordinarily protected by trademark law. The ruling set as . . .

Wallace v. Jaffree 

Wallace v. Jaffree This case was making its second appearance before the Supreme Court. It involved three Alabama statutes designed to bring prayer back into the public schools of that state. An Alab . . .

Warth v. Seldin 

Warth v. Seldin Warth and other petitioners, described as low income, Hispanic, and African American residents of Rochester, New York, sued the suburban town of Penfield for a determination that cert . . .

Washington v. Glucksberg 

Washington v. Glucksberg See Vacco v. Quill . . . .

Washington v. Harper 

Washington v. Harper, decided by a 6-3 vote, February 27, 1990; Kennedy wrote the opinion; Stevens, Brennan, and Marshall dissented. State prison officials may force a mentally ill inmate to take anti . . .

Watchtower Bible & Tract Society v. Village of Stratton 

Watchtower Bible & Tract Society v. Village of Stratton The small village of Stratton, Ohio, prohibited canvassers from going door-to-door to sell any product or promote any cause without first getti . . .

Wisconsin v. Mitchell 

Wisconsin v. Mitchell The United States in the 1980s experienced an apparent increase in assaults and other crimes against victims targeted because of their race, religion, ethnicity, or sexual orien . . .

Wisconsin v. Yoder 

Wisconsin v. Yoder Members of the Amish Mennonite Church, sometimes know as the Old Order Amish, regularly withdrew their children from public school at age fourteen, in violation of state law that r . . .

Zelman v. Simmons-Harris 

Zelman v. Simmons-Harris In one of its most important church-state cases in a decade, a bitterly divided Court upheld an Ohio school voucher plan and removed any constitutional barriers to similar vo . . .

Zobrest v. Catalina Foothills School District 

Zobrest v. Catalina Foothills School District While James Zobrest, a deaf student in Tucson, Arizona, attended public school, the school district paid for a sign-language interpreter to assist him. Z . . .