Supreme Court Case Research Project
Cruzan v. Missouri Department of Health, 1990
Reynolds v. U.S., 1879
On January 11, 1983, Nancy Cruzan lost control of her
old car that had no seat belts, was thrown from it and
landed face down in a water-filled ditch. Paramedics
found her with no vital signs, but they resuscitated
her. After a couple weeks of remaining dormant
within a coma, she was diagnosed as being in a
persistent vegetative state (PVS). Surgeons inserted a
feeding tube for her long-term care. Her husband
and parents waited for a more substantial recovery,
but eventually, after four years, accepted that there
was no hope. It was seven years before they went to
Supreme Court.
George Reynolds, secretary to Mormon Church leader
Brigham Young, challenged the federal anti-bigamy
statute. Reynolds was convicted in a Utah territorial
district court. His conviction was affirmed by the Utah
territorial supreme court.
Escobedo v. Illinois, 1964
Escobedo was arrested in 1960, in connection with
the murder of his brother-in-law. After his arrest, he
requested to see his lawyer but was not allowed to
do so. After persistent questioning by the police,
Escobedo made a statement which was used
against him at his trial and he was convicted of
murder. He appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court,
which affirmed the conviction. Escobedo then
appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Loving v. Virginia, 1967
In 1958, two residents of Virginia, Mildred Jeter, a
black woman, and Richard Loving, a white man,
were married in the District of Columbia. The Lovings
returned to Virginia shortly thereafter. The couple was
then charged with violating the state's antimiscegenation statute, which banned inter-racial
marriages. The Lovings were found guilty and
sentenced to a year in jail (the trial judge agreed to
suspend the sentence if the Lovings would leave
Virginia and not return for 25 years).
U.S. v. Nixon, 1974
Agents of Republican Party broke into Democratic
National Headquarters and were caught in the act.
It was slowly uncovered that President Nixon
authorized the break-in, as well as several other
incidents. Impeachment proceedings were brought
against Nixon. After a grand jury indictment, Nixon
was named as a co-conspirator and was ordered by
a District Court to produce certain tapes,
memoranda, and other writings related to specific
meetings associated with the scandal.
Ex Parte Milligan, 1866
During the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln
instituted trial by military commission for civilians in
areas where civil courts continued to function. In
1864, L.P. Milligan, a rebel, was tried and convicted of
conspiracy by a military commission in Indiana. He
was sentenced to die for his role in a plan to release
and arm Confederate prisoners to invade Indiana.
L.P. Milligan appealed his conviction by the military
commission to the U.S. Supreme Court.
New Jersey v T.L.O., 1985
In 1980, a teacher at Piscataway High School, New
Jersey, discovered two girls smoking in the bathroom.
Since smoking was a violation of a school rule, the two
students, T.L.O. and a companion, met with the
assistant vice-principal who demanded to see T.L.O.’s
purse. Upon opening the purse, he found cigarettes
and cigarette rolling paper. He looked through the
purse and found marijuana, a pipe, plastic bags,
money, lists of names, and two letters that implicated
her in drug dealing. T.L.O. argued the search of her
purse was unconstitutional.
Goss v. Lopez, 1974
Several public high school students (including D.
Lopez) were suspended from school for misconduct
but were not given a hearing immediately before or
after their suspension. School authorities in Columbus,
Ohio, claimed that a state law allowed them to
suspend students for up to ten days without a hearing.
The students brought a legal action, claiming that the
statute was unconstitutional because it allowed
school authorities to deprive students of their right to a
hearing, violating the due process clause of the
Fourteenth Amendment.
Tinker v. Des Moines Ind. Comm. School Dist.
In December 1965, Marybeth and John Tinker planned
to wear black arm bands to school signifying their
protest of the Vietnam War. School officials became
aware of the plan beforehand and adopted a
regulation banning the wearing of such armbands.
Failure to comply with this regulation would result in
suspension. Both Tinkers wore the armbands to school
and were suspended. The Tinkers claimed that their
rights of free speech and expression, which are
protected under the 1st Amendment, had been
violated.
Furman v. Georgia, 1976
In the Furman case, the victim awoke in the middle of the
night to find William Henry Furman burgling his house. At trial,
in an unsworn statement allowed under Georgia criminal
procedure, Furman said that while trying to escape, he
tripped and the weapon he was carrying fired accidentally,
killing the victim. This contradicted his prior statement to
police that he had turned and blindly fired a shot while
fleeing. In either event, because the shooting occurred
during the commission of a felony, Furman would have been
guilty of murder and eligible for the death penalty under
state law. Furman was tried for murder and was found guilty
based largely on his own statement. He was sentenced to
death.