Supreme Court
Cases
Constitutional Issue or
Question
Petitioner/ Appellant's
Arguments
Respondent/ Appellee's
Arguments
The government was only
trying to protect minors from
taking part in
inappropriate/obscene
materials.
Supreme Court's Decision or
Ruling
Ashcroft v. Free
Speech Coalition
(2002) 1st amendment: freedom
of speech and Child
Pornography Prevention Act
1996
The CPPA was going to harm
the adult entertainment industry
Brown v. Board of
Education of Topeka
(1954) 14th amendment:
Separate (but equal) schools
for white and African American
students-Does segregation
have a place in the school
system?
Segregation contradicts
equality: Brown’s daughter had
to walk 6 blocks to get to the
bus stop for the “black” school
The school facilities are
separate but they are the
same. (equal)
Separate but equal is
unconstitutional and violated
the equal protection clause
Amendment: right to bear
arms-Firearms Control
Regulations Act of 1975
The act restricts residents of
the District of Colombia from
owning handguns: violated 2nd
amend. right.
The act was to limit firearm
usage to either militia or police
officers. The right to bear arms
is a collective right, only
applying to state regulated
militias.
Held that the act violated the
2nd amendment and was
therefore unconstitutional.
Dennis v. United
States
(1951) 11 communists were
convicted of advocating to
overthrow the Federal
Government
The Smith Act violated the 1st
amendment (freedom of
speech and press) the
communists were not
presenting a clear danger to
the government
“An attempt to overthrow the
government by force is
sufficient evil for congress to
prevent”
1st amendment doesn’t defend
the communists, their
conviction was upheld
Dred Scott v. Sandford
(1857) 5th amendment:
individual rights- Property rights
v. Human rights
Slave couldn’t become free just
because he travelled with his
master on “free soil”
3rd amendment: quartering of
troops in private homes without
owner consent.
Striking officers were evicted
from their quarters and
replaced with national guard.
This was a violation of the third
amendment-the national
guardsmen were technically
military men (troops)
(1964) 6th amendment: right to
council
Defendant asked to see his
layer during questioning and
was denied his request
2nd
D.C. v Heller
Engblom v. Carey
Escobedo v. Illinois
“Free Soil” laws and Missouri
Compromise are
unconstitutional and deprive
slave owners of their “property”
without just compensation
The national guardsmen were
considered temporary
replacements for the officers
and were being housed in the
employee housing. Therefore,
they were not troops being
quartered.
The defendant was being
questioned for his brother’s
murder and his statements
proved his guilt and led to his
prosecution
The court agreed that the
CPPA was substantially
overbroad.
Upheld the slave owner’s
property right over the slave’s
human rights
Held that the guardsmen were
excluded from 3rd amendment
rules-they unknowingly violated
individual constitutional rights.
Court ordered defendant free
from prison after 4 years
because his prosecution was
nullified due to the denial to
council
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Furman v. Georgia
(1972) 8th and 14th
Amendments: capital
punishment/cruel and unusual
punishment
He had unintentionally killed
the resident he was robbing- he
fell and the gun accidentally
went off-he did not deserve
capital punishment for murder.
The casualty occurred during a
felony in-progress which
constitutes it as murder.
Held that Furman was guilty of
murder and sentenced him to
death.
Gideon was found not guilty
because he was not provided
council-“Gideon Rule”
integrated into the Bill of
Rights: all poor persons are,
under law, always provided
council
Students cannot be deprived of
the right to an education.
(property interest protected by
due process)
Gideon v Wainwright
(1963) 6th amendment: right to
council
Florida’s policy denied him
council during interrogation
Florida’s policy stated that
council should only be provided
during capital cases
Goss v. Lopez
(1975) 14th amendment: Due
process-should suspension
from school be allowed without
due process?
Student was suspended
without due process and
claimed this violated his right to
due process
Students were justly
suspended for misconduct
Gregg v. Georgia
(1976) 8th amendment: cruel
and unusual punishment- death
sentence for murder
Furman v. Georgia-penalty was
unfair and arbitrary
Gregg was found guilty on two
counts of murder and armed
robbery
Supreme Court
Cases
Constitutional Issue or
Question
Petitioner/ Appellant's
Arguments
Respondent/ Appellee's
Arguments
Griswold v.
Connecticut
(1965) 14th amendment: Due
process- Should law violate the
privacy of the marital bed?
Griswold counseled married
persons to use birth controlPlanned Parenthood
No use of “any drug, medicinal
article, or instrument to prevent
conception” is legal
Guiles v. Marineau
1st and 14th amendments:
freedom of speech and
deprivation of life, liberty, or
property without due process
The student’s clothing
displayed alcohol, drugs, and
obscenities which violate the
school dress code as
distracting to other students.
Guiles was protected under the
1st and 14th amendments. His tshirt was a form of protest and
had not disrupted the school
environment.
Hazelwood v.
Kuhlmeier
(1988) 1st amendment: Does
censorship of school
newspaper violate freedoms?
Content of the newspaper was
“ inappropriate, sensitive,
personal, and unsuitable for
student readers
Held the principal’s actions-the
school has the right to censor if
the material is “inconsistent
with the educational mission”
Hudson v. Michigan
4th amendment: guards against
unreasonable search and
seizure.
Guiles was exercising his
freedom of speech by wearing
his anti-drugs/anti-bush
apparel. The censorship of any
of these elements blunted the
message.
Freedom of expression in the
school newspaper was violated
when the principal tried to
censor it.
The knock and announce
requirement before entry to
search Hudson’s home was
premature and therefore all
evidence should be unusable.
At least 25 grams of cocaine
was found in the Hudson
residence under a legal
warrant.
The premature entry alone did
not nullify the evidence against
Hudson.
Upheld death sentence:
“punishment of death does not
violate the constitution” in this
case
Supreme Court's Decision or
Ruling
Overturned Connecticut law-fell
under un-numerated rights: 9th
amendment-violated the right to
privacy
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8th
Ingram v. Wright
(1977)
amendment:
protection against cruel and
unusual punishment
Lemon v. Kurtzman
(1971) 1st amendment:
establishment clause
Paddlings from teacher caused
physical injuries
The students violated school
rules
-at the time corporal
punishment was allowed
-the paddling was not
considered degrading or severe
The Lovings violated the Racial
Integrity Act-bans marriage
between any white person and
non-white person
Loving v. Virginia
14th amendment: equal
protection clause
They should be protected
under the equal protection
clause to be married
Mapp v. Ohio
(1962) 4th and 14th
amendments: illegal
evidence/due process
Mapp was protected by 4th and
14th amendments from
improper police behavior
Illegal searches to get evidence
was permitted in Ohio
Miranda v. Arizona
(1966) 5th, 6th, and 14th
amendments: rights of the
accused
Miranda was not warned of his
rights (to remain silent ect.) and
was not given the choice of
council when questioned
Miranda signed a confession
and statements the he knew his
rights
New Jersey v. T.L.O.
(1985) 4th and 14th
amendments: illegal evidence
and due process clause
Student had been suspected of
smoking in the school restroom
Evidence was gained against
T.L.O. by an arbitrary and
unreasonable search
New York Times v.
United States
(1971) 1st amendment: freedom
of the press
Supreme Court
Cases
Constitutional Issue or
Question
Olmstead v. United
States Government
(1928) 5th and 4th
amendments: search and
seizure-electronic surveillance.
Documents in the New York
Times showed deception of
Congress and the American
people by the Johnson
Administration during Vietnam
Petitioner/ Appellant's
Arguments
Evidence of Olmsted illegally
selling alcohol was gained
through a “wire trap” without a
warrant and used against him
The papers may endanger
national security: injunction to
censor the newspaper
Respondent/ Appellee's
Arguments
Evidence proving that Olmsted
had been conspiring to violate
the National Prohibition Act
was collected “legally”-no
trespassing in the installation of
the wire taps.
8th amendment does not
protect students (it protects
criminals) corporal punishment
was correct form of punishment
for the situation
Overturned the convictions and
ruled that the Act violated the
Equal Protection and the Due
Process Clauses as well as
violated their individual rights.
Extended the exclusionary rulesearch was meaningless
because the evidence was
illegal in the supreme court and
was therefore unusable
Court appealed the accusation
and held that he should have
been warned of his rights prior
to questioning
Court rejected T.L.O.’s
arguments:
-the search was legitimate
-reasonable suspicion/probable
cause
Injunction was reversed
-government had an obligation
to prove the harm of national
security before censorship
Supreme Court's Decision or
Ruling
Held that the evidence
gathering process did not
violate Olmsted’s 4th or 5th
amendment rights.
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Plessy was segregated from
the white people when riding
the train for his race(African
American) which violated his
right to equal protection under
the law
Scottsboro boys were
sentenced to death for sexual
assault without the benefit of
council
Facilities on the train were
equal so segregation should be
permitted
Plessy v. Ferguson
(1896) 14th amendment: equal
protection clause
Powell v. Alabama
(1932) 6th amendment: right to
council
Roe v. Wade
(1973) 9th amendment: right to
privacy
Roe believed she had a
fundamental right to privacy to
choose whether to have an
abortion
The Defendant forbade
abortion to protect the potential
of human life
Roth v. United States
(1951) 1st amendment: freedom
of the press
He needed a way to advertise:
used the mail to keep ads out
of unwitting eyes
Mail was used to advertise
material considered obscene
by postal inspectors
They had been accused of
sexual assault (there were also
racial biases at play)
Schenck v. United
States
(1919) 1st amendment: freedom
of speech
Schenck was exercising his
freedom of speech by urging a
resistance to the draft
Schenck had violated the
Espionage Act of 1917-active
opposition to the war is
considered a crime
Texas v. Johnson
1st amendment: freedom of
speech-desecrating the
American flag
Johnson violated Texas law
which prohibits vandalizing
respected objects.
Johnson was exercising his
freedom of speech in a
symbolic manner.
(1969) 1st amendment: freedom
of speech
Tinkers were suspended for a
silent protest of the Vietnam
war (black armbands). School
violated their right to free
speech
The armbands were banned
from being worn in school and
students were warned of this
and broke the rules anyway
(1984) 4th amendment:
Exclusionary rule
Warrant to search Leon was
issued by a state court judge
-exclusionary rule should not
apply: officers were acting
under good faith
The warrant was improperly
issued
Tinker v. Des Moines
School District
United States v. Leon
Upheld separate but equal
because the 14th amendment
wasn’t meant to protect against
social inequality.
Overturned the sentencing
-poor people must always be
provided council (especially in
a capital punishment case)
Decided that before the closing
of the first trimester of fetal
development, it is the woman
and her physician’s decision to
abort.
Upheld that Roth’s freedom of
press was violated.
Limited free speech was
allowed in time of war
-Schenck presented a clear
and present danger to the war
effort.
*created the idea that the 1st
amendment rights are not
absolute.
Johnson’s actions were
deemed protected as a form of
free speech under the 1st
amendment
The students were conducting
a silent protest, therefore not
disrupting the educational
environment, and were
protected under the 1st
amendment.
Established the “Good Faith”
exception to the exclusionary
rule
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United States v. Miller
Wisconsin v Yoder
2nd amendment: the right to
keep and bear arms-National
Firearms Act
Miller was violating the NFA by
attempting to transport an
unlicensed sawed-off shotgun
over state lines for retail.
Miller’s 2nd amendment rights
were being violated by the
follow through of NFA rules.
Court ruled in favor of the
defendant-the NFA infringed on
civilian right to bear firearms
and was therefore
unconstitutional.
(1972)1st amendment: freedom
of religion
The Amish would not comply
with compulsory education
(schooling children are required
by law to receive and states are
required by law to provide)
Their freedom of religion was
violated-Amish believe public
schooling exposes children to
non-Amish customs
Held that the 1st amendment
protected Amish right to
withdraw their children from
public schools.
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