WARREN COURT (1953-1969)
“social engineer”
Brown v. Topeka BOE (1954)
Racial minorities
BURGER COURT (1969-1986)
“mushy middle”
Alexander v. Holmes Co. BOE
massive court ordered desegregation of
southern schools
“separate but equal doctrine”
“white flight”
whites flee to the suburbs
Defacto segregation---“by choice”
DeJure segregation---“by law”
School Busing
Swann v. Mecklenburg (1972)
inside the district ok-Charlotte
Milliken v. Bradley (1974)
Detroit-stops at county line
College Admissions
Regents of Univ. of California v. Bakke
“race can be a factor but not THE factor”quotas unacceptable
Engel v. Vitale (1962)-prayer
Abington v. Schempf (1963)-scripture
“separation of church and state”
2 components-balance the two
1st Amendments
Free exercise clause vs. Establishment Clause
Griswold v. CT (1962)-“the pill”Drs. Issuing contraceptives to married couples
“the right to be left alone…the right most valued by
civilized man.”—Louis Brandeis
Lemon v. Kurtz (1971)
states fund parochial school teachers
“the Lemon test”-criteria created
1. Secular purpose
2. Religious neutrality
-no promote, no inhibit
3. No excessive govt.
entanglement in religion
Eisenstat v. Baird (1971)
law applies to unmarried couples
Roe v. Wade (1973)
Abortion rights-woman’s right to choose
vs. right of the fetus
“an uncommonly silly law”-Justice Stewart
William O. Douglas-wrote famous decision--“specific guarantees in the Bill of Rights have
‘penumbras’ formed by emanations from these
guarantees that help give them life and
substance.”—“zones of privacy…in the Bill of
Rights…”
“due process revolution”
Incorporation-nationalization of the Bill of Rights.
Applicable to the states. Case by case overturning
of Marshall’s 1833 Barron v. Baltimore case.
Dozens of Cases
Mapp v. Ohio (1961)-illegal search & seizure
Escobedo v. Illinois (1964)-coerced confession
Gideon Wainwright (1963)-right to counsel
Miranda v. Arizona (1966)-reading of rights
Faye v. Noia (1963)-federal appeals
“one man, one vote”
REHNQUIST COURT (1986-2005)
“lone ranger to equilibrium”
College Admissions
Gratz v. Bollinger (2003)
Univ. of Michigan point system unacceptable; race
can be a factor among many factors
Grutter v. Bollinger (2003)
grad. School held to different standard
Affirmative action programs struck down in
Seattle and Louisville school systems
Parents of Community Schools v. Seattle SD
(2006)
Meredith v. Jefferson County BOE (2006)
Public schools come out from court ordered
desegregationOklahoma City BOE v. Dowell (1991)
Freeman v. Pitts (1992)- (Dekalb Co GA)
Parallel decisions made in areas of hiring and
awarding govt. contracts to minority firms-some
latitude in affirmative action
Richmond v. Croson (1989)
Adarand v. Pena (1995)
Lee v. Weisman (1992)-graduation prayer
Sante Fe v. Doe (2000)-student led prayer at football
games
Framed in terms of educational materials for
parochial and private (books, teachers,
computers)—a bit tricky on neutrality and
entanglement
Webster v. Reproductive Health Systems (1989)upheld some restrictions (state funded clinics)
Planned Parenthood of SE PA v. Casey (1992)upholds Roe v. Wade with restrictions
Stenberg v. Carhart (2000)
partial birth abortion upheld strikes down Nebraska
law
Roberts Court moving towards
Accommodationallowing some degree of religion mix with
govt.; religious symbolism govt. property
(10 Commandments & Mojave Desert cross)
Gonzalez v. Cahart (2007)-upholds federal
law barring late term abortions
Gay Rights
Bowers v. Hardwick (1988)-upholds GA sodomy
laws
Lawrence v. Texas (2003)-upholds gay marriageoverturns Bowers v. Hardwick
Chips away at criminal defendant rightsno massive overturning of legacy
US v. Leon (1973)-good faith mistake
Wainwirght v. Sykes (1977)-excessive
appeals
Death Penalty
Furman v. GA (1972)-cruel & unusual
standards too discretionary
Gregg v. GA (1977)-reinstated criteria 7
defined
Arizona v. Fulminade (1991)
coerced confession doesn’t necessarily taint
conviction-“good faith mistake”
Payne v. TN (1991)
victims rights; statement at sentencing
Michigan State Police v. Sitz (1990)
DUI roadblocks permissible
Dickerson v. US (2000)
upholds Miranda decision
No major cases so far-has shown a tendency
to restrict exclusionary rule
Partisan Gerrymandering
Davis v. Bandemer (1986)
League of Latin American Citizens v. Perry
(2006)-affirmative gerrymandering-case by
case basis; states can redistrict mid-decade
Baker v. Carr (1962)
Urbanization in 20th Century created problems with
voting district lines-urban voter discrimination
ROBERTS COURT (2005-Present)
1990s-Affirmitive Gerrymandering
Shaw v. Reno-race can be a factor, not THE factor.