Category: Supreme Court Decisions

In Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238 (1972), a divided U.S. Supreme Court held that the death penalty could violate the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment if not imposed fairly. The decision imposed a brief moratorium ...

In West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette (1943), the U.S. Supreme Court held that requiring public school children to salute the American flag and recite the pledge of allegiance violates the First Amendment. The 6-3 decision was fit...

In Michigan v. Environmental Protection Agency, 576 U.S. (2015), the U.S. Supreme Court struck down an EPA rule regulating the emissions of mercury and other chemicals from electric power plants. By a vote of 5-4, the majority held that the EPA int...

In Marsh v. Chambers, 463 U.S. 783 (1983), the U.S. Supreme Court addressed the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. By a vote of 6-3, the majority in Marsh v. Chambers held that the Nebraska Legislature's practice of opening each legislat...

In Cantwell v. Connecticut, 310 U.S. 296 (1940), the U.S. Supreme Court first applied the First Amendment's Free Exercise Clause to the states. A unanimous Court specifically held that arresting Jehovah’s Witnesses who were proselytizing door-to...

In Harris v. Quinn, 573 U.S. ___ (2014), the U.S. Supreme Court addressed the circumstances under which workers can be forced to join a union, pay dues and become public employees. By a vote of 5-4, the justices concluded that the First Amendment to...

In United States v. Carolene Products Company, 304 U.S. 144 (1938), the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the validity of an economic regulation passed by Congress pursuant to the Commerce Clause. However, the case is more famous for “Footnote Four,” ...

In Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335 (1963), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Sixth Amendment’s guarantee of counsel applies to the states via the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Court’s unanimous decision expressly over...

On June 1, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court, in EEOC v. Abercrombie, held that an employer could be held liable for not being able to accommodate a religious practice under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, even though the employee or job appli...

Nearly 50 years later, the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Miranda vs Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966), remains one of the Court’s most influential Fifth Amendment rulings. By a vote of 5-4, the majority held that in Miranda vs Arizona ...