Category: Supreme Court Decisions

In Calder v. Bull, 3 U.S. 386 (1798), the U.S. Supreme Court first interpreted the ex post facto clause of the United States Constitution. The justices held that the clause only applies to certain criminal acts. The Facts of Calder v. Bull Calder ...

On June 29, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Arizona’s use of an independent commission to adopt congressional districts. In her majority opinion in Arizona State Legislature v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission, 576 U. S. ____ (2015)...

In Hollingsworth v. Virginia, 3 U.S. 378 (1798), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Eleventh Amendment was valid, even though the President of the United States had not formally sanctioned it. While the rationale of the Court has been debated, ...

In Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. The Inclusive Communities Project, 576 U. S. ____ (2015), the U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that disparate-impact claims are cognizable under the Fair Housing Act (FHA). The 5-4 decision end...

On June 29, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled, by a vote of 5-4, that Oklahoma’s lethal injection protocol does not violate the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. The case, Glossip v. Gross, was one of the most signi...

Chisholm v. Georgia, 2 U.S. 419 (1793) is one of the first important decisions issued by the U.S. Supreme Court. The case, however, is not widely known or studied in constitutional law classes because its main holding, which abrogated state sover...

In King v. Burwell, a divided Court ruled that all tax subsidies granted under the healthcare law are legal. Had the Court ruled otherwise, the sweeping healthcare reform law may have been in jeopardy. The Facts of the Case The latest ACA ...

Hayburn’s Case, 2 U.S. 409 (1792) is one of the earliest decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court. Although the Judiciary Act of 1789 authorized the creation of the Court, the justices did not consider their first case until 1792. Hayburn's case pre...

In Walker v. Texas Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans, Inc., the U.S. Supreme Court held that Texas’ specialty license plate designs constitute government speech. Accordingly, Texas was entitled to refuse to issue a confederate flag license pla...