Tag: Constitutional Law

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 ...

In Johnson v. M’Intosh, 21 U.S. 543 (1823), the U.S. Supreme Court addressed whether Native Americans had the power to give, and of private individuals to receive, title to land. The justices ultimately answered, in the case of Johnson v. M'Into...

On June 22, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a City of Los Angeles ordinance that required hotel operators to allow law enforcement to inspect guest registries without obtaining a warrant. The 5-4 majority in City of Los Angeles v. Patel, 57...

In Dartmouth College v. Woodward, 17 U.S. 518 (1819), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the U.S. Constitution’s Contracts Clause prohibited state legislatures from interfering with individual property rights. Accordingly, the Court invalidated a ...

In Martin v. Hunter’s Lessee, 14 U.S. 304 (1816), the U.S. Supreme Court first asserted its authority to overrule a state court decision regarding an issue of federal law. The Court’s landmark decision was rooted in the Court’s appellate jur...

While many were hoping that the U.S. Supreme Court would address whether existing precedent that excludes threatening speech from First Amendment protection applies to online speech, the justices elected to resolve Elonis v. United States on purely s...

Amidst growing distrust of police officers, the U.S. Supreme Court recently addressed the use of force when attempting to subdue a mentally disabled person in San Francisco v. Sheehan The Court’s narrow decision held that two San Francisco police ...

In a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court recently held that the state of Maryland’s tax scheme is unconstitutional. Since it fails to recognize taxes paid in other states, the Court found that the state’s personal income tax system violates the...

In United States v. Guest, 383 U.S. 745 (1966), the U.S. Supreme Court held that violations of the Fourteenth Amendment can serve as grounds for criminal charges under a federal conspiracy law that makes it a crime to "injure, oppress, threaten, or i...

The “Speech or Debate Clause” provides powerful protection to members of Congress and prohibits the Executive Branch from prosecuting those with whom it does not agree. One of the first cases to interpret the Speech or Debate Clause is United St...