Supreme Court Cases Flashcards
(24 cards)
Everson v Board of education
ruled that no state could use revenues to support institutions that teach religion
-if the state took revenue s from ppl who practices many religions, they could not use the money for one religion
Gitlow v New York
-one of the first instances of the Supreme Court applying the Bill of Rights to state laws, reinforcing the incorporation doctrine.
-“Left Wing manifesto”
-established a legal precedent for evaluating when speech could be limited, influencing future rulings on free speech.
Lemon v. Kurtzman
the court ruled that a law may not foster “an excessive government entanglement with religion”
-established the Lemon Test to determine wether government action violates the Establishment Clause
Employment Division Department of Human resources of Oregon v. Smith
- ruled that the Free Exercise Clause does not exempt individuals from following valid, neutral laws that incidentally burden religious practices.
- marked a shift in how the courts approached the Free Exercise Clause, moving away from a more protective stance toward religious practices and emphasizing the importance of neutral laws.
-Led to the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA)
Minersville School District v. Gobitis
- Court upheld the expulsion of two schoolchildren who refused to
salute the flag because it violated their faith as Jehovah’s
Witnesses
West Virginia v. Barnette
Overturned Minersville School District v. Gobitis (1940)
* Firmly established free exercise of religion as protected against the
states
McCollum v Board of Education
program for teaching religion in public schools was found unconstitutional
Zorach v Clauson
Supported program that let students leave school premises early for religious reasons
Rosenberger v. University of Virginia
Ruled that the university must provide the same financial
subsidy to a student religious publication that it provides
to other student publications
Engel v. Vitale
Ordered the state of New York to suspend its requirement that all
students in public schools recite a nondenominational prayer at the
start of each school day
Stone v. Graham
Ruled against posting the Ten Commandments in public school
classrooms
Lee v. Weismann
ruled against allowing school-sponsored prayer at graduation
Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe
Ruled that student-led prayer at school-sponsored events are un-
constitutional
Burwell v Hobby Lobby
Supreme Court ruled in favor of Hobby Lobby, stating that closely held corporations can be considered “persons” under RFRA and can exercise religious beliefs.
- The ruling did not exempt Hobby Lobby from all health care regulations but specifically allowed them to refuse coverage for the contested contraceptives.
Schenck v. United States
Censorship only when speech poses a “clear and present danger”
Texas v. Johnson
flag desecration falls under free
expression protections
Near v. Minnesota
Prior restraint – the government’s power to prevent
publication, as opposed to punishment afterward
New York Times v. United States
“pentagon papers’ case
-prevented Nixon administration from stopping the publication of the Pentagon Papers; top secret document involving the Vietnam War
Miller v. California
Three-part test
* The average person, applying contemporary community
standards, must find the work as a whole appeals to the
prurient interests (lust)
* The state law must specifically define what sexual content is
obscene
* The work as a whole must lack serious literary, artistic,
political, or scientific value
Mapp v. Ohio (1961):
- Exclusionary rule – prevents police and prosecutors
from using evidence against a defendant that was
obtained in an illegal search
Reno, Attorney General of the United States v.ACLU
ruled the communications decency act unconstitutional
DC v. Heller
right to keep and bear arms
unconnected with service in a militia
McDonald v. City of Chicago
Due Process
Clause of 14th Amendment incorporates 2nd Amendment
right recognized in Heller
