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Famous Criminal Cases
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Katz v. United States
The Court ruled that the Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable searches and seizures applies to all forms of government wiretapping and electronic eavesdropping, whether or not an actual physical invasion of privacy takes place.
Miranda v. Arizona
Established the Miranda rights required to be read to suspects prior to questioning, including the rights to remain silent and to an attorney. This decision was a result of the Court's determination that the Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights of Ernesto Miranda had been violated during his arrest and trial for armed robbery, kidnapping, and rape.
Roe v. Wade
The Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States protects a pregnant woman's liberty to choose to have an abortion without excessive government restriction. It struck down many federal and state abortion laws, and prompted an ongoing national debate in the U.S. about the moral and legal aspects of abortion.
United States v. Nixon
The Court ruled that President Richard Nixon was obligated to release the Watergate tapes to government investigators. It was a crucial precedent limiting the power of any U.S. president to claim executive privilege.
Loving v. Virginia
The Supreme Court declared Virginia's anti-miscegenation statute, the Racial Integrity Act of 1924, unconstitutional, thereby ending all race-based legal restrictions on marriage in the United States.
New Jersey v. TLO
The Court upheld the search of a student's purse after she was caught smoking, saying it did not violate the Fourth Amendment. The decision established the standard of reasonable suspicion for searches in schools.
Mapp v. Ohio
The Supreme Court decided that evidence obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment, which protects against "unreasonable searches and seizures", may not be used in state law criminal prosecutions in state courts, as well as in federal criminal law prosecutions in federal courts as ruled in Weeks v. United States.
Gregg v. Georgia
The Court upheld the death penalty as constitutional in this case, signaling the end of the de facto moratorium on the death penalty imposed by Furman v. Georgia. The case set forth guidelines for capital punishment to ensure that the penalty would not be administered in a capricious or discriminatory manner.
Marbury v. Madison
Established the principle of judicial review in the U.S., meaning that American courts have the power to strike down laws, statutes, and some government actions that they find to violate the Constitution. The outcome was that Marbury did not get his commission as Justice of the Peace.
Plessy v. Ferguson
Upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation laws for public facilities as long as the segregated facilities were equal in quality, a doctrine that came to be known as "separate but equal". This case was later overturned by Brown v. Board of Education.
Terry v. Ohio
The Court decided that the Fourth Amendment prohibition on unreasonable searches and seizures is not violated when a police officer stops a suspect on the street and frisks them without probable cause to arrest, if the police officer has a reasonable suspicion that the person has committed, is committing, or is about to commit a crime and has a reasonable belief that the person may be armed and presently dangerous.
Brown v. Board of Education
Declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students to be unconstitutional, thus ending de jure racial segregation in American public schools. The Court held that "separate but equal" facilities are inherently unequal and violate the protections of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Gideon v. Wainwright
The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that states are required under the Sixth Amendment to provide counsel in criminal cases to represent defendants who are unable to afford to pay their attorneys, extending the identical requirement made on the federal government under the Fifth Amendment.
Furman v. Georgia
The Court found that the death penalty, as applied in these cases, constituted cruel and unusual punishment and violated the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments. This case led to a de facto moratorium on the death penalty throughout the United States.
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission
The Supreme Court held that political spending is a form of protected speech under the First Amendment, and the government may not keep corporations or unions from spending money to support or denounce individual candidates in elections. Though it did not affect the ability of companies and unions to contribute to campaigns directly, it did allow them to spend independently in campaigns.
Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District
The Court held that students do not 'shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate'. The decision supported the wearing of black armbands by students to protest the Vietnam War.
District of Columbia v. Heller
The Court held that the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to keep and bear arms, unconnected with service in a militia, for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home.
Obergefell v. Hodges
The Supreme Court ruled that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. This decision requires all states to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples and to recognize same-sex marriages validly performed in other jurisdictions.
McDonald v. Chicago
The Supreme Court held that the right of an individual to "keep and bear arms", as protected under the Second Amendment, is incorporated by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment against the states. This decision cleared the way for an individual to challenge state gun control laws.
Texas v. Johnson
The Supreme Court invalidated prohibitions on desecrating the American flag enforced in 48 of the 50 states. The Court concluded that the government could not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea offensive or disagreeable.
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