[8.T5.6] - Research, analyze, and report orally or in writing on one area (a, b, or c, below) in which Supreme Court decisions have made significant changes over time in citizens’ lives.
a. Interpretations of freedoms of religion, assembly, press, petition, and speech under the First Amendment; for example,
Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969)The Court held, 7-2, that students’ right to protest is protected in schools.
Bethel School District v. Fraser (1986) The Court held, 7-2, that students’ right to use vulgar language is not protected in schools. Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier (1988) The Court ruled, 5-3, that students’ right to school-sponsored student speech in a school
newspaper may be restricted with educational justification.
Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission (2010) The Court ruled, 5-4, that contributions by corporations and organizations such as unions to political campaigns are protected as free speech.b. Interpretations of the due process clause and the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment, for example Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)The Court dismissed the case brought by Dred Scott, an African American, to obtain his freedom from slavery, 7-2, on the grounds that African Americans were not citizens, that the Congress could not ban slavery in federal territories, and that the due process clause prohibited the government from freeing slaves brought into territories. Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)The Court upheld, 7-1, the ruling that racial segregation was constitutional under the “separate but equal” doctrine.Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954) The Court unanimously overturned the “separate but equal” doctrine, ruling that state laws establishing separate schools for white and black students were unconstitutional.
Mapp v. Ohio (1961) The Court, redefined, 6-3, the implementation of the exclusionary rule (evidence collected in violation of an individual’s Fourth Amendment rights is inadmissible for a criminal prosecution in a court of law) to apply to states.
Loving v. Virginia (1967) The Court unanimously recognized the right to interracial marriage and declared race-based restrictions on marriage unconstitutional. Romer v. Evans (1996) The Court determined, 6-3, that the Equal Protection Clause prevents states from denying civil rights protections to sexual minorities, including lesbian, gay, and bisexual people. Obergefell v. Hodges (2015) The Court held, 5-4, that same sex marriage is protected under the 14th Amendment. c. Interpretations in cases where individual rights and perceived community or national interests were in conflict, for example, The United States Flag and the Pledge of Allegiance Minersville School District v. Gobitis (1940)
The Court held, 8-1, that the state’s interest in national unity allowed school boards to require students to salute the flag.
West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette (1943)
Court held, 6-3, that students are protected from having to salute the flag or recite the Pledge of Allegiance through the free exercise clause of the First Amendment.
Texas v. Johnson (1989)
The Court held, 5-4, that an individual has a right to burn the flag under the First Amendment free expression clause.
School Prayer
Engel v. Vitale (1962)
The Court held, 6-2, that requiring school prayer in public schools was a violation of the First Amendment establishment clause.
National Security
Korematsu v. United States (1944)
The Court held, 6-3, that a government order during World War II sending Japanese-Americans to internment camps, rather than allowing them to remain in their homes, was constitutional.
Clapper v. Amnesty International (2012)
The Court, 5-4, dismissed a challenge to the government’s power to conduct surveillance on international phone calls and emails under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Courts.
Gun Control
District of Columbia v. Heller (2008)
The Court, 5-4, upheld the right of individuals to own guns under the Second Amendment and found the District of Columbia’s ban on owning handguns to be unconstitutional.