1. Congressional Power
Chief Justice Rehnquist. 5-4. 1995. U.S. v. Lopez, 514 U.S. 549. Congress may not establish gun-free school zones to protect interstate commerce.
2. Presidential Power
Black. 6-3. 1952. Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co., 343 U.S. 579. President may not seize steel mills to ensure production of armaments even in time of national conflict.
3. Judicial Power
(Brandeis, dis.). 1936. Ashwander v. Tennessee, 297 U.S. 288, 346-348. "The Court . . . has avoided passing upon a large part of all the constitutional questions pressed upon it for decision."
Stevens. 8-1. 2004. Elk Grove S.D. v. Newdow, 542 U.S. 1. The Court will not hear a case filed by a noncustodial parent regarding his child.
4. Religious Liberty
Black. 5-4. 1947. Everson v. Ewing Township Bd. of Ed., 220 U.S. 1. The Establishment Clause applies to states through the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment, but tax funds used to pay for pupils' transportation to religious schools is not a violation .
Black. 7-1. 1962. Engel v. Vitale, 370 U.S. 421. State may not compose a prayer and have teachers lead students
in reciting it.
Chief Justice Burger. 7-0. 1972. Wisconsin v. Yoder, 406 U.S. 205. Amish children may be exempt from compulsory school attendance after 8th grade.
Burger. 6-3. 1983. Marsh v. Chambers, 463 U.S. 783. State legislative chaplains are "a tolerable acknowledgment of beliefs widely held among the people of this country.
O'Connor. 5-3. 1988. Lyng v. Northwest Indian Cemetery Protective Association, 485 U.S. 439. Indian people do not have a right to protect sacred land in a national forest.
Blackmun. 5-4/6-3.1989. Allegheny County. v. ACLU., 492 U.S. 573. County may display a Menorah outdoors, but not a Creche inside the Courthouse.
Stevens. 6-3. 2000. Santa Fe Independent S.D. v. Doe, 530 U.S. 290. Public school district may not authorize student-led, student-initiated prayer at football games.
Chief Justice Rehnquist. 5-4. 2002. Zelman v. Simmons-Harris, 536 U.S. 639. State may issue vouchers to attend private schools, including religious ones.
5. Freedom of Expression
Kennedy. 5-4. 2010. Citizens United v. FEC, 558 U.S. 310. Unions, corporations, and nonprofits may broadcast ads close to elections.
6. Right to Bear Arms
Scalia. 5-4. 2008. District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570. D.C. residents may keep handguns for protection.
7. Property Rights
Waite. 7-2. 1877. Munn v. Illinois, 94 U.S. 113. The Due Process Clause does not prevent a state from regulating grain elevator fees.
Field. 8-0. 1888. Pembina Mining Co. v. Pennsylvania, 125 U.S. 181. "A private corporation is included under the designation of 'person' in the 14th Amendment."
Peckham (Holmes dis.). 5-4. 1905. Lochner v. New York, 198 U.S. 45. The Contract Clause prevents a state from prescribing working hours.
Scalia. 5-4. 1987. Nollan v. Calif. Coast. Comm., 483 U.S. 825. State may not require public easement as a condition for a building permit.
Stevens. 5-4. 2005. Kelo v. New London, 545 U.S. 469. City may take private property to promote economic growth.
8. Rights of the Accused
Clark. 6-3. 1961. Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U.S. 643. Evidence gained form llegal searches and seizures are inadmissible in state as well as U.S. courts.
Black. 9-0. 1963. Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335. If one cannot afford an attorney, states must provide one in all criminal cases.
Chief Justice Warren. 6-3. 1966. Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436. During interrogation persons have a right to an attorney and may remain silent.
Chief Justice Warren. 8-1. 1968. Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1. If a police officer has a reasonable suspicion, he or she may stop and frisk a suspect.
Kennedy. 5-4. 2004. Boumediene v. Bush, 553 U.S. 723. Alien, enemy combatants at Guantanomo may file for writ of habeas corpus.
9. Cruel and Unusual Punishment
Stewart. 7-2. 1976. Gregg v. Georgia, 428 U.S. 153. Death is not cruel and unusual if jury is instructed properly in a bifurcated trial.
Stevens. 6-3. 2002. Atkins, v Virginia, 536 U.S 304. The death penalty for mentally retarded persons is cruel and unusual.
Kennedy. 5-4. 2005. Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551. Governments may not execute death penalty against persons under age 18.
10. Nation-State Relations
Holmes. 1920. 7-2. Missouri v. Holland, 252 U.S. 416. A treaty to protect migratory birds supersedes state hunting laws.
Per Curiam. 9-0. 1958. Cooper v. Aaron, 358 U.S. 1. "The interpretation of the 14th Amendment by this Court is the supreme law . . . ."
Stevens. 6-3. 2005. Gonzales v. Raich, 545 U.S. 1. The nation has power to regulate medical marijuana as a controlled substance in interstate commerce.
11. Nation-State-Tribal Relations
Chief Justice Marshall. 1831. Cherokee Nation v. Georgia, 30 U.S. 1. Indian nations are not a state or a foreign nation, but "domestic dependent nations."
Chief Justice Marshall. 1832. Worcester v. Georgia, 31 U.S. 515. Only the nation, not the states, has authority over Indian nations.
Stewart. 1978. U.S. v. Wheeler, 435 U.S. 313. "Indian tribes still possess those aspects of sovereignty not withdrawn by treaty or statute, or by implication as a necessary result of their dependent status."
12. Voting Rights
Warren. 8-1. 1964. Reynolds v. Sims, 377 U.S. 533. The Equal Protection Clause requires that both houses of state legislatures be apportioned on the basis of population.
White. 6-3. 1978. Davis v. Bandemer, 478 U.S. 109. Partisan gerrymandering may be justiciable with proper standards.
Alito. 5-4. 2013. Shelby County. v. Holder, 570 U.S. ____. Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act of 1964 is no longer valid.
13. Racial Equality
Chief Justice Taney. 7-2. 1857. Shelley v. Kraemer, 334 U.S. 1. The 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause prevents states enforcing restrictive white covenants.
Chief Justice Warren. 9-0. 1954. Brown v. Bd. of Ed., 374 U.S. 483. State segregation of races in public schools is inherently unequal.
Powell. 5-4. 1978. Bakke v. U. of California, 438 U.S. 265. Racial quotas violate the EPC but race may be used as one factor for admission.
O'Connor. 5-4. 1995. Adarand Constructors v. Pena, 515 U.S. 200. All racial classifications must meet strict scrutiny.
14. Gender Equality
Brennan. 8-1. 1973. Frontiero v. Richardson, 411 U.S. 677. Husbands of military personnel are entitled to the same benefits as wives.
Brennan. 7-2. 1977. Craig v. Boren, 429 U.S. 190. State may not use gender as criterion to set drinking age.
Alito. 5-4. 2007. Ledbetter v. Goodyear, 550 U.S. 618. The time limit of Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prevents filing a discrimination suit after 180 days.
15. Privacy
Douglas. 7-2. 1965. Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479. State prohibition of the use of contraception infringes upon marital privacy.
Stewart. 7-1. 1967. Katz v. U.S., 389 U.S. 347. Calling from a public telephone booth has a reasonable expectation of privacy.
Brennan. 7-2. 1972. Eisenstadt v. Baird, 405 U.S. 438. Couples have a right to be free of government intrusion regarding procreation.
Blackmun. 7-2. 1971. Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113. State may not proscribe abortion during first trimester.
O'Connor, Kennedy, and Souter. 5-4. 1992. Planned Parenthood v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833. State may not place a "substantial obstacle in the path of a woman seeking an abortion before the fetus attains viability."
16. Sexual Equality
Kennedy. 6-3. 2003. Laurence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558. State may not criminalize homosexual conduct.
Chief Justice Roberts. 5-4. 2013. Hollingsworth v. Perry, 570 U.S. ____. Private persons do not have judicial standing to defend Proposition 8, which prohibited same-sex marriages in California.
Kennedy. 5-4. 2013. U.S. v. Windsor, 570 U.S. ____. The national government may not refuse to recognize same-sex marriages.