Reference
Court case search
Find landmark U.S. cases and rulings cited in our readings. Try Miranda, 347 U.S. 483, or school speech.
Browse 89 cases
For more U.S. court opinions, search CourtListener.
Alden v. Maine
527 U.S. 706 (1999)
A state is also immune from suits under federal law in its own courts, unless it consents.
Bailey v. Alabama
219 U.S. 219 (1911)
A state law that made quitting a job after taking an advance a crime created involuntary servitude and violated the amendment.
Barker v. Wingo
407 U.S. 514 (1972)
Courts use a four-factor balancing test to decide whether a delay violated the right to a speedy trial.
Berghuis v. Thompkins
560 U.S. 370 (2010)
A suspect must clearly invoke the right to remain silent; staying silent alone is not enough.
Boehner v. Anderson
30 F.3d 156 (D.C. Cir.) (1994)
Automatic cost-of-living adjustments to congressional pay do not violate the Twenty-seventh Amendment.
Brandenburg v. Ohio
395 U.S. 444 (1969)
The government can punish advocacy only when it is directed at inciting imminent lawless action and is likely to produce it.
Brown v. Board of Education
347 U.S. 483 (1954)
Separate public schools for Black and white children are inherently unequal and violate equal protection.
Brushaber v. Union Pacific Railroad Co.
240 U.S. 1 (1916)
The income tax is valid; the amendment removed the apportionment requirement rather than creating a new taxing power.
Carpenter v. United States
585 U.S. 296 (2018)
Obtaining at least seven days of historical cell-site location records is a Fourth Amendment search. The government generally needs a warrant for those records.
Chiafalo v. Washington
591 U.S. 578 (2020)
A state may penalize an elector who does not vote for the candidate the state’s voters chose.
Chisholm v. Georgia
2 U.S. (2 Dall.) 419 (1793)
A citizen of another state could sue Georgia in federal court; the Eleventh Amendment was ratified in response.
Civil Rights Cases
109 U.S. 3 (1883)
Congress could not use the Thirteenth or Fourteenth Amendment to ban private racial discrimination in public accommodations.
Coleman v. Miller
307 U.S. 433 (1939)
Whether an amendment was ratified within a reasonable time is a question for Congress, not the courts.
Colgrove v. Battin
413 U.S. 149 (1973)
A federal civil jury of six people satisfies the Seventh Amendment.
Crawford v. Washington
541 U.S. 36 (2004)
Out-of-court testimonial statements cannot be used against the accused unless the witness is unavailable and the accused had a chance to cross-examine.
Curtis v. Loether
415 U.S. 189 (1974)
A statutory lawsuit for damages over housing discrimination carries the right to a jury trial.
District of Columbia v. Heller
554 U.S. 570 (2008)
The amendment protects an individual right to keep a handgun at home for self-defense; D.C.’s handgun ban was unconstitutional.
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization
597 U.S. 215 (2022)
The Constitution does not protect a right to abortion; Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey were overruled.
Engblom v. Carey
677 F.2d 957 (2d Cir.) (1982)
National Guard troops are “soldiers,” and a tenant’s residence is a “house” protected by the Third Amendment, which applies to the states.
Ex parte Young
209 U.S. 123 (1908)
A federal court can order a state official to stop violating federal law, even though the state itself is immune.
Furman v. Georgia
408 U.S. 238 (1972)
The death penalty, as then imposed with unchecked discretion, violated the Eighth Amendment.
Gideon v. Wainwright
372 U.S. 335 (1963)
States must provide a lawyer to people charged with felonies who cannot afford one.
Gomillion v. Lightfoot
364 U.S. 339 (1960)
Redrawing city boundaries to remove Black voters was an unconstitutional denial of voting rights.
Goss v. Lopez
419 U.S. 565 (1975)
Students facing a suspension from public school are entitled to notice and an informal hearing.
Graham v. Florida
560 U.S. 48 (2010)
Life without parole cannot be imposed on a juvenile for a crime other than homicide.
Granholm v. Heald
544 U.S. 460 (2005)
A state may not let in-state wineries ship directly to customers while banning out-of-state wineries from doing so.
Gregg v. Georgia
428 U.S. 153 (1976)
The death penalty is not unconstitutional in itself, and may be used under procedures that guide the jury’s discretion.
Griswold v. Connecticut
381 U.S. 479 (1965)
Held that married couples have a constitutional privacy right against a state ban on contraceptives, and pointed to the Third Amendment among several that protect the privacy of the home.
Guinn v. United States
238 U.S. 347 (1915)
A grandfather clause exempting descendants of pre-1866 voters from a literacy test violated the Fifteenth Amendment.
Hans v. Louisiana
134 U.S. 1 (1890)
A state’s own citizens also cannot sue the state in federal court without its consent.
Harman v. Forssenius
380 U.S. 528 (1965)
A state cannot burden the Twenty-fourth Amendment right by requiring a separate, harder registration step for people who do not pay the poll tax.
Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections
383 U.S. 663 (1966)
A poll tax in state elections violates the Equal Protection Clause.
Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier
484 U.S. 260 (1988)
Schools may edit school-sponsored student publications for legitimate educational reasons.
In re Gault
387 U.S. 1 (1967)
Juveniles in delinquency proceedings that could lead to confinement have the right to notice, counsel, and confrontation of witnesses.
Ingraham v. Wright
430 U.S. 651 (1977)
The Eighth Amendment does not apply to corporal punishment in public schools.
J.D.B. v. North Carolina
564 U.S. 261 (2011)
A child’s age must be considered when deciding whether the child is in police custody for Miranda purposes.
Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer Co.
392 U.S. 409 (1968)
Congress may ban racial discrimination in the sale or rental of property as a badge and incident of slavery.
Katz v. United States
389 U.S. 347 (1967)
The Fourth Amendment protects people, not just places; a search occurs when the government violates a reasonable expectation of privacy.
Leser v. Garnett
258 U.S. 130 (1922)
The Nineteenth Amendment was validly ratified and is part of the Constitution.
Loving v. Virginia
388 U.S. 1 (1967)
A state ban on marriage between people of different races violates equal protection and due process.
Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L.
594 U.S. 180 (2021)
A school violated a student’s First Amendment rights by punishing an off-campus social media post.
Mapp v. Ohio
367 U.S. 643 (1961)
Evidence obtained through unconstitutional searches cannot be used in state courts.
Marbury v. Madison
5 U.S. 137 (1803)
The Court held that Congress could not expand the Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction beyond the Constitution. The decision established judicial review of federal laws.
McCulloch v. Maryland
17 U.S. (4 Wheat.) 316 (1819)
Congress may use appropriate means to carry out its powers, and states cannot tax the federal government’s operations.
McDonald v. City of Chicago
561 U.S. 742 (2010)
The Second Amendment right applies to state and local governments through the Fourteenth Amendment.
McPherson v. Blacker
146 U.S. 1 (1892)
A state legislature has broad power to decide how its presidential electors are appointed.
Miller v. Alabama
567 U.S. 460 (2012)
Mandatory life without parole for juveniles is unconstitutional.
Minneapolis & St. Louis Railroad Co. v. Bombolis
241 U.S. 211 (1916)
The Seventh Amendment limits federal courts but does not require state courts to use civil juries.
Minor v. Happersett
88 U.S. 162 (1875)
Citizenship under the Fourteenth Amendment did not by itself include a right to vote for women.
Miranda v. Arizona
384 U.S. 436 (1966)
Statements made during custodial interrogation are inadmissible unless the suspect was warned of their rights.
Moore v. United States
602 U.S. 572 (2024)
Upheld a one-time tax on certain foreign corporations’ earnings, without deciding whether Congress may tax unrealized gains generally.
Mt. Healthy City School District Board of Education v. Doyle
429 U.S. 274 (1977)
A local school board is not an arm of the state and cannot claim Eleventh Amendment immunity.
Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association
584 U.S. 453 (2018)
Congress cannot forbid states from changing their own laws on sports betting.
National Prohibition Cases
253 U.S. 350 (1920)
Upheld the Eighteenth Amendment and the Volstead Act, including the definition of intoxicating liquor.
New Jersey v. T.L.O.
469 U.S. 325 (1985)
School officials may search students on reasonable suspicion, without a warrant or probable cause.
New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen
597 U.S. 1 (2022)
A state may not require a special need to carry a handgun in public, and gun laws are judged by the nation’s historical tradition of regulation.
Obergefell v. Hodges
576 U.S. 644 (2015)
The Fourteenth Amendment requires states to license marriages between same-sex couples and recognize those marriages when lawfully performed in another state.
Oregon v. Mitchell
400 U.S. 112 (1970)
Congress could lower the voting age to 18 for federal elections but not for state and local elections; the Twenty-sixth Amendment followed.
Parsons v. Bedford
28 U.S. (3 Pet.) 433 (1830)
“Suits at common law” means cases of the kind that had juries in 1791, as opposed to equity and admiralty cases.
Plessy v. Ferguson
163 U.S. 537 (1896)
Upheld “separate but equal” segregation; later rejected in Brown v. Board of Education.
Plyler v. Doe
457 U.S. 202 (1982)
States may not deny free public education to children based on their immigration status.
Pollock v. Farmers’ Loan & Trust Co.
157 U.S. 429 (1895)
A federal tax on income from property was a direct tax that had to be apportioned; the Sixteenth Amendment later changed this rule.
Printz v. United States
521 U.S. 898 (1997)
The federal government cannot require state officers to carry out federal background checks.
Ramos v. Louisiana
590 U.S. 83 (2020)
A jury must be unanimous to convict a person of a serious crime in state court.
Ray v. Blair
343 U.S. 214 (1952)
A state may require electors to pledge to support their party’s nominee.
Riley v. California
573 U.S. 373 (2014)
Police generally need a warrant to search the digital contents of a cell phone seized during an arrest.
Roe v. Wade
410 U.S. 113 (1973)
The Court held that the Fourteenth Amendment protected a right to abortion. The Supreme Court overruled Roe in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization in 2022.
Roper v. Simmons
543 U.S. 551 (2005)
The death penalty cannot be imposed for crimes committed before the age of 18.
Safford Unified School District v. Redding
557 U.S. 364 (2009)
A strip search of a student for over-the-counter pills was unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment.
SEC v. Jarkesy
603 U.S. 109 (2024)
A defendant facing civil penalties for securities fraud is entitled to a jury trial rather than an in-house agency proceeding.
Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida
517 U.S. 44 (1996)
Congress cannot use its commerce power to override a state’s immunity from suit in federal court.
Shelby County v. Holder
570 U.S. 529 (2013)
The coverage formula that decided which places needed federal approval for voting changes was unconstitutional.
Smith v. Allwright
321 U.S. 649 (1944)
A political party’s all-white primary violated the amendment.
South Carolina v. Katzenbach
383 U.S. 301 (1966)
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was a valid use of Congress’s power to enforce the amendment.
South Dakota v. Dole
483 U.S. 203 (1987)
Congress may condition a share of federal highway funds on states setting the drinking age at 21.
Stack v. Boyle
342 U.S. 1 (1951)
Bail set higher than necessary to ensure the defendant appears in court is excessive.
Strickland v. Washington
466 U.S. 668 (1984)
A claim of ineffective counsel requires showing deficient performance and a reasonable probability that it changed the result.
Tennessee Wine and Spirits Retailers Association v. Thomas
588 U.S. 504 (2019)
A state cannot require liquor store license applicants to live in the state for two years.
Terry v. Ohio
392 U.S. 1 (1968)
Police may briefly stop someone on reasonable suspicion of criminal activity and frisk for weapons if they reasonably suspect the person is armed and dangerous.
Timbs v. Indiana
586 U.S. 146 (2019)
The Excessive Fines Clause applies to state and local governments.
Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District
393 U.S. 503 (1969)
Students may wear black armbands to protest a war; schools can restrict student speech only when it would substantially disrupt school.
Trump v. Anderson
601 U.S. 100 (2024)
States cannot enforce Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment against candidates for federal office.
United States v. Darby
312 U.S. 100 (1941)
The Tenth Amendment states a “truism” and does not by itself limit powers granted to Congress.
United States v. Kozminski
487 U.S. 931 (1988)
Involuntary servitude means labor compelled by physical or legal coercion.
United States v. Lopez
514 U.S. 549 (1995)
Congress exceeded its commerce power when it banned guns in school zones without a link to interstate commerce.
United States v. Miller
307 U.S. 174 (1939)
Declined to hold that the amendment protects a sawed-off shotgun, because nothing showed it had a reasonable relationship to a well regulated militia.
United States v. Rahimi
602 U.S. 680 (2024)
Upheld a federal ban on firearm possession by a person subject to a domestic-violence restraining order who poses a credible threat.
United States v. Wong Kim Ark
169 U.S. 649 (1898)
A person born in the United States to noncitizen parents is a citizen under the Fourteenth Amendment.
Washington v. Glucksberg
521 U.S. 702 (1997)
Rights not listed in the Constitution must be deeply rooted in the nation’s history and tradition to receive due process protection.