List of United States Supreme Court cases: Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

This is a chronological list of notable cases decided by the Supreme Court of the United States.

1790-1819

• Chisholm v. Georgia February 19, 1793: first "major" case; federal jurisdiction over suits vs. states
• Marbury v. Madison February 24, 1803: judicial review of laws enacted by Congress
• Stuart v. Laird 1803: enforceability of rulings issued by judges who have since been removed from office
• Ex Parte Bollman 1807: habeas corpus, definition of treason, Supreme Court's power to issue writs to circuit courts
• Fletcher v. Peck March 16, 1810: property rights
• Martin v. Hunter's Lessee March 20, 1816: Loyalist property forfeiture, Supreme Court review of state court judgments
• McCulloch v. Maryland March 6, 1819: doctrine of implied powers
• Trustees of Dartmouth College v. Woodward February 25, 1819: impairment of contracts

• Cohens v. Virginia 1821: judicial review of state supreme court decisions
• Gibbons v. Ogden 1824: Congressional power to regulate interstate commerce
• Cherokee Nation v. Georgia 1831: Indian nations as foreign states
• Worcester v. Georgia 1832: Indian removal
• Barron v. Baltimore 1833: reach of the Bill of Rights

• United States v. The Amistad 1841: slave trade and slave ownership (see Amistad)
• Prigg v. Pennsylvania 1842: runaway slaves
• Souther v. Virginia 1850
• Dred Scott v. Sanford 1857: slavery, citizenship

• Ex Parte Merryman 1861: power to suspend writ of habeas corpus, wartime civil liberties, ignored by Lincoln
• Ex Parte Milligan 1866: habeas corpus, military tribunals
• Ex Parte Garland 1866: retroactive civil disability for former Confederate officers
• Regina v. Hicklin 1868: attorney-client privilege, "work product"
• Ex Parte McCardle 1869: congressional power to limit Supreme Court's appellate jurisdiction
• United States v. Klein 1871
• Slaughterhouse Cases 1872: freedom of employment
• Bradwell v. Illinois 1873: equal protection, excluding women from employment
• United States v. Cruikshank 1875: The First and Second Amendment do not apply to the States, despite the Fourteenth Amendment
• Munn v. Illinois 1876

• Civil Rights Cases 1883
• Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad 1886
• Wabash v. Illinois 1886: individual states can not regulate interstate commerce
• Dent v. West Virginia 1889: state licensing of doctors
• Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad v. Minnesota 1890: states and railway fees
• Nix v. Hedden 1893: status of tomato as fruit or vegetable
• In re Debs 1894: strikes and interstate commerce
• Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co. 1895: income tax and tariffs
• United States v. E. C. Knight Co. 1895: antitrust action; "Sugar Trust Case"
• Plessy v. Ferguson 1896: segregation, "separate but equal"
• United States v. Trans-Missouri Freight Association 1897: railroads and rate fixing
• Hawker v. New York 1898: character and doctor's licenses
• Holden v. Hardy 1898
• United States v. Wong Kim Ark 1898: citizenship and race
• Cumming v. Richmond County Board of Education 1899: segregation in public schools

• Insular Cases 1901: constitutional status of Puerto Rico and the Philippines
  • Armstrong v. United States 1901
  • DeLima v. Bidwell 1901
  • Dooley v. United States 1901
  • Downes v. Bidwell 1901
  • Fourteen Diamond Rings v. United States 1901
  • Goetze v. United States 1901
  • Huus v. New York & Porto Rico S.S. Co. 1901
• Hawaii v. Manikichi 1903, sometimes considered one of the Insular Cases
• Dorr v. United States 1904, sometimes considered one of the Insular Cases
• Kepner v. United States 1904, sometimes considered one of the Insular Cases
• Gonzales v. Williams 1904: Puerto Ricans and illegal aliens
• Rasmussen v. United States 1905, sometimes considered one of the Insular Cases
• Lochner v. New York 1905: freedom of contract, substantive due process
• Northwestern National Life Insurance Co. v. Riggs 1906
• Hale v. Henkel 1906: witness testimony in antitrust cases
• Berea College v. Kentucky 211 US 45 1908: state laws and segregation of educational facilities
• Muller v. Oregon 1908: protective labor laws, protection of women
• Adair v. United States 1908: "yellow-dog" contracts
• Bobbs-Merrill Co v. Straus 1908 Extension of copyright holder rights with license terms
• Dowdell v. United States 1911, sometimes considered one of the Insular Cases
• United States v. Grimaud 1911: Control of forest reserves
• Bauer & Cie. v. O'Donnell 1913 No extending patent with license, no exclusive right by holder on "use" of copyrighted works. Licesened and sold are the same thing if purchased as finished product.
• Ocampo v. United States 1914, sometimes considered one of the Insular Cases
• Guinn v. United States 1915
• Buchanan v. Warley 1917: racial covenants
• Hammer v. Dagenhart 1918: Congressional power to regulate child labor under the Commerce Clause
• Schenck v. United States 1919: freedom of speech, "clear and present danger"

• Balzac v. Porto Rico 1922, sometimes considered one of the Insular Cases
• Adkins v. Children's Hospital 1923: freedom of contract, minimum wage laws
• United States v. Ninety-Five Barrels (More or Less) Alleged Apple Cider Vinegar: Food and Drug Act condemns misleading statements on packaging, even if literally true. [1]
• Gitlow v. New York 1925
• Pierce v. Society of Sisters 1925: privacy
• Myers v. United States 1926
• Buck v. Bell 1927: compulsory sterilization, eugenics
• Whitney v. California 1927
• Near v. Minnesota 1931: freedom of speech
• Powell v. Alabama 1932
• Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States 1935: interstate commerce, New Deal
• West Coast Hotel Co. v. Parrish 1937: freedom of contract, minimum wage laws, "the switch in time that saved nine"
• Connecticut General Life Insurance Company v. Johnson 1938
• United States v. Miller 1939

• Chambers v. Florida 1940
• Edwards v. California 1941
• Betts v. Brady 1942
• Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire 1942: fighting words
• Skinner v. Oklahoma 1942: compulsory sterilization, eugenics
• Smith v. Allwright 1944
• Korematsu v. United States 1944: Japanese internment
• Everson v. Board of Education 1947: First Amendment, Establishment of Religion
• Shelley v. Kraemer 1948: equal protection, racial covenants
• Wheeling Steel Corp. v. Glander 1949
• Wolf v. Colorado 1949: Fourteenth Admendment, state court, evidence from unreasonable search and seizure
• Sweatt v. Painter 1950
• McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regents 1950
• Dennis v. United States 1951
• Rochin v. California 1952: restriction of police power
• Bolling v. Sharpe 1954, segregation
• Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka 1954: segregation , "separate inherently inequal"
• Roth v. United States 1957: obscenity
• NAACP v. Alabama 1958

• Boynton v. Virginia, 364 U.S. 454 1960: racial segregation
• Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U.S. 643 1961: search and seizure, exclusionary rule
• Torcaso v. Watkins, 367 U.S. 488 1961: oaths, religious test, 1st Amendment
• Engel v. Vitale, 370 U.S. 421 1962: school prayer
• Baker v. Carr, 369 U.S. 186 1962: reapportionment issues
• Abington School District v. Schempp, 374 U.S. 203 1963: mandatory bible reading in public school
• Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335 1963: right to counsel
• New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254 1964: freedom of speech, libel
• Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States, 379 U.S. 241 1964: interstate commerce, civil rights, public accommodations
• Wesberry v. Sanders, 376 U.S. 1 1964: size of districts
• Reynolds v. Sims, 377 U.S. 562 1964: population size of districts for state senates.
• Jacobellis v. Ohio, 378 U.S. 184 1964: I know [obscenity] when I see it[.] - Justice Potter Stewart
• Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479 1965: privacy, birth control
• Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections, 383 U.S. 663 1966
• Cleland v. Massachusetts (Actually Memoirs v. Massachusetts), 383 U.S. 413 1966: ruling on obscenity
• Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 1966: self-incrimination, "you have the right to remain silent"
• In Re Gault, 387 U.S. 1 1967: due process, juveniles
• Loving v. Virginia, 388 U.S. 1 1967: interracial marriage
• Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 1968: search and seizure, right of police to stop and frisk suspicious persons
• Street v. New York, 394 U.S. 576 1969
• Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. FCC, 395 U.S. 367 1969: Fairness Doctrine, broadcaster responsibilities, freedom of speech
• Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, 393 U.S. 503 1969: freedom of speech balanced against discipline in public schools
• Brandenburg v. Ohio, 395 U.S. 444 1969: freedom of speech, incitement to riot
• Cohen v. California, 403 U.S. 15 1971: freedom of speech, fighting words/obscenity, "fuck the draft"
• Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, 400 U.S. 803 1971: busing authorized to establish school desegregation
• Lemon v. Kurtzman, 403 U.S. 602 1971: establishment of religion, schools, "the Lemon test"
• Griggs v. Duke Power Co., 401 U.S. 424 1971: employment discrimination; disparate impact of employer practices
• New York Times Co. v. United States 1971: freedom of the press, national security, Pentagon Papers
• Edwards v. Agillard 1971
• Wisconsin v. Yoder 1971: freedom of religion, high school education
• Furman v. Georgia 1972: death penalty, cruel and unusual punishment
• Branzburg v. Hayes, 408 U.S. 665 1972: First Amendment, grand jury, journalists' rights
• Roe v. Wade 1973: abortion, due process, privacy
• Miller v. California 1973: freedom of speech, Miller test for obscenity
• United States v. Nixon 1974: judicial review, executive privilege, separation of powers
• Milliken v. Bradley 1974: segregation, busing
• Miami Herald Publishing Co. v. Tornillo 1974: freedom of speech
• Gregg v. Georgia 1976: death penalty
• Collins v. Smith 1976
• FCC v. Pacifica Foundation 1978 obscenity, FCC policing of obscenity
• Regents of the University of California v. Bakke 1978: racial discrimination, affirmative action

• Consolidated Edison Co. v. Public Serv. Comm'n 447 U.S. 530 1980: freedom of speech (companies including information inserts with bills)
• Plyler v. Doe 457 U.S. 202 1982: children of illegal immigrants may not be refused education
• Bernal v. Fainter, 467 U.S. 216 1984: notary public need not be citizen
• Lynch v. Donnelly, 465 U.S. 668 1984: public religious display on private property
• Sony Corp. v. Universal City Studios, 464 U.S. 417 1984: copyright, VCR "time-shifting", fair use
• Wallace v. Jaffree, 472 U.S. 38 1985: school sponsorship of voluntary religious observances
• Garcia v. San Antonio Metropolitan Transit Authority, 469 U.S. 528 1985
• Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson, 477 U.S. 57 1986
• Bowers v. Hardwick, 478 U.S. 186 1986: homosexuality (later reversed); see also Texas v. Lawrence (2003)
• Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 1986: peremptory challenge, racial discrimination
• Nix v. Whiteside 1986: attorney-client privilege
• South Dakota v. Dole, 483 U.S. 203 1987: Withholding of Federal highway funds to force state to raise drinking age to 21 is permissible
• Edwards v. Aguillard 1987
• Morrison v. Olson 1988 independent counsel's office
• Hustler Magazine v. Falwell, 485 U.S. 46 1988: 1st Amendment; parody, emotional distress
• Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier 1988
• Community For Creative Non-Violence v. Reid 490 U.S. 730 (1989): Copyright, Work for hire
• Martin v. Wilks 1989
• Texas v. Johnson, 491 U.S. 397 1989: freedom of speech (flag burning)
• United States v. Eichman 1990: freedom of speech (flag burning)
• Feist Publications v. Rural Telephone Service Co, 499 U.S. 340 1991: creativity required for copyright protection
• Planned Parenthood v. Casey 1992: abortion
• R. A. V. v. City of St. Paul 1992: fighting words, hate speech
• Lee v. Weisman 1992
• Alexander v. United States 1993
• Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye, Inc. v. City of Hialeah 1993: animal cruelty, freedom of religion
• Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music 1994: copyright, commercial fair use is possible, parody
• United States v. Shabani 1994
• Adarand Constructors v. Peña 1995
• United States v. Alfonso Lopez, Jr. 1995: interstate commerce, gun-free school zones
• Romer v. Evans 1996: equal protection, homosexuality
• Hopwood v. Texas 1996
• 44 Liquormart, Inc. v. State of Rhode Island 1996: restrictions of promotion of alcohol
• Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union 1997: free speech, obscenity, CDA
• Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services 1998: sexual harassment by same sex unlawful
• Hunt v. Cromartie 1999: gerrymandering
• Florida Prepaid Postsecondary Education Expense Board v. College Savings Bank 1999: sovereign immunity of the states

• United States v. Morrison 2000
• Boy Scouts of America v. Dale 2000: right of free association, homosexuality
• Bush v. Gore 2000: Vote recounts in presidential election
• Easley v. Cromartie 2001: racial discrimination, gerrymandering
• Republican Party of Minnesota v. White 2002: election of state judges, freedom of speech
• Eldred v. Ashcroft 2003: copyright duration
• Grutter v. Bollinger 2003: racial discrimination, affirmative action, equal protection
• Gratz v. Bollinger 2003: racial discrimination, affirmative action, equal protection
• Lawrence v. Texas 2003: liberty, due process, homosexuality
• McConnell v. FEC 2003: Some political speech is not protected by the First Amendment
• Doe v. Chao 2004: governmental violation of privacy rights
• Intel Corp. v. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. 2004: foreign tribunals
• Central Laborers' Pension Fund v. Heinz 2004: an ambiguity in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act
• United States v. Benitez 2004: the responsibility of a defendant in the case of a violation of Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 11
• Department of Transportation v. Public Citizen 2004: Presidential foreign affairs and foreign trade Actions
• Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow 2004: Validity of "under God" in Pledge of Allegiance; standing to bring suit on another's behalf.
• Hiibel v. Sixth Judicial District Court of Nevada 2004: State law permitted to require citizens to identify themselves to police.
• Hamdi v. Rumsfeld 2004: detention of American citizens
• Rumsfeld v. Padilla 2004: detention of American citizens
• Rasul v. Bush 2004: jurisdiction over foreign nationals detained in Guantanamo Bay
• Blakely v. Washington 2004: right to jury trial, judge-enhanced criminal sentences