Recent Supreme Court Decisions
Johnson v. United States (June 26, 2015)
Criminal statutes that impose sentencing enhancements for violent felonies are unconstitutionally vague and violate due process if they define violent felonies broadly as conduct that presents a serious potential risk of physical injury to another.
Obergefell v. Hodges (June 26, 2015)
Under the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, all states must license a marriage between two people of the same sex and recognize such a marriage if it was lawfully licensed and performed in another state.
Texas Dep't of Hous, & Cmity Affairs v. Inclusive Communities Project, Inc. (June 25, 2015)
Claims of housing discrimination based on disparate impact rather than a showing of discriminatory intent may be brought under the Fair Housing Act. To defeat a defense based on business justification or a public interest, a plaintiff must identify an available alternative that serves the defendant's needs and would have less disparate impact.
King v. Burwell (June 25, 2015)
Under the Affordable Care Act, an exchange to compare and purchase insurance plans shall be deemed established by the state regardless of whether the exchange is established by a state or the federal government. While the language of the ACA is ambiguous, its structure suggests that any other interpretation would hinder its operation by undermining the individual insurance markets in states with a federal exchange.
Los Angeles v. Patel (June 22, 2015)
Facial challenges to laws under the Fourth Amendment are permissible, and laws authorizing warrantless searches must be evaluated in terms of the searches that they expressly authorize rather than those that may be permissible under exceptions to the warrant requirement. An administrative search will not be constitutional unless pre-compliance review by a neutral decision-maker is available.
Kimble v. Marvel Entertainment, LLC (June 22, 2015)
Unless Congress passes legislation to the contrary, there is a general rule that patents expire 20 years from the original application date, at which stage the public receives the unrestricted right to make or use the patented subject matter.
Kingsley v. Hendrickson (June 22, 2015)
An objective standard is appropriate to judge the mental state of law enforcement officers in actions giving rise to civil rights claims of excessive force under 42 U.S.C. 1983. The inquiry into whether the officer purposely or knowingly used unreasonable force should be evaluated according to the perspective of a reasonable officer in the defendant's position with the defendant's knowledge.
Horne v. Dep't of Agriculture (June 22, 2015)
The principle of just compensation under the Takings Clause in the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution applies to personal property as well as real property, and a taking may occur even if the property owner was able to retain a contingent interest of indeterminate value.
Most Read Opinions
Tennessee v. Garner, 471 U.S. 1 (1985)
Under the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, a police officer may use deadly force to prevent the escape of a fleeing suspect only if the officer has probable cause to believe that the suspect poses a significant threat of death or serious physical injury to the officer or others.
Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (1968)
Under the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, a police officer may stop a suspect on the street and frisk him or her 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 of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 (1954)
The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits states from segregating public school students on the basis of race. This marked a reversal of the "separate but equal" doctrine from Plessy v. Ferguson that had permitted separate schools for white and colored children provided that the facilities were equal.
Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966)
Under the Fourth Amendment, any statements that a defendant in custody makes during an interrogation are admissible as evidence at a criminal trial only if law enforcement told the defendant of the right to remain silent and the right to speak with an attorney before the interrogation started. The prosecution also must be able to prove that any waiver of these rights was both knowing and voluntary.
Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963)
The government's withholding of evidence that is material to the determination of either guilt or punishment of a criminal defendant violates the defendant's constitutional right to due process.
Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973)
A person may choose to have an abortion until a fetus becomes viable, based on the right to privacy contained in the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Viability means the ability to live outside the womb, which usually happens between 24 and 28 weeks after conception.
Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U.S. 643 (1961)
The prosecution is not allowed to present evidence that law enforcement secured during a search that was unconstitutional under the Fourth Amendment.
Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558 (2003)
A Texas law criminalizing consensual, adult homosexual intercourse violates the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 (1896)
Later overruled by Brown v. Board of Education, this decision embraced the now-discredited idea that “separate but equal” treatment for whites and African-Americans is permissible under the Fourteenth Amendment.
Tinker v. Des Moines School District, 393 U.S. 503 (1969)
Since First Amendment protections extend to students in public schools, educational authorities who want to censor speech will need to show that permitting the speech would significantly interfere with the discipline needed for the school to function.
