Recent Supreme Court Decisions
Evenwel v. Abbott (April 4, 2016)
The Fourteenth Amendment and the one-person, one-vote principle encourage states to create legislative districts with equal total populations, rather than equal voter populations. Voting eligibility is not an appropriate way to define population because representatives serve non-voters as well as voters.
Nichols v. United States (April 4, 2016)
The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act does not require sex offenders to update their registration when they change their residence to a foreign country outside SORNA jurisdiction, and the law does not require them to remove themselves from the sex offender registry before establishing residence in another country.
Woods v. Etherton (April 4, 2016)
During a criminal trial, the prosecution may describe information provided by an anonymous informant without violating the Confrontation Clause or hearsay rules of evidence if the judge instructs the jury that this information is not admitted as evidence to prove the truth of the facts in the informant's statement. Also, a defense attorney's failure to challenge the prosecution's statements on hearsay grounds does not constitute ineffective assistance of counsel.
Luis v. United States (March 30, 2016)
The Sixth Amendment does not permit the government to place pre-trial restraints on the untainted assets of a criminal defendant if the defendant needs those assets to retain legal counsel of his or her choice.
Friedrichs v. California Teachers Assn. (March 29, 2016)
[There was no holding because an eight-member court was equally divided on the issue, allowing the decision of the lower court to stand.]
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.
