US Constitutional Law: Landmark Cases

Constitution only applies to actions by the Federal Government

Procedural holding that Black people are not citizens so cannot sue. Substantive that the government cannot take a person's property under 5A due process

13A and 14A were to give equal protection to former slaves. The privileges and immunities clause of the 14A only guarantees only the bare minimum of federal rights

Textual; Framers' Intent (the men specifically, the ratifying conventions, or the original meaning at the time); Reconciling different parts of the Constitution; Arguments from Precedent; Value Arguments

Grounds the right to travel in the 14A privileges and immunities clause which includes the right to equal treatment to other citizens, strikes down a law denying welfare to recent citizens

Sets selective corporation for rights essential to fundamental fairness or an ordered scheme of liberty

Incorporates the 6A jury right

All rights but the 5A grand jury indictment requirement and 8A excessive bail provision

Incorporated the 5A exclusionary rule

Found an individual right to carry a firearm

2A is fundamental and is incorporated

Ex Post Facto clause does not apply in civil cases. Chase v. Iredell debate.

Can regulate railroads, but there are limits beyond which the government can't go

Not every use of police powers are legitimate, cannot be a pretense and the Court will look at the substance

First law struck down as a deprivation of liberty of contract through due process

Struck down maximum hours law for bakers as unreasonable and arbitrary violations of the freedom of contract

Upheld a law providing maximum hours for women, finding a paternalistic public interest

Struck down a federal law that limited the hours of women under due process

Law compelling laborers to carry out contracts they wished to breach violated the 13A prohibition on involuntary servitude

Milk price limits upheld as a regulation in the public common interest, and not unreasonable

Ended the Lochner era, upheld a minimum wage law for women as reasonably regulating in the public interest

Filled milk case, upheld the law under minimum scrutiny

Heightened scrutiny for explicit constitutional rights, democracy rights, and laws attacking discrete and insular minorities

Upholds a regulation preventing opticians from fitting lenses, uses DP and minimum scrutiny, finding a hypothetical reason for the law

Limitations on punitive damages in civil cases

Invalidated a punitive damages that were grossly excessive, used due process

Struck down a law prohibiting teaching foreign languages, holding DP liberty involves freedom to raise children how you want

Struck down a law requiring children to attend public schools, due process includes a liberty to direct the upbringing and education of your children

Struck down a eugenics law under equal protection, using strict scrutiny

Bill of Rights gives an implied right to privacy that includes the marital relationship. Strikes down a law barring contraceptives for married couples

Uses EP to strike down a law prohibiting contraceptives for single people as part of the fundamental right to privacy.

Used strict scrutiny to strike down a prohibition on the sale of contraceptives to minors even with parental consent. Recognized a fundamental DP right to privacy protecting the right necessitating strict scrutiny

Right to Privacy gives a due process right to an abortion that is not absolute. State interests through the trimester system.

Abortion is a negative right, no government obligation to assist, so minimum scrutiny

No 5A right to subsidize abortion

Roe didn't factor in state interests in the first trimester, so moves to the undue burden test. Struck down a husband notification requirement, not an information requirement, 24 hour waiting requirement, or a parental consent requirement with a judicial bypass

Unworkable; Reliance Interests; Evolution of Legal Principles and Doctrine; Factual Changes

Upheld a partial birth abortion ban under DP since it only applied to one method so was not a substantial obstacle. Lack of health exception is okay since it's unclear what the risks are and Court gives legislature discretion there

Held admitting privileges and surgical center requirements undue burdens

Reaffirmed Casey's Undue Burden standard

Struck down interracial marriage ban on EP grounds

Right to marriage is a fundamental DP right, so law prohibiting marriage if you had outstanding child support failed strict scrutiny since there were other ways of ensuring payment

Struck down a prison regulation preventing inmantes' right to marry as a violation of a fundamental right that failed strict scrutiny since physical intimacy is not the only benefit of marriage

Struck down a housing ordinance limiting occupancy to the nuclear family, recognizing a DP constitutional right to choose family relations

No right to choose family relations to those unrelated to you

DP fundamental right to choosing visitation rights for you children

Struck down the Colorado amendment under EP, holding it fails minimum scrutiny due to animus

Applies to suspect classifications or deprivations of a fundamental right. Requires a compelling government interest and necessary means

Applies to gender classifications. Requires an important government interest and substantially related means

Rational basis review. Requires a legitimate state interest and rationally related means

Due process privacy right to choose an intimate partner, no level of scrutiny given so not clear if it's fundamental

Struck down DOMA on DP and EP grounds. Found the law based on animus in violation of dignity rights.

Strikes down laws prohibiting gay marriage under DP and EP grounds. Recognizes marriage as a fundamental right which is extended to gay couples here. Unclear what level of scrutiny applies.

There is a DP liberty right to refuse treatment, but when the person is incompetent used a balancing test to uphold restrictions

No DP right to assisted suicide, at least as long as you can give the person painkillers

EPC isn't violated by a law permitting refusing life saving treatment but prohibiting assisted suicide, not the same thing

Upheld a truck advertising law under EP using minimum scrutiny. Just need a constitutional purpose and a hypothetical argument

Struck down a food stamps limitation for houses of unrelated persons as based on animus, which is not a legitimate purpose

Struck down a property tax law because it was irrational and arbitrary in making one person pay more

Court used EP to order a Black student's admission to UT law because the alternative couldn't match its facilities, reputation, and prestige

Struck down school segregation under DP, since it cannot be equal when it gives Black students feelings of inferiority and deprives them of equal opportunity to succeed

Interpreted an equal protection element of the 5A due process clause

School systems must take whatever steps necessary to convert to a unitary system without discrimination, an affirmative duty

Upheld a busing plan since geographic school zones had not achieved desegregation

Even if there was not statutory segregation, if you can prove intentional state racial segregation, even in just part of the school district, you must desegregate

Inter-district remedies are only okay for inter-district violations, here people voluntarily left so no de jure segregation. Would be different if the state created one big system.

Once desegregation has achieved, if schools segregate based on de facto action then there is no basis for a remedy

Private prejudice cannot be used as a state interest

Struck down an interracial cohabitation law under EP, using strict screutiny

Announced strict scrutiny

Application of a laundry law was applied in a discriminatory way, allowing for an inference of intentional discrimination under EP

No discriminatory purpose found in a swimming pool law since no duty to run them and it affected both races evenly

Police test case. To have a EP violation, must have a discriminatory purpose. Impact is not enough, but it shifts the burden to the state to show a non-racial reason

Upheld a zoning law. To have an EP violation, must show that discriminatory purpose was a motivating factor, given the circumstances and stated reasons

To find purpose under Arlington Heights, can consider context, facts, departure from historical routine

Under the Civil Rights Laws, to prove discriminatory impact with a statistic you must also show the policy causes the disparity

Quota admissions policy is unconstitutional, Powell advocates for strict scrutiny

Firing plan that has exceptions for minority teachers was unconstitutional using strict scrutiny, and providing role models is not compelling

Court upheld a federal minority set aside program using minimum scrutiny, but scrutiny was later heightened

Strict scrutiny applies to racial affirmative action, and since there was no official discrimination and no evidence of private discrimination, there was no compelling interest

Upheld an affirmative action admissions policy under strict scrutiny, finding a compelling interest in obtaining diversity in higher education and that the plan was narrowly tailored because it was flexible with race as a factor but no quota

Upheld Texas' 10% plan under Grutter. Universities must show the educational benefits of diversity were not obtained before using the plan, but the record reflects that here

Upheld a state amendment prohibiting affirmative action

Struck down a racial student assignment plan using strict scrutiny, finding no compelling interest in diversity since there was no official discrimination and it wasn't higher education and because quotas are not narrowly tailored

Court struck down districting plan that considered race because the district shape shows race was a predominant factor, triggering strict scrutiny

Struck down a voting district based on race, bizarre shape is not a test, issue is whether race was a predominant factor motivating the district. P must show that race subordinated traditional race-neutral districting principles

Struck down a voting district, since neither race-based redistricting nor any shape was required by the VRA, no compelling interests

Upheld a voting district since race was a factor but not predominant

Upheld a voting district since P must show race was a predominant factor, not just that it was used. Considering politics is an okay justification.

Establishes intermediate standard of review for gender distinctions. The distinction based on gender must itself be substantially related. Not the case in this alcohol law case.

Struck down an all-woman nursing school policy, requiring an exceedingly persuasive justification for the classification. Since most nurses are already women, the means were not substantially related and instead reflected stereotypes

Gender distinctions require an exceedingly persuasive justification for using gender to achieve an important governmental interest, which is substantially related. Here, the fact that some women could go to VMI showed that the means were not substantially related.

Drawing distinctions based on pregnancy does not trigger strict scrutiny unless it is a pretext

Gender distinctions in a statutory rape law meet intermediate scrutiny because women have more natural deterrent, making the distinction substantially related to preventing teenage pregnancy

Upheld law requiring men to register for the draft, since they were the only ones who can go to combat it's substantially related

Used intermediate scrutiny to strike down a law preventing unmarried fathers from vetoing an adoption, holding it based on overbroad generalizations

Upheld a law treating children born out of wedlock differently depending on which parent is a citizen. Since mothers have a more natural relationship, this meets intermediate scrutiny.

Prohibits employment discrimination for transgendered and gay people because that characteristic is inextricably linked to sex

Used Arlington's reasoning to determine if disparate impact shows intent. When a statute is actually gender neutral, must look at whether its effect reflects intentional gender discrimination that shaped the legislation

Struck down a social security law giving fewer death benefits to widowers under EP

Upheld a benefits plan giving women a pay boost under intermediate scrutiny, since remedying past discrimination was an important government objective

Struck down a policy making widowers prove actual dependence for benefits using intermediate scrutiny since it relies on the stereotype that women are more dependent

Struck down a poll tax under EP, cannot deprive the vote based on wealth

Struck down a voting law under strict scrutiny because voting is a fundamental right

Struck down a voting law under EP restricting the vote to landowners since all citizens had a stake in the matter

Upheld a restrictive voting law because third party impact on non-voters was minimal, so this was justified using minimum scrutiny

Section 2 of the 14A allows for the disenfranchisement of felons under minimum scrutiny

Upheld a voter ID law using a balancing test

Used EP to strike down unequal voting districts and state senates based on equal representation. Prohibits vote dilution

Partisan gerrymandering claims are non justiciable political questions

DP and EP require a trial transcript so that a D may have a meaningful appeal

DP and EP require the state provide counsel for a first appeal of right

No DP or EP right to counsel on discretionary appeals

DP and EP right to counsel on your first appeal, regardless of right

Due Process right to obtaining a divorce as a privacy matter since that is exclusively given by the state

No right to bankruptcy since there are other, non-state alternatives

No right to welfare since that is a benefit the government is giving, not something they're taking

DP fairness right to a paternity blood test since paternity is a quasi-criminal matter

No constitutional right to housing or not being evicted

Poverty is not a suspect EP right, and education is not a fundamental interest, so minimum scrutiny used to uphold the tax plan for funding schools