Citation5 U.S. 137, 1 Cranch 137, 2 L. Ed. 60 (1803) Brief Fact Summary. William Marbury (Marbury) requested the Supreme Court of the United States (Supreme Court) to issue a Writ of Mandamus ordering the President, Thomas Jefferson (Jefferson) to appoint him Justice of the Peace. Synopsis of Rule of Law. The Supreme Court has judicial review over acts of Congress. This power allows the Supreme Court to declare those acts that fall outside the legislature’s enumerated powers unconstitutional. ...
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Marsh v. Alabama
Citation326 U.S. 501, 66 S. Ct. 276, 90 L. Ed. 265, 1946 U.S. 3097. Brief Fact Summary. The Appellant, Marsh (Appellant), distributed religious literature on the sidewalks of a company owned town in violation of the town’s regulations. The Appellant claimed her freedom of religion and press were violated and brought suit under the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution (Constitution). Synopsis of Rule of Law. A state cannot, consistently with the freedom of religion and the press guaranteed by the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the Constitution, impose c ...
Jackson v. Metropolitan Co
Citation419 U.S. 345, 95 S. Ct. 449, 42 L. Ed. 2d 477, 1974 U.S. 50. Brief Fact Summary. The Petitioner, Jackson (Petition), claims there was sufficient state action to sue the Respondent, Metropolitan Edison (Respondent), an electricity company, who terminated her electricity without notice or a hearing as the electricity company was heavily regulated by the state. Synopsis of Rule of Law. Termination of services to a customer without notice or hearing by a utility company under heavy state regulation does not constitute state action. ...
Burton v. Wilmington Parking Authority
Citation365 U.S. 715, 81 S. Ct. 856, 6 L. Ed. 2d 45, 1961 U.S. 1297. Brief Fact Summary. The Appellant, Burton (Appellant), brought an action under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution (Constitution), claiming he was discriminated against because the Appellees, the Wilmington Parking Authority and the Eagle Coffee Shoppe, Inc. (Appellees), refused to serve him in their restaurant based solely on the Appellant’s race. The Appellant claims there is state action sufficient to bring a Fourteenth Amendment claim, as the Eagle Coffee Shopp ...
Moose Lodge No. 107 v. Irvis
Citation407 U.S. 163, 92 S. Ct. 1965, 32 L. Ed. 2d 627, 1972 U.S. 44. Brief Fact Summary. The Appellee, Irvis (Appellee), brought suit against the Appellants, Moose Lodge No. 107 (Moose Lodge) a private club and the State liquor board (Appellants) alleging discrimination under the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution (Constitution) because of the club’s policies against non-whites. Synopsis of Rule of Law. The granting of a liquor license to a private club that discriminated against non-whites does not significantly involve the state as to constitute a state action. ...
Shelley v. Kraemer
Citation334 U.S. 1, 68 S. Ct. 836, 92 L. Ed. 1161, 1948 U.S. 2764. Brief Fact Summary. The Petitioners, a black family (Petitioners), brought an action and argued that the judicial enforcement of a discriminatory restrictive covenant was state action, thereby allowing the Petitioner to bring an action under the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution (Constitution). Synopsis of Rule of Law. A state’s judicial enforcement of a restrictive covenant that discriminates against non-whites is considered to be a state action thus permitting an action under the Fourteenth Amend ...
Flagg Brothers v. Brooks
Citation436 U.S. 149, 98 S. Ct. 1729, 56 L. Ed. 2d 185, 1978 U.S. 90. Brief Fact Summary. The Respondents, Brooks and her family (Respondents), allege that the State of New York had delegated to the Petitioners, Flagg Brothers (Petitioners), a power normally reserved to the states, thus, before the Petitioners could sell her goods a prior judicial hearing was needed. Synopsis of Rule of Law. The United States Constitution (Constitution) prohibits state action, which infringes upon protected individual rights. State action can be found in the actions of private individuals, when a private en ...
Employment Division, Department of Human Resources v. Smith
Citation494 U.S. 872, 110 S. Ct. 1595, 108 L. Ed. 2d 876, 1990 U.S. 2021. Brief Fact Summary. The Respondent, Smith (Respondent), sought unemployment compensation benefits after he was fired from his job for using peyote in a religious ceremony. The Oregon Supreme Court ruled that the Respondent should be awarded unemployment compensation as his right to free exercise of religion was violated. The Petitioner, the Employment Division, Department of Human Resources (Petitioner), appeal the case. Synopsis of Rule of Law. The right of free exercise does not relive an individual of the obligatio ...
Lynch v. Donnelly
Citation465 U.S. 668, 104 S. Ct. 1355, 79 L. Ed. 2d 604, 1984 U.S. 37. Brief Fact Summary. The Plaintiff, Daniel Donnelly (Plaintiff), objects to a crèche included in a Christmas display as violating the Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution (Constitution). Synopsis of Rule of Law. Displays which celebrate the Christmas season without favoring one religion over another are generally upheld. The government cannot permit the type of display, which would endorse one religion over another because Establishment Clause of the Constitution would be violated. ...
Mueller v. Allen
Citation463 U.S. 388, 103 S. Ct. 3062, 77 L. Ed. 2d 721, 1983 U.S. 96. Brief Fact Summary. This case involves an appeal alleging that a Minnesota statute, which allows parents to deduct school related expenses pertaining to both private and public schools, violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution (Constitution). Synopsis of Rule of Law. A state statute that allows parents to deduct school related expenses, applicable to both private and public schools does not have the primary effect of advancing the sectarian aims of the non-public schools ...
Lee v. Weisman
Citation505 U.S. 577, 112 S. Ct. 2649, 120 L. Ed. 2d 467, 1992 U.S. 4364. Brief Fact Summary. The Defendant, Rachel Weisman (Defendant), alleges that a school sponsored, non-denominational prayer offered at a public school graduation violated the Religion Clauses of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution (Constitution). Synopsis of Rule of Law. A public school cannot sponsor clerics to conduct even a non-denominational prayer as part of a graduation ceremony as the Constitution guarantees that government may not coerce anyone to support or participate in religion or its exerc ...
Richmond Newspapers v. Virginia
Citation448 U.S. 555, 100 S. Ct. 2814, 65 L. Ed. 2d 973, 1980 U.S. 18. Brief Fact Summary. The Appellant, Richmond Newspapers (Appellant), moves to have a judicial order for closure of a criminal trial to the press and the public overturned as a violation of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution (Constitution). Synopsis of Rule of Law. The First Amendment of the Constitution guarantees both the public and the press a right to attend criminal trials. However, this right is not absolute and may be outweighed where the judge finds an overriding interest that cannot be accommoda ...
Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. FCC
Citation395 U.S. 367, 89 S. Ct. 1794, 23 L. Ed. 2d 371, 1 Med. L. Rptr. 2053 (1969) Brief Fact Summary. The Plaintiff, the Red Lion Broadcasting Co. (Plaintiff), alleges that its First Amendment constitutional rights were violated by the Defendant, the Federal Communication Commission (Defendant). The Plaintiff argued that a rule passed by the Defendant, requiring a person or group whose character, honesty or integrity is attacked on the Plaintiff’s broadcast be given the opportunity to respond to the attack is unconstitutional. Synopsis of Rule of Law. The First Amendment of the Uni ...
Branzburg v. Hayes
Citation408 U.S. 665, 92 S. Ct. 2646, 33 L. Ed. 2d 626, 1972 U.S. 132. Brief Fact Summary. The Petitioner, Branzburg (Petitioner), a newsman, alleges he has a First Amendment constitutional right to refuse to disclose in front of a grand jury, information he received from confidential sources. Synopsis of Rule of Law. Newsmen do not have a First Amendment constitutional right to refuse to testify in front of grand juries regarding confidential information they received in the course of their news collection. ...
United States v. O’Brien
Citation391 U.S. 367, 88 S. Ct. 1673, 20 L. Ed. 2d 672, 1968 U.S. 2910. Brief Fact Summary. On the morning of March 31, 1966, the Respondents, David Paul O’Brien (O’Brien) and three companions (Respondents), burned their Selective Service registration certificates on the steps of the South Boston Courthouse. A sizeable crowd, including several agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), witnessed the event. Immediately after the burning, O’Brien stated to FBI agents that he had burned his registration certificate because of his beliefs, knowing that he was violatin ...
Buckley v. Valeo
Citation424 U.S. 1, 96 S. Ct. 612, 46 L. Ed. 2d 659, 1976 U.S. 16. Brief Fact Summary. A Restriction on campaign finances was alleged to violate First Amendment of the United States Constitution’s (Constitution) freedom of speech. Synopsis of Rule of Law. A restriction on the amount of money a person or group can spend on political communications during a campaign necessarily reduces the quantity of expression by restricting the number of issues discussed, the depth of their exploration and the size of the audience reached. ...
Police Department of Chicago v. Mosley
Citation408 U.S. 92, 92 S. Ct. 2286, 33 L. Ed. 2d 212, 1972 U.S. 133. Brief Fact Summary. The Respondent, Earl Mosely (Respondent), was convicted on a charge of disorderly conduct stemming from his picketing of Jones Commercial High School, in violation of a Chicago ordinance outlawing his conduct, but permitting the picketing of any school involved in a labor dispute. Synopsis of Rule of Law. The government may not grant the use of a forum to people whose views it finds acceptable, but deny use to those wishing to express less favored or more controversial views and it may not select which ...
Lehman v. City of Shaker Heights
Citation418 U.S. 298, 94 S. Ct. 2714, 41 L. Ed. 2d 770, 1974 U.S. 25. Brief Fact Summary. The Petitioner, Lehman (Petitioner), a candidate for the office of state representative, sought to promote his candidacy by purchasing car card space on the Shaker Heights Rapid Transit System for the months of August, September and October. Synopsis of Rule of Law. In much the same way that a newspaper, periodical, radio or television station need not accept every proffer of advertising from the general public, a city transit system has discretion to develop and make reasonable choices concerning the ...
Adderley v. Florida
Citation385 U.S. 39, 87 S. Ct. 242, 17 L. Ed. 2d 149, 1966 U.S. 238. Brief Fact Summary. This matter arises from approximately 200 Florida A&M students protesting the prior arrest of several of their classmates following a civil rights demonstration. Synopsis of Rule of Law. The United States Constitution (Constitution) does not forbid a State to control the use of its own property for its own lawful, non-discriminatory purpose. The State, no less than a private owner of property, has power to preserve the property under its control for the use to which it is lawfully dedicated. ...
Beauharnais v. Illinois
Citation343 U.S. 250, 72 S. Ct. 725, 96 L. Ed. 919, 1952 U.S. 2799. Brief Fact Summary. The Petitioner, Beauharnais (Petitioner), president of the White Circle League, organized the distribution of a leaflet setting forth a petition calling on the mayor and the city counsel of Chicago to “halt the further encroachment, harassment and invasion of white people, their property, neighborhoods and persons, by the Negro.” The leaflet called for “one million self-respecting white people in Chicago to unite” and added that, “if persuasion and the need to prevent the whi ...
R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul
Citation505 U.S. 377, 112 S. Ct. 2538, 120 L. Ed. 2d 305, 1992 U.S. 3863. Brief Fact Summary. After allegedly burning a cross on a black family’s lawn, the Petitioner, R.A.V. (Petitioner) a teenager, was charged under the St. Paul, Minnesota, Bias-Motivated Crime Ordinance (the Ordinance), which prohibits the display of a burning cross, swastika or other symbol that one knows or has reason to know “arouses anger, alarm or resentment in others” on the basis of race, color, creed, religion or gender. Synopsis of Rule of Law. A content-based distinction within a category of e ...
Young v. American Mini-Theatres
Citation427 U.S. 50, 96 S. Ct. 2440, 49 L. Ed. 2d 310, 1976 U.S. 3. Brief Fact Summary. Zoning ordinances adopted by the city of Detroit require that adult theatres be dispersed. Specifically, an adult theatre may not be located within 1,000 feet of any two other “regulated uses” or within 500 feet of a residential area. A theater is classified as “adult” if it is used to present “material distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on matter depicting, describing or relating to Specified Sexual Activities or Specified Anatomical Areas.” These ordinances ...
FCC v. Pacifica Foundation
Citation438 U.S. 726, 98 S. Ct. 3026, 57 L. Ed. 2d 1073, 1978 U.S. 135. Brief Fact Summary. A satiric humorist named George Carlin (Carlin) recorded a 12-minute monologue entitled “Filthy Words” before a live audience in a California theatre. Carlin began by referring to his thoughts about the words that could not be said on the public airwaves. Then, Carlin proceeded to list those words and repeat them over and over again. Synopsis of Rule of Law. The concept of indecent is intimately connected with the exposure of children to language that describes, in terms patently offensiv ...
Cohen v. California
Citation403 U.S. 15, 91 S. Ct. 1780, 29 L. Ed. 2d 284, 1971 U.S. 32. Brief Fact Summary. The Appellant, Paul Robert Cohen (Appellant), was convicted in the Los Angeles Municipal Court of violating California Penal Code Section:415, which prohibits “maliciously and willfully disturbing the peace or quiet of any neighborhood or person, by offensive conduct.” Appellant was given 30 days imprisonment. Synopsis of Rule of Law. We are often captives outside the sanctuary of the home and subject to objectionable speech. The ability of government to shut off discourse solely to protect ...