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Famous Legal Decisions
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Roth vs. United States
A landmark case presented the United States Supreme Court which redefined the Constitutional test for determining what constitutes obscene material unprotected by the First Amendment. -
Mapp vs. Ohio
A case decided in 1961 by the U.S. Supreme Court, Dollree Mapp was convicted in a state court of possessing pornographic material in violation of Ohio law. -
Baker vs. Carr
Charles Baker, a voter, brought suit against the state (Joe Carr was a state official in charge of elections) in federal district court, claiming that the dilution of his vote as a result of the state's failure to reapportion violated the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution. -
Gideon vs. Wainwright
In the case, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that state courts are required under the Sixth Amendment of the Constitution to provide counsel in criminal cases for defendants who are unable to afford their own attorneys. -
Reynolds vs. Sims
The case began in 1962, when the Supreme Court ruled that it had authority to review cases brought by individuals harmed by legislative apportionment or redistricting. -
Escobedo vs. illinois
A United States Supreme Court case holding that criminal suspects have a right to counsel during police interrogations under the Sixth Amendment. -
Griswold vs. Connecticut
The case involved a Connecticut law that prohibited the use of contraceptives. By a vote of 7–2, the Supreme Court invalidated the law on the grounds that it violated the "right to marital privacy". -
Englel vs. Vitale
Determined that it is unconstitutional for state officials to compose an official school prayer and require its recitation in public schools. -
Miranda vs. Arizona
The Court held that both inculpatory and exculpatory statements made in response to interrogation by a defendant in police custody will be admissible at trial only if the prosecution can show that the defendant was informed of the right to consult with an attorney before and during questioning and of the right against self-incrimination prior to questioning by police.
