1st Amendment Cases

  • Creation of the 1st Amendment

    Creation of the 1st Amendment
    The First Amendment to The Constitution was verified along with the rest of The United States Constitution.
  • United States v. Cruikshank

    United States v. Cruikshank
    This was the earliest case to address the State's right to prohibit the 1st Amendment, which lead to the creation of the 14th Amendment
  • Debs v. United States

    Debs v. United States
    A socialist aspiring politician spoke out against The United States' involvement in World War one and was sent to jail because of it. The act that put him behind bars inspired controversy and led to a court case.
  • Gitlow v. New York

    Gitlow v. New York
    Several left-wing anarchists and communists were convicted for violating the Espionage Act of 1917 and Sedition Act of 1918 and sent to prison for what they said.
  • Whitney v. California

    Whitney v. California
    This was a United States Supreme Court decision upholding the conviction of an individual who had engaged in speech that "raised a threat to society."
  • Martin v. Struthers

    Martin v. Struthers
    This was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court said that a law prohibiting the distribution of handbills from door to door violated the First Amendment rights of a Jehovah's Witness.
  • McCollum v. Board of Education

    McCollum v. Board of Education
    Public schools were using class time to teach religion in a non-informative sense but in a factual one, and it was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
  • Abington School District v. Schempp

    Abington School District v. Schempp
    The Supreme Court declared Bible reading in public schools to be unconstitutional.
  • Caroll v. Town of Princess Anne

    Caroll v. Town of Princess Anne
    Stated that someone must be given a reason for being summoned into court.
  • Coates v. Cincinnati

    Coates v. Cincinnati
    The Supreme Court held that a local city ordinance that made it a criminal offense for three or more people to assemble on a sidewalk and annoy others walking by was unconstitutional.
  • Capitol Square Review & Advisory Board v. Pinette

    Capitol Square Review & Advisory Board v. Pinette
    A KKK member wanted to place an unattended cross on public property outside the city hall, and it was declared illegal by the state.
  • Snyder v. Phelps

    Snyder v. Phelps
    "United States Supreme Court case where the Supreme Court ruled that speech on a matter of public concern, on a public street, cannot be the basis of liability for a tort of emotional distress, even in the circumstances that the speech is viewed or interpreted as "offensive" or "outrageous"." -Wikipedia