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Reynolds vs United states
George Reynolds, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was charged with bigamy under the federal Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act after marrying a woman while still married to his previous wife. Reynolds argued that the law was unconstitutional. He reasoned that his religion required him to marry multiple women and the law therefore violated his First Amendment right to free exercise of religion. -
Weeks v. United States, 1914
Police officers in Kansas City, Missouri went to the house of Mr. Fremont Weeks and used his hidden key to enter and search his home. While there, they took papers, letters, books, and other items. They did not have a search warrant. These items were used in court to find Mr. Weeks guilty of sending lottery tickets through the U.S. mail. -
Minersville School District v. Gobitis
In 1935, Lillian and William Gobitis were expelled from Pennsylvania public schools for refusing to salute the flag as part of a daily school exercise. The Gobitis children were Jehovah's Witnesses and believed that saluting the flag was forbidden by the Bible. They argued the expulsions violated their First Amendment rights. -
Everson v. Board of Education
A New Jersey law authorized reimbursement by local school boards of the costs. 96% of the private schools who benefitted from this law were parochial Catholic schools. Arch R. Everson, a taxpayer in Ewing Township, filed a lawsuit alleging that this indirect aid to religion violated both the New Jersey state constitution and the First Amendment. After losing in state courts, Everson appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court on constitutional grounds. -
Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District
Students wear bands protesting the Vietnam war. -
Boyle v. Landry
Plaintiffs, several African American residents of Chicago, sought declaratory and injunctive relief against a number of Officials of Cook County and Chicago for the enforcement of a number of Illinois Statutes and Chicago ordinances prohibiting mob action, resisting arrest, aggravated assault, aggravated battery, and intimidation. Plaintiffs contended that the officials violated Plaintiffs' First Amendment right to free speech by threatening enforcement. -
Wisconsin v. Yoder
Jonas Yoder and Wallace Miller, both members of the Old Order Amish religion, and Adin Yutzy, a member of the Conservative Amish Mennonite Church, were prosecuted under a Wisconsin law that required all children to attend public schools until age 16. The three parents refused to send their children to such schools after the eighth grade, arguing that high school attendance was contrary to their religious beliefs. -
McDaniel v. Paty
Since its first state Constitution in 1796, Tennessee has had a statute that prohibited ministers from serving as legislators. In 1977, Paul A. McDaniel, a Baptist minister, filed as a candidate for the state constitutional convention. Another candidate, Selma Cash Paty, sued for a declaratory judgment that McDaniel was disqualified. The Chancery Court held that the statute was unconstitutional because it violated the First and Fourteenth Amendments. -
Board of Education v. Pico
Local school banning books. -
Bethel School District No. 403 v. Fraser
Matthew Fraser was a high school student who gave a speech to nominate another student for a student government office. Approximately 600 other students voluntarily attended the assembly at which the speech was given. The speech included repeated use of an “elaborate, graphic, and explicit sexual metaphor,” in reference to the other student. The speech caused his fellow students to yell and make obscene gestures -
Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier,
Two articles were removed from an issue because the principal found their content objectionable. One story was about teen pregnancy, and the other was about divorce. Cathy Kuhlmeier and two other students from the class sued the school, claiming their 1st Amendment rights had been violated. -
Poling v. Murphy
high school student license to make admittedly "discourteous" and "rude" remarks about his schoolmasters in the course of a speech delivered at a school-sponsored assembly. -
Guiles v. Marineau
States protect the right of a student in the public schools to wear a shirt insulting the President of the United States and depicting images relating to drugs and alcohol. -
Morse v. Frederick,
A public school student was suspended for displaying a banner promoting drug use at a school event.