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Rosenberg vs. Board of Education of City of New York
When Oliver Twist and the Merchant of Venice were challenged because it was thought that they promoted hatred of the Jews, Kings County Supreme Court ruled that the two works could not be banned from the New York City schools because there was no substantial reason to do so. This case made clear that the reader must look past the religious and cultural backgrounds of characters in fictional literature to find its true literary value. -
Todd vs. Rochester Community Schools
The Michigan Court of Appeals decided that Slaughterhouse-Five could not be banned from Michigan Schools. This case pointed out that literature should not be withheld from students, they are free to form their own ideas and opinion about its content. -
Minarcini vs. Strongsville City School District
The Strongsville City School District would not approve faculty recommendations for the use of Joseph Heller's Catch-22 and Kurt Vonnegut's God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater as textbooks. Catch-22 and Cat's Cradle by Vonnegut were removed from the library. A court ruling upheld the board's right to reject the use of the books as part of the curriculum, but not the removal of the books citing that the board doesn't have the right to decide what information is available in the library. -
Right to Read Defense Committee vs. Chelsea Board
The Chelsea School Committee voted to remove the poetry anthology, Male and Female Under 18, from the high school library because it included a poem that they deemed offensive. They were sued by the Right to Read Defense Committee. The book was returned to the shelves pointing out that a library is a place for students to expand their learning and thinking, and access to literature about difficult social situations is crucial. -
Loewen vs. Turnipseed
A textbook purchasing board in Mississippi refused to purchase Mississippi: Conflict and Change for use in the Mississippi public schools because they felt that it was controversial and too concerned with racial matters. The authors of the textbook filed a suit and it was determined that they were denied their right of freedom of speech and press because the criteria used for rejecting the book were not justifiable. -
Island Trees vs. Pico
Members of the Island Trees school board wanted to remove several books from the high school and junior high school because they believed that they were anti-American, anti-Christian, and anti-semitic. The Supreme Court ruled that the books should not be removed because the authors held different viewpoints from the petitioners and that students have a right to receive information. -
Counts vs. Cedarville School District
The Cedarville School District voted to restrict access to the Harry Potter book series because they felt that it promoted witchcraft and disrespectful behavior. The decision was overturned by the District Court citing that the restriction violated students' First Amendment right to read a book on the basis of an undifferentiated fear of disturbance or because the Board disagreed with the ideas contained in the book.