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Davis V. Beason
A territory in Idaho required voters swear on oath stating that they were neither a polygamist nor were they a member of any organization that promoted polygamy. Davis was indicted for falsely swearing the oath prior to the 1888 election because he was a member of a church that often practice and advocated polygamy. The Court upheld the conviction because polygamy was a meaningful tenet of a religion. -
Schneck V. United States
Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes stated in this case his famous aphorism about "falsely shouting fire in a theatre" and set forth a "clear and present danger test" to judge whether speech is protected by the First Amendment -
Abrams V. United States
The defendants were convicted on the basis of two leaflets they printed and threw from windows of a building. One leaflet signed "revolutionists" denounced the sending of American troops to Russia. The second leaflet, written in Yiddish, denounced the war and US efforts to impede the Russian Revolution. The defendants were charged and convicted for inciting resistance to the war effort and for urging curtailment of production of essential war material. They were sentenced to 20 years in prison. -
Gitlow V. New York
Gitlow, a socialist, was arrested for distributing copies of a "left-wing manifesto" that called for the establishment of socialism through strikes and class action of any form. Gitlow was convicted under a state criminal anarchy law, which punished advocating the overthrow of the government by force. -
Hague V. CIO
Mayor of Jersey City, had ordered the police to seize the groups recruitment materials and refused to allow the meeting to take place. The court decided that it was a violation of the CIO's Right to assemble. -
Everson V. Board of education
A New Jersey law allowed reimbursements of money to parents who sent their children to school on buses operated by the public transportation system. Children who attended Catholic schools also qualified for this transportation subsidy. A divided Court held that the law did not violate the Constitution. -
McCollum V. The Board Of Education
Members of the Juweish, Roman Catholic, and some Protestant faiths formed a voluntary association called the Champaign Council on Religious Education. The Court ruled that the use of tax-supported property for religious instruction violated the First Amendment's Estalishment Clause. -
United States V. O'Brien
David O'Brien burned his draft card at a Boston courthouse. He said he was expressing his opposition to war. He was convicted under a federal law that made the destruction or mutilation of drafts card a crime. -
Wisconsin V. Yoder
The Conservative Amish Mennonite Church, were prosecuted under a Wisconsin law that required all children to attend public schools until age 16. The Court held that the free exercise of religion under the First Amendment outweighed the state's interests in compelling school attendance beyond eight grade. -
Pico v. the board of education
The Island Trees Union Free School District's Board of Education ordered that certain books be removed from its district's junior high and high school libraries. In support of its actions, the Board said such books were: "anti-American, anti-Christian, anti-Semitic, and just plain filthy." Steven Pico brought suit in federal district court challenging the Board's decision the Board could not restrict the availability of books in its libraries simply because its members disagreed with their idea -
Wallace v. Jaffree
An Alabama law authorized teachers to conduct regular religious prayer services and activities in school classrooms during the school day. the statute clearly lacked any secular purpose as it sought to establish religion in public schools, thereby violating the First Amendment's Establishment Clause. -
Texas V. Johnson
Gregory Lee Johnson burned an American flag as a means of protest against Reagan administration policies. Johnson was tried and convicted under a Texas law outlawing flag desecration. He was sentenced to one year in jail and assessed a $2,000 fine. the Court held that Johnson's burning of a flag was protected expression under the First Amendment. -
United States V. Eichman
Congress passed the Flag Protection Act which made it a crime to destroy an American flag. The Courts struck down the law because its asserted interst is related to the suppression of free expression. -
Hill V. Colorado
A Colorado law makes it illegal for any person within 100 feet of a health care favility entrance to knowingly approach within 8 feet of another person, without the persons consent. -
Morse V. Frederick
Joseph Frederick held up a banner that had a slang refernce to marijuana smoking. The principal took away the banner and then suspended Frederick, saying that the banner promoted the use of illegal drugs. The court ruled that school officalscan prohibit students from displaying messages that promote illegal drug use.
