Showing results by author "United States Supreme Court" in All Categories

Responding to a reported weapons disturbance in a private residence, Houston police entered John Lawrence's apartment and saw him and another adult man, Tyron Garner, engaging in a private, consensual sexual act. Lawrence and Garner were arrested and convicted of deviate sexual intercourse in violation of a Texas statute forbidding two persons of the same sex to engage in certain intimate sexual conduct.

Allan Bakke, a thirty-five-year-old white man, had twice applied for admission to the University of California Medical School at Davis. He was rejected both times. The school reserved sixteen places in each entering class of one hundred for "qualified" minorities, as part of the university's affirmative action program, in an effort to redress longstanding, unfair minority exclusions from the medical profession.

At a school-supervised event, Joseph Frederick held up a banner with the message "Bong Hits 4 Jesus", a slang reference to marijuana smoking. Principal Deborah Morse took away the banner and suspended Frederick for 10 days. She justified her actions by citing the school's policy against the display of material that promotes the use of illegal drugs. Frederick sued under 42 U.S.C. 1983, the federal civil rights statute, alleging a violation of his First Amendment right to freedom of speech.

Dollree Mapp was convicted of possessing obscene materials after an admittedly illegal police search of her home for a fugitive. She appealed her conviction on the basis of freedom of expression.

Roe, a Texas resident, sought to terminate her pregnancy by abortion. Texas law prohibited abortions except to save the pregnant woman's life. After granting certiorari, the Court heard arguments twice. The first time, Roe's attorney - Sarah Weddington - could not locate the constitutional hook of her argument for Justice Potter Stewart. Her opponent - Jay Floyd - misfired from the start.

The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), enacted in 1996, states that, for the purposes of federal law, the words “marriage” and “spouse” refer to legal unions between one man and one woman. Since that time, some states have authorized same-sex marriage. In other cases regarding the DOMA, federal courts have ruled it unconstitutional under the Fifth Amendment, but the courts have disagreed on the rationale.

After decades of activism, legal battles, and debate, hear the landmark decision that overturned Roe v. Wade. Hear the Dobbs v. Jackson opinion and dissents in their entirety, as well as the original Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey opinions, with an introduction by Faye Wattleton, the first African American woman elected president of Planned Parenthood. Narrated by Ariel Blake and Imani Jade Powers, listening to the Supreme Court's official opinions contextualizes and helps clarify the new opinion in light of the landmark decisions before it.