Korematsu v. United States
World War II exclusion of Japanese‑ancestry residents upheld, as Court affirmed a conviction and allowed military removal, permitting authorities to exclude these people from West Coast war zones.
Landmark decisions that shaped American law.
Organized by category — civil rights, criminal justice, reproductive rights, First Amendment freedoms, and more.
Civil Rights & Equality
Brown v. Board of Education
Racially segregated public schools are unconstitutional; Court rejects 'separate but equal' in education and requires an end to legal school segregation affecting children denied equal opportunities.
Loving v. Virginia
Virginia’s bans on interracial marriage are struck down, ending state criminal penalties and race-based marriage rules and freeing interracial couples to marry and live in the State.
Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
Medical-school racial‑slot plan struck down, ordering a rejected white applicant admitted, while the Court allows race as one factor but limits fixed quotas in university admissions (affects applicants and schools nationwide).
Shelby County v. Holder
Court strikes down the Voting Rights Act’s coverage formula, blocking federal pre-approval of voting changes for certain states and shifting responsibility back toward Congress and local governments.
Obergefell v. Hodges
Nationwide ruling expands marriage rights: Court strikes down state bans, requires States to license and recognize same-sex marriages, giving same-sex couples equal access to marriage and its legal benefits.
Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College
Court blocks Harvard and UNC from using race in admissions, striking down race-based preference systems and immediately altering how selective colleges can consider applicants’ race or experiences.
Criminal Justice & Due Process
Mapp v. Ohio
Decision bars states from using evidence from unlawful searches, overturns prior rule and forces state courts to exclude illegally seized items, limiting prosecutors’ use of such evidence nationwide.
Gideon v. Wainwright
Criminal defendants without money gain right to court-appointed lawyers as the Court overturns prior rule, reversing a Florida conviction and forcing states to provide counsel in many criminal cases.
Miranda v. Arizona
Ruling limits police custodial questioning by requiring clear warnings and access to lawyers, blocking use of unwarned statements and making it harder for police to introduce confessions obtained without counsel.
Reproductive Rights & Privacy
Griswold v. Connecticut
Court strikes down Connecticut law banning contraception for married couples, protecting marital privacy and allowing doctors to advise and provide birth control.
Roe v. Wade
Limits Texas’s near-total abortion ban, recognizing a woman's privacy right and allowing early-pregnancy abortions while letting states regulate later-term abortions to protect health and fetal life.
Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization
Abortion right removed from federal protection as Court overturns Roe and Casey, returning to states the power to regulate or prohibit abortions and altering access for people across the country.
First Amendment Freedoms (Speech, Press, Religion)
West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette
Court blocks state law forcing students to salute the flag, protecting children and families who refuse on religious grounds and preventing school punishment for nonconformity.
Engel v. Vitale
Court blocks state-written daily school prayer as unconstitutional, stopping public schools from sponsoring official prayers and protecting students who object.
New York Times Co. v. Sullivan
Ruling limits state libel awards, protects newspapers and paid political ads, making it harder for public officials to collect large damages for criticism of official conduct.
Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District
Court protects students’ silent political protest, strikes down school ban on black armbands and limits schools’ power to punish non-disruptive political expression.
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission
Court strikes down bans on corporate and union independent political spending while upholding disclosure and disclaimer rules, allowing corporate treasuries to fund independent election ads during campaigns.
Political Power & Individual Arms
Bush v. Gore
Close Florida presidential recount stopped as Court finds unequal, standardless manual recounts violate equal protection and reverses state court order, blocking further statewide hand tabulation and affecting Florida voters and officials.
District of Columbia v. Heller
Second Amendment protects individual right to possess handguns for self‑defense at home; Court strikes down District of Columbia’s handgun ban and some storage rules, affecting local gun laws.