Facts
a school sponsored and required denominational prayer (a prayer that isn't connected to any singular church or religion) violate the establishment clause of the first amendment.
What is ENGEL V. VITALE?
The Court majority held that an individual's interests in the free exercise of religion under the First Amendment outweighed the State's interests in compelling school attendance beyond the eighth grade.
What is WISCONSIN V. YODER?
in this case, a parent sued on behalf of his child against the president of the school board for New York due to the states law that required public schools to start every day with the pledge of allegiance and a non-denominal prayer. The parent argued that the law violated the establishment clause of the first amendment, as made applicable to the united states through the due process clause of the fourteenth amendment.
What is ENGEL V. VITALE?
The legal case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on April 26, 1995, ruled (5–4) that the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990 was unconstitutional because the U.S. Congress, in enacting the legislation, had exceeded its authority under the commerce clause of the Constitution.
What is U.S. V. Lopez?
The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 against the City of Chicago’s strict handgun ban (which had been upheld for 30 years) in this case, arguing that the 2nd Amendment right to bear arms was applicable to the cities and states. Thus, the right to bear arms overruled the handgun ban.
What is MCDONALD V. CHICAGO?
The Supreme Court favored Citizens United 5-4 in this case, where they argued that the limitations put against corporations were not to be materially different from government censorship of speech of individuals.
What is CITIZENS UNITED V. FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION?
This case investigated North Carolina’s 1991 redistricting plan which was based off of the 1990 census; NC population numbers introduced the opportunity for a 12th political district, and a 12th representative seat within congress.
What is Shaw V. Reno?
This case tackled an issue in which North Carolina’s 12 congressional district was clearly designed and mapped out in a way that manipulated and targeted certain locations that were heavily populated by African American voters.
What is Shaw V. Reno?
in 1963, the Supreme court ruled unanimously in favor of (defendant), thus guaranteeing the right to legal counsel for criminal defendants in both federal and state courts. Following this decision, (defendant) was given another trial with an appointed lawyer in which their charges were dropped.
What is GIDEON V. WAINWRIGHT?
in a 7-2 decision, the supreme courts majority ruled that neither teachers or students “shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.” The court took the position that school officials could not prohibit freedom of speech only on the suspicion that it may disrupt the learning environment. While the dissent argued that the First Amendment does not grant the right to express any opinion at any time, and that students attend school to learn, not teach.
What is TINKER V. DES MOINES INDEPENDENT COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT?
During the Vietnam war -in which protests and boycotts against the war were becoming a national movement- students attending a public school in Des Moines, Iowa decided to wear black armbands in a silent protest of the Vietnam war. When the school's principal became aware of this plan, he threatened the students with suspension for wearing these armbands, as they cause a disruption in the learning environment. Despite the warning, some students still wore the armbands, and were suspended. During the students suspension, their parents sued the school for violating their children's rights to freedom of speech.
What is TINKER V. DES MOINES INDEPENDENT COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT?
The Government contends that the only issue in these cases is whether, in a suit by the United States, “the First Amendment bars a court from prohibiting a newspaper from publishing material whose disclosure would pose a ‘grave and immediate danger to the security of the United States.” the court also questioned if they as a court or the congress has the power to make the law proposed in this case.
What is NEW YORK TIMES CO. V. UNITED STATES?
As part of the reasoning for this trial, the court explained that the sixth amendment's guarantee of council is a fundamental right that is essential to a fair trial. As such, this applies to the states through the due process clause of the fourteenth amendment. In the overturning of Betts v Brady Justice Black stated, “reason and reflection require us to recognize that in our adversary system of criminal justice, any person haled into court, who is too poor to hire a lawyer, cannot be assured a fair trial unless counsel is provided for him.” He further stated that the “noble ideal” of “fair trials before impartial tribunals in which ever defendant stands equal before the law . . . cannot be realized if the poor man charged with crime has to face his accusers without a lawyer to assist him.”
What is GIDEON V. WAINWRIGHT?
the courts concluded that requiring amish children to attend school beyond the 8th grade would violate their rights under the free rights clause. More so, the courts determined that the amish lifestyle and religious faith are both inseparable and interdependent, and that by attempting to enforce wisconsin's compulsory education law the free exercise of their religious beliefs would be gravely endangered, if not destroyed. The Court also held that the "fundamental interest" of parents to direct the religious upbringing of their children, combined with the burden placed on religious practices by Wisconsin's compulsory education law, outweighed the general interest of the state in educating its citizens.
What is WISCONSIN V. YODER?