US court rulings

Question 1

Snyder Vs Phelps (2010)

Answer 1

Court held that speech on a public sidewalk, about a public issue, cannot be liable for a tort of emotional distress, even if the speech is found to be “outrageous”. The claim was made against the Westboro Baptist Church and their picketing of an Iraq soldier’s funeral.

Question 2

Citizens United Vs Federal Election (2010)

Answer 2

he United States Supreme Court held (5–4) that freedom of speech prohibited the government from restricting independent political expenditures by a nonprofit corporation. (Influence through money in the democratic process was protected under the first amendment)

Question 3

Texas Vs Johnson (1989)

Answer 3

Declared that desecration of the US Flag was protected under freedom of expression.

Question 4

US Vs Lopez (1995)

Answer 4

Supreme Court struck down the “Gun Free School Zone” act.

Question 5

District Of Columbia Vs Heller (2003)

Answer 5

Supreme Court struck down act which would ban handguns and would place limits on shotguns and rifles.

Question 6

McDonald Vs City of Chicago (2010)

Answer 6

Supreme Court declared that the 2nd Amendment gives all Americans the fundamental right to bear arms.

Question 7

Patriot Act (2001)

Answer 7

Question of whether the Patriot Act and the War on Terror (Bush) violates the 4th amendment.

Question 8

Rasul Vs Bush (2004)

Answer 8

Foreign detainees were able to challenge their detention in Federal Courts. (Detainees being held in Guantanamo Bay without a fair trial)

Question 9

Obergefell Vs Hodges (2015)

Answer 9

Declared state level bans on same sex marriage was unconstitutional. Cases regarding marriage is usually a state issue.

Question 10

US Vs Campstock (2003)

Answer 10

Federal Government could hold hold over sexual offender information after sentences had expired - overrules state sentences.

Question 11

DOMA (1996)

Answer 11

Defined marriage for federal purposes as the union of one man and one woman, and allowed states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages granted under the laws of other states. Struck down in 2013 in US Vs Windsor.

Question 12

Lawrence Vs Texas (2003)

Answer 12

Supreme Court struck down Texan sodomy laws.

Question 13

Plessy Vs Ferguson (1896)

Answer 13

Supreme Court upheld state racial segregation laws for public facilities under the doctrine of “separate but equal”.

Question 14

Brown Vs Board of Education (1954)

Answer 14

Supreme Court declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students to be unconstitutional. The decision overturned Plessy v. Ferguson.

Question 15

Katzenbach Vs McClung (1964)

Answer 15

Supreme Court unanimously held that Congress acted within its power under the Commerce Clause of the Constitution in forbidding racial discrimination in restaurants as this was a burden to interstate commerce.

Question 16

Roe Vs Wade (1973)

Answer 16

The Supreme Court ruled that a right to privacy under the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment extended to a woman’s decision to have an abortion.

Question 17

Elonis Vs United States (2014)

Answer 17

Dealt with threats on Facebook. A very modern issue which the Founding Fathers could never have anticipated (As with many others.)

Question 18

Gonzales Vs Oregon (2006)

Answer 18

Ruled that the US Attorney General cannot enforce the federal Controlled Substances Act against physicians who prescribed drugs, in compliance with Oregon state law, to terminally ill patients seeking to end their lives.

Question 19

United States vs. Morrison (2000)

Answer 19

Ruled that parts of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 were unconstitutional.