Nixon v. United States, 506 U.S. 224; 113 S. Ct. 732; 122 L. Ed. 2d 1 (1993) Facts—Walter L. Nixon Jr., a U.S. federal district judge, was sentenced to prison for making false statements to a jury, but he refused…
Baker v. Carr, 369 U.S. 186; 82 S. Ct. 691; 7 L. Ed. 2d 663 (1962) Facts—Voters brought this civil action alleging that the continuing apportionment of the Tennessee General Assembly by means of a 1901 statute debased the votes…
Muskrat v. United States, 219 U.S. 346; 31 S. Ct. 250; 55 L. Ed. 246 (1911) Facts—An act of Congress authorized Muskrat and others to bring suit in the federal Court of Claims, with an appeal to the federal Supreme…
Luther v. Borden, 7 Howard (48 U.S.) 1; 12 L. Ed. 581 (1849) Facts—In 1841 the people of the state of Rhode Island were still using the old colonial charter with a few minor revisions, as their state constitution. This…
Elk Grove v. Newdow, 542 U.S. 1; 124 S. Ct. 2301; 159 L. Ed. 2d 98 (2004) Facts—Michael A. Newdow, an avowed atheist, sued the Elk Grove Unified School District in California, where his daughter was enrolled in kindergarten, because…
Missouri v. Jenkins, 495 U.S. 33; 110 S. Ct. 1651; 109 L. Ed. 2d 31 (1990) Facts—A group of students in the Kansas City, Missouri, School District (KCMSD) filed suit against the city and the state for operating a racially…
Stone v. Powell, 428 U.S. 465; 96 S. Ct. 3037; 49 L. Ed. 2d 1067 (1976) Facts—Powell of California and Rice of Nebraska were both convicted in state courts of homicide. In both cases, these courts ruled that evidence in…
Flast v. Cohen, 392 U.S. 83; 88 S. Ct. 1942; 20 L. Ed. 2d 947 (1968) Facts—Taxpayers in New York challenged the expenditures of federal funds under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 as conflicting with the establishment…
Cooper v. Aaron, 358 U.S. 1; 78 S. Ct. 1401; 3 L. Ed. 2d 5 (1958) Facts—After the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education (1954) ruling that de jure racial segregation violated the equal protection clause of…
Erie Railroad Co. v. Tompkins, 304 U.S. 64; 58 S. Ct. 817; 82 L. Ed. 1188 (1938) Facts—Tompkins, a citizen of Pennsylvania, was injured on a dark night by a passing freight train of the Erie Railroad Company while walking…