Supreme Court Cases By jonathan

Abington v Schempp 1963

Abington schools were making kids say prayers and read bible verses Abington schools were making kids say prayers and read bible verses. However they could be exempt with a note from the children’s parents The Schempps did not want any of the kids to be forced to read the bible and sued the school The Situation

Decision District Courts ruled in favor of Schemmp The Supreme Court upheld the District Court’s ruling claiming that the Establishment Clause in the First Amendment as well as the Fourteenth Amendment made readings of any religious kind unconstitutional on both a Federal and State level Decision

Precedence Cantwell v Connecticut Everson v Board of Education McCollum v Board of Education Precedence

Cantwell v Connecticut 1940

In Connecticut, one was required to have a soliciting permit if one was selling religious documents. The Cantwells were soliciting religious doctrines in a suburban Connecticut area without such documents They were convicted under Connecticut law. The Cantwells appealed to the courts to have the law overturned claiming it violated the Cantwells rights under the first amendment Situation

Connecticut State Supreme Court upheld the Connecticut law because its purpose was to prevent fraud The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Cantwell and overturned the State courts ruling. Cantwells rights were protected by the First, and Fourteenth Amendments Decision

This ruling established a new found freedom of religion on a state and local level This set a precedent for future cases such as Everson v board and Abington v Schemmp Significance

Gridswold v Connecticut 1965

Connecticut state law prohibits the use of contraceptives Many attempts were made to overturn the law but were goofed up Estelle Griswold open a birth control clinic in New haven and she was convicted by Connecticut state law. The Situation

The Supreme Courts ruled in favor of Griswold claiming that Connecticut was infringing on Griswold’s Fourteenth Amendment Rights. The Descision

Established precedence for a multitude of cases most notably Roe v Wade Significance

Katz v United States 1961

Charles Katz used a public payphone to distribute illegal gambling wagers from one city to another. The FBI had recorded his conversation and they were used to convict Katz. Katz challenged the ruling saying that the FBI had invaded his Fourth Amendment rights Situation

Supreme Court Ruled in favor of Katz concurring that although the FBI did not invade the phone booth physically, search and seizure of information was also protected by the Fourth Amendment. Decision

Over ruled Olmstead v United States and Goldman v United States This made a warrant necessary for eavesdropping on suspects even while using public devices of communication. Significance