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The Supreme Court of the United States is the only court specifically established by the Constitution of the United States, implemented in 1789; under the Judiciary Act of 1789, the Court was to be composed of six members—though the number of justices has been nine for almost all of its history, this number is set by Congress, not the Constitution. The court convened for the first time on February 2, 1790.[1] Image File history File links Seal_of_the_United_States_Supreme_Court. ... The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States and leads the judicial branch of the United States federal government. ... This is a chronological list of notable cases decided by the Supreme Court of the United States. ... The Supreme Court of the United States is the only court specifically established by the Constitution of the United States, implemented in 1789. ... The Supreme Court building is the seat of the Supreme Court of the United States. ... John Glover Roberts, Jr. ... John Paul Stevens (born April 20, 1920) is an American jurist and the senior Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. ... Antonin Gregory Scalia (born March 11, 1936) is an American jurist on the Supreme Court of the United States who has been a prominent conservative and originalist voice of textualism in statutory interpretation and original meaning in constitutional interpretation. ... For other people of the same name, see Anthony Kennedy (disambiguation). ... David Hackett Souter (born September 17, 1939) has been an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court since 1990. ... Clarence Thomas (born June 23, 1948) is an American jurist and has been an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States since 1991. ... Ruth Joan Bader Ginsburg (born March 15, 1933) is a United States Supreme Court Justice. ... Stephen Gerald Breyer (born August 15, 1938) is an American attorney, political figure, and jurist. ... Samuel Anthony Alito, Jr. ... Sandra Day OConnor (born March 26, 1930) is a former American jurist and politician who served as the first female Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1981 to 2006. ... To become a Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States, an individual must be nominated by the President of the United States and approved by the U.S. Senate, with at least half of that body approving in the affirmative. ... In order to become a Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States, an individual must be nominated by the President of the United States and approved by the U.S. Senate, with at least half of that body approving in the affirmative. ... In order to become a Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States, an individual must be nominated by the President of the United States and approved by the U.S. Senate, with at least half of that body approving in the affirmative. ... This is a list of U.S. Supreme Court Justices by time in office. ... The Chief Justice of the United States is the head of the judicial branch of the government of the United States, and presides over the Supreme Court of the United States. ... This is a list of U.S. Chief Justices by time in office. ... To become a Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States, an individual must be nominated by the President of the United States and approved by the U.S. Senate, with at least half of that body approving in the affirmative. ... Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate. ... The demographics of the Supreme Court of the United States have been raised as an issue in various contexts over the last century. ... The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States and leads the judicial branch of the United States federal government. ... Page I of the Constitution of the United States of America Page II of the United States Constitution Page III of the United States Constitution Page IV of the United States Constitution The Syng inkstand, with which the Constitution was signed The Constitution of the United States is the supreme... The first page of the Judiciary Act of 1789 The United States Judiciary Act of 1789 (1 Stat. ... February 2 is the 33rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1790 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

This article is concerned with the History of the Supreme Court of the United States; for discussion of the court's jurisdiction, operation and composition, see Supreme Court of the United States; for discussion of the court's present and historical accommodations, see United States Supreme Court building. The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States and leads the judicial branch of the United States federal government. ... The Supreme Court building is the seat of the Supreme Court of the United States. ...

The Jay, Rutledge, and Ellsworth Courts (1789–1801)

The Judiciary Act of 1789 implemented the entire federal judicial branch, including the Supreme Court. It was also the first act by Congress to be partially invalidated by the Supreme Court.

The first Chief Justice of the United States was John Jay. Perhaps the most controversial of the Supreme Court's early decisions was Chisholm v. Georgia, in which it held that the federal judiciary could hear lawsuits against states. Soon thereafter, responding to the concerns of several states, Congress proposed the Eleventh Amendment, which granted states immunity from certain types of lawsuits in federal courts. The Amendment was ratified in 1795. Image File history File links This is a picture of the federal judiciary act of 1789. ... Image File history File links This is a picture of the federal judiciary act of 1789. ... John Jay (December 12, 1745 – May 17, 1829) was an American politician, statesman, revolutionary, diplomat and jurist. ... {| cellpadding=2 cellspacing=0 border=1 align=right style=margin-left: 0. ... Amendment XI (the Eleventh Amendment) of the United States Constitution was passed by the US Congress on March 4, 1794 and was ratified on February 7, 1795. ...

Jay was succeeded as Chief Justice by John Rutledge, and then by Oliver Ellsworth. No major cases came before the Supreme Court during this time. John Rutledge (September 17, 1739 – July 18, 1800) was Governor of South Carolina, delegate to the Constitutional Convention, and served on the U.S. Supreme Court (Chief Justice from August to December 1795). ... Oliver Ellsworth (April 29, 1745 - November 26, 1807), an American lawyer and politician, was a revolutionary against British rule, a drafter of the United States Constitution, and third Chief Justice of the United States. ...

The Marshall Court (1801–1835)

One of the most significant periods during the history of the Court was the tenure of Chief Justice John Marshall (1801 to 1835). In the landmark case Marbury v. Madison (1803), Marshall held that the Supreme Court could overturn a law passed by Congress if it violated the Constitution, legally cementing the power of judicial review. The Marshall Court also made several important decisions relating to federalism. Marshall took a broad view of the powers of the federal government—in particular, the interstate commerce clause and the necessary and proper clause. For instance, in McCulloch v. Maryland (1819), the Court ruled that the interstate commerce clause and other clauses permitted Congress to create a national bank, even though the power to create a bank is not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution. Similarly, in Gibbons v. Ogden (1824), the Court found that the interstate commerce clause permitted Congress to regulate interstate navigation. John Marshall (September 24, 1755–July 6, 1835) was an American statesman and jurist who more than anyone shaped American constitutional law and made the Supreme Court a center of power. ... The Union Jack, flag of the newly formed United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. ... | Come and take it, slogan of the Texas Revolution 1835 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Holding Section 13 of the Judiciary Act of 1789 is unconstitutional to the extent it purports to enlarge the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court beyond that permitted by the Constitution. ... Judicial review is the power of a court to review a law or an official act of a government employee or agent for constitutionality or for the violation of basic principles of justice. ... Federalism is the idea of a group or body of members that are bound together (latin: foedus, covenant) with a governing representative head. ... Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 of the United States Constitution, known as the Commerce Clause, empowers the United States Congress To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes. ... The necessary and proper clause (also known as the elastic clause) refers to Section 8 of Article One of the United States Constitution: To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the... Holding Although the Constitution does not specifically give Congress the power to establish a bank, it does delegate the ability to control national economic policy, which a bank can be considered part of. ... In the case of Gibbons v. ...

The Marshall Court also made several decisions restraining the actions of state governments. The notion that the Supreme Court could consider appeals from state courts was established in Martin v. Hunter's Lessee (1816) and Cohens v. Virginia (1821). In several decisions, the Marshall Court confirmed the supremacy of federal laws over state laws. For example, in the aforementioned decision in McCulloch v. Maryland, the Court held that a state could not tax an agency of the federal government. At the same time, however, the Marshall Court held in the landmark case Barron v. Baltimore (1833) that the Bill of Rights restricted the federal government alone, and did not apply to the states. Nonetheless, the Supreme Court would in later years hold that the Fourteenth Amendment had the effect of applying the Bill of Rights to the states. Martin v. ... Cohens v. ... Barron v. ... Image of the United States Bill of Rights from the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. ... The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution is one of the post-Civil War amendments and includes the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses. ...

Jefferson once said, "The Constitution is a mere thing of wax in the hands of the judiciary, which they may twist and shape into any form they please." about Marshall's court. Jefferson is any of several places in the United States named for Thomas Jefferson: small towns in Georgia, Maine, New Hampshire and Texas; counties in Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, West Virginia, Wisconsin; a parish in Louisiana... Marshall is the name of several places in the United States of America: Marshall, Alaska Marshall, Arkansas Marshall, Illinois Marshall, Indiana Marshall, Michigan Marshall, Minnesota Marshall, Missouri Marshall, Oklahoma Marshall, North Carolina Marshall, Texas Marshall, Virginia Marshall, Wisconsin Marshall, Dane County, Wisconsin Marshall, Richland County, Wisconsin Marshall, Rusk County, Wisconsin...

The Taney Court (1836–1864)

The Supreme Court met in this windowless chamber in the United States Capitol from 1819 until 1860, which has been restored and preserved as the Old Supreme Court Chamber.

In 1836, Marshall was succeeded as Chief Justice by Roger B. Taney, who had a somewhat more limited view of the powers of the federal government. At a time when sectional tensions between the North and South were high, many of the Supreme Court's decisions—particularly those relating to slavery—met with controversy and contention. Most controversial was the Taney Court's decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857). Dred Scott, a slave from Missouri, sued for his freedom on the grounds that his master had taken him into Illinois and the territory of Wisconsin, both of which prohibited slavery, for extended periods of time. Taney, however, ruled that members of the African race, "beings of an inferior order," were not and could never become citizens of the United States. Consequently, he ruled that Scott therefore had no standing to file the lawsuit. Moreover, he held that the Missouri Compromise, under which Congress prohibited slavery in certain territories that formed part of the Louisiana Purchase, was unconstitutional. The controversial decision met with vigorous opposition from abolitionists, and contributed to the tensions that led to the Civil War during the next decade. The Civil War culminated in a victory for the Union and in the abolition of slavery (see the Thirteenth Amendment). ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (1574x1164, 431 KB) Summary The Old Supreme Court Chamber in the United States Capitol—the restored courtroom of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1819-1860. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (1574x1164, 431 KB) Summary The Old Supreme Court Chamber in the United States Capitol—the restored courtroom of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1819-1860. ... Roger Brooke Taney (TAW-nee) (March 17, 1777 – October 12, 1864) was the fifth Chief Justice of the United States from 1836 until his death in 1864, and the first Roman Catholic to hold that office. ... Holding Blacks, whether slaves or free, could not become United States citizens and the plaintiff therefore lacked the capacity to file a lawsuit. ... Dred Scott Dred Scott (ca. ... Official language(s) None Capital Jefferson City Largest city Kansas City Largest metro area St. ... Official language(s) English Capital Springfield Largest city Chicago Area  Ranked 25th  - Total 57,918 sq mi (149,998 km²)  - Width 210 miles (340 km)  - Length 390 miles (629 km)  - % water 4. ... The United States in 1820. ... From Frank Bond, Louisiana and the Louisiana Purchase. ... This French poster depicting the horrific conditions on slave ships was influential in mobilizing public opinion against slavery. ... Combatants United States of America (Union) Confederate States of America (Confederacy) Commanders Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee Strength 2,200,000 1,064,000 Casualties Killed in action: 110,000 Total dead: 360,000 Wounded: 275,200 Killed in action: 93,000 Total dead: 258... Amendment XIII (the Thirteenth Amendment) of the United States Constitution abolished slavery and, with the exception of allowing punishments for crimes, prohibits involuntary servitude. ...

The Chase, Waite, and Fuller Courts (1864–1910)

First photograph of the U.S. Supreme Court, by Mathew Brady, 1869 (courtesy of National Archives).

In the midst of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln appointed Salmon P. Chase to be Chief Justice. Chase had strong anti-slavery credentials and had previously served Lincoln as Secretary of the Treasury. His post-Civil War tenure featured several key decisions affirming the indestructibility of the Union. Chase was considered highly ambitious, even for a politician. In 1872, Chase, while serving on the Supreme Court, also attempted a run for the Presidency, but his efforts were ultimately unsuccessful. Chase continued to serve as Chief Justice until his death in 1873. Image File history File links Supreme_Court_1869. ... Image File history File links Supreme_Court_1869. ... Mathew Brady, circa 1875 Mathew B. Brady (ca. ... More than one country maintains a national archive: The Canadian Library and Archives Canada The New Zealand Archives New Zealand (formerly National Archives) The United States National Archives and Records Administration The United Kingdom National Archives This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might... It has been suggested that Abraham Lincoln in popular culture be merged into this article or section. ... Salmon Portland Chase (January 13, 1808 – May 7, 1873) was an American politician and jurist in the Civil War era who served as Senator from Ohio, Governor of Ohio, as U.S. Treasury Secretary under President Abraham Lincoln, and Chief Justice of the United States. ... This article is about the abolition of slavery. ...

In the aftermath of the Civil War Congress passed and the states ratified the Fourteenth Amendment, which, among other things, prevented states from abridging the "privileges and immunities of citizens," from denying due process of law, and from denying equal protection of the laws to any person. Many cases that came before the Court in the post–Civil War era involved interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment. In the Civil Rights Cases (1883), the Court under Chief Justice Morrison Waite held that Congress could not prohibit racial discrimination by private individuals (as opposed to governments) on the grounds of the Fourteenth Amendment. Later, in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), the Court under Chief Justice Melville Fuller determined that the equal protection clause did not prohibit racial segregation in public facilities, as long as the facilities were equal (giving rise to the famous term "separate but equal"). The sole dissenter in that case was John Marshall Harlan, who became known as the "Great Dissenter." The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution is one of the post-Civil War amendments and includes the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses. ... The Equal Protection Clause is a part of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, providing that no state shall . ... Holding --- Court membership Case opinions Laws applied --- The Civil Rights Cases, 109 U.S. 3 (1883), were a group of five similar cases consolidated into one issue for the United States Supreme Court to review. ... Morrison Remick Waite served as the Chief Justice of the United States. ... Holding The separate but equal provision of public accommodations by state governments is constitutional under the Equal Protection Clause. ... Melville Weston Fuller (February 11, 1833 – July 4, 1910) was the Chief Justice of the United States between 1888 and 1910. ... The Rex Theatre for Colored People, Leland, Mississippi, June 1937 This entry is related to, but not included in the Political ideologies series or one of its sub-series. ... Separate but equal was a policy enacted into law throughout the U.S. Southern states during the period of segregation, in which African Americans and Americans of European descent would receive the same services (schools, hospitals, water fountains, bathrooms, etc. ... John Marshall Harlan (1833-1911) John Marshall Harlan (June 1, 1833 – October 14, 1911) was an American Supreme Court associate justice. ...

The White and Taft courts (1910–1930)

In the early twentieth century, the Supreme Court established that the Fourteenth Amendment protected the "liberty of contract." On the grounds of the Fourteenth Amendment and other provisions of the Constitution, it controversially overturned many state and federal laws designed to protect employees. The first important decision of the era was Lochner v. New York (1905), in which the Court overturned a New York law limiting the number of hours bakers could work each week. In Adair v. United States (1908), the Court overruled a federal law which forbade "yellow dog contracts" (contracts that prohibited workers from joining unions). Adkins v. Children's Hospital (1923) involved a decision that a District of Columbia minimum wage law was unconstitutional. Holding New Yorks regulation of the working hours of bakers was not a justifiable restriction of the right to contract freely under the 14th Amendments guarantee of liberty. ... Adair v. ... A Yellow Dog contract is a legal contract or agreement made between an employer and an employee, wherein the employer agrees to employ the employee, and in exchange the employee agrees not to join or associate with a labor union. ... Holding Minimum wage law for women violated the due process right to contract freely. ... ...

In 1925, the Supreme Court made a landmark ruling in Gitlow v. New York, establishing the doctrine of incorporation, under which provisions of the Bill of Rights were deemed to restrict the states. Originally, as Chief Justice John Marshall ruled in Barron v. Baltimore (1833), the Bill of Rights restricted only the federal government; however, during the twentieth century, the Supreme Court held in a series of decisions the Fourteenth Amendment had the effect of applying some (but not all) provisions of the Bill of Rights to the states. The first such decision was Gitlow, in which the Supreme Court incorporated the protection of freedom of speech afforded by the First Amendment. Important decisions relating to incorporations were made during later decades, especially the 1960s. Holding Though the Fourteenth Amendment prohibits states from infringing free speech, the defendant was properly convicted under New Yorks criminal anarchy law for advocating the violent overthrow of the government, through the dissemination of Communist pamphlets. ... Incorporation of the Bill of Rights is the legal doctrine by which portions of the U.S. Bill of Rights are applied to the states through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. ... Barron v. ...

The Hughes, Stone, and Vinson courts (1930–1953)

U.S. Supreme Court, 1932.

During the 1930s, the Supreme Court continued to enforce a Federal laissez-faire approach, overturning many of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal programs, which were designed to combat the Great Depression, by 5–4 margins. Most notably, the National Industrial Recovery Act was overturned in Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States (1935), and the Agricultural Adjustment Act was struck down in United States v. Butler (1936). In response, President Roosevelt proposed the Judiciary Reorganization Bill (called the "court-packing bill" by its opponents), which would have increased the size of the Supreme Court and permitted the appointment of additional (presumably pro-New Deal) Justices. The bill, however, had many opponents (including John Nance Garner, Roosevelt's Vice President), and was defeated in Congress. Image File history File links Supreme_Court_1932. ... Image File history File links Supreme_Court_1932. ... Laissez-faire is short for laissez faire, laissez passer, a French phrase meaning to let things alone, let them pass. First used by the eighteenth century Physiocrats as an injunction against government interference with trade, it is now used as a synonym for strict free market economics. ... FDR redirects here. ... This article is becoming very long. ... The Great Depression was a worldwide economic downturn, starting in 1929 (although it effects were not fully felt until late in 1930) and lasting through most of the 1930s. ... NRA Blue Eagle poster. ... Holding Section 3 of the National Industrial Recovery Act was an unconstitutional delegation of legislative power to the Executive, and was not a valid exercise of congressional Commerce Clause power. ... The Agricultural Adjustment Act (or AAA) (Public law 73-10 of May 12, 1933) restricted production during the New Deal by paying farmers to reduce crop area. ... In the case United States v. ... The Judiciary Reorganization Bill of 1937 (called the Court-packing Bill by its opponents) was a proposal in 1937 by United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt for power to appoint an extra Supreme Court Justice for every sitting Justice over the age of 70. ... John Nance Cactus Jack Garner (November 22, 1868 – November 7, 1967) was a Representative from Texas and the thirty-second Vice President of the United States (1933-41). ...

Soon after the proposal of the court-packing plan, however, the Supreme Court ended the trend that had prevailed since Lochner. Justice Owen Roberts, who had previously voted with the conservative bloc in invalidating New Deal legislation, began to vote on the opposite side. Roberts' decision spelled the end of the Lochner era; Roberts' switch from the conservative to the liberal side, perhaps motivated by Roosevelt's threats to pack the Court, has been dubbed the "switch in time that saved nine." The four conservative Justices who continued to vote to overturn New Deal programs—James McReynolds, George Sutherland, Willis Van Devanter and Pierce Butler—were known as the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Their foremost liberal opponents on the bench were the "Three Musketeers": Louis Brandeis, Benjamin Cardozo and Harlan Stone. As the Horsemen retired, Roosevelt, the longest-serving President in history, obtained opportunities to replace them with more liberal Justices. In 1945, eight of the nine sitting Justices had been appointed by President Roosevelt, the sole exception being Owen Roberts. Owen Josephus Roberts (May 2, 1875 – May 17, 1955) was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court for fifteen years. ... The switch in time that saved nine was the name given by the press to the apparent sudden shift by Justice Owen J. Roberts from the conservative wing of the Supreme Court (represented by the Four Horsemen) to the liberal wing (represented by Three Musketeers) in the case West Coast... Justice McReynolds, c. ... George Sutherland (March 25, 1862 – July 18, 1942) was an English-born U.S. jurist and political figure. ... Willis Van Devanter (April 17, 1859 - February 8, 1941), associate justice of the United States Supreme Court, January 3, 1911 to June 2, 1937. ... Pierce Butler (March 17, 1866 – November 16, 1939) was an American jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1923 until his death in 1939. ... This page is about four conservative Supreme Court justices and four contemporary Washington powerbrokers. ... DArtagnan and the Musketeers The Three Musketeers (Les Trois Mousquetaires) is a novel by Alexandre Dumas, père. ... Louis D. Brandeis Louis Dembitz Brandeis (November 13, 1856 – October 3, 1941) was an important American litigator, Supreme Court Justice, advocate of privacy, and developer of the Brandeis Brief. ... Justice Benjamin Nathan Cardozo (May 24, 1870–July 9, 1938) was a distinguished American jurist who is remembered not only for his landmark decisions on negligence but also his modesty and philosophy. ... Harlan Fiske Stone (October 11, 1872–April 22, 1946) was the dean of Columbia Law School, Attorney General of the United States, Associate Justice and later Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. ...

The Warren Court (1953–1969)

In 1953, President Dwight David Eisenhower appointed Earl Warren, who was then governor of California, to the position of Chief Justice. Warren's term, which lasted until 1969, was arguably one of the most significant in the history of the Court. Under him, the Court made a long series of landmark decisions. Notable members of the liberal wing of the Court aside from Warren included Hugo Black, William O. Douglas (the longest-serving Justice in the Court's history) and William J. Brennan. The foremost conservative members of the Court were Felix Frankfurter and John Marshall Harlan II (grandson of the first Justice Harlan). The first important case of Warren's tenure was Brown v. Board of Education (1954), in which the Court unanimously declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional, effectively reversing the precedent set earlier in Plessy v. Ferguson and other cases. Dwight David Ike Eisenhower (October 14, 1890–March 28, 1969), American soldier and politician, was the 34th President of the United States (1953–1961) and supreme commander of the Allied forces in Europe during World War II, with the rank of General of the Army. ... Earl Warren (March 19, 1891 – July 9, 1974) was a California district attorney of Alameda County, the 30th Governor of California, and the 14th Chief Justice of the United States (from 1953 to 1969). ... Hugo Black Hugo LaFayette Black (February 27, 1886 – September 25, 1971) was a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (1937 - 1971). ... William Orville Douglas (October 16, 1898 – January 19, 1980) was a United States Supreme Court Associate Justice. ... William J. Brennan, official portrait, 1976. ... Justice Frankfurter Felix Frankfurter (November 15, 1882 – February 22, 1965) was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. ... John Marshall Harlan II (May 20, 1899 – December 29, 1971) was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. ... Holding Racial segregation of students in public schools violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, because separate facilities are inherently unequal. ...

The Warren Court also made several controversial decisions relating to the Bill of Rights. The doctrine of incorporation, which had first taken root in Gitlow v. New York, was applied fully to most provisions of the Bill of Rights. In Engel v. Vitale (1962), the Court declared that officially sanctioned prayer in public schools was unconstitutional under the First Amendment. Similarly, in Abington School District v. Schempp (1963), it struck down mandatory Bible readings in public schools. The Court also expanded and incorporated the rights of criminal defendants, on the basis of the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments. In Mapp v. Ohio (1961), the Court incorporated the Fourth Amendment and ruled that illegally seized evidence could not be used in a trial. Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) established that states were required to provide attorneys to indigent defendants. Miranda v. Arizona (1966) held that the police must inform suspects of their rights (including the right to remain silent and the right to an attorney) before being interrogated. (The decision is the source of the famous Miranda warning.) Another significant and controversial decision made by the Warren Court was Griswold v. Connecticut (1965), which established that the Constitution protected the right to privacy. Engel v. ... Holding The Court decided 8-1 in favor of the respondent, Edward Schempp, and declared sanctioned organized Bible reading in public schools in the United States to be unconstitutional. ... The Gutenberg Bible owned by the United States Library of Congress The Bible (Hebrew: תנ״ך tanakh, Greek: η Βίβλος hē biblos, the book) (sometimes The Holy Bible, Scripture, is the name used by Jews and Christians for their differing (and overlapping) canons of sacred texts. ... Holding The Fourth Amendment prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures, as applied to the states through the Fourteenth, excludes unconstitutionally obtained evidence from use in criminal prosecutions. ... Holding The Sixth Amendment right to counsel is a fundamental right applied to the states through the Fourteenth, and requires that indigent criminal defendants be provided counsel at trial. ... Holding The Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination requires law enforcement officials to advise a suspect interrogated in custody of his rights to remain silent and to obtain an attorney. ... The Miranda warning is a police warning that must be given to criminal suspects in police custody in the United States before they can be asked questions relating to the commission of crimes. ... Holding A Connecticut law criminalizing the use of contraceptives violated the right to marital privacy. ...

The Burger Court (1969–1986)

Chief Justice Earl Warren was succeeded by Warren E. Burger, who served from 1969 to 1986. The Burger Court is best remembered for its ruling in Roe v. Wade (1973), which held that there is a constitutionally protected right to have an abortion in some circumstances. The Court also made important decisions relating to the First Amendment. In Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971), it established the "Lemon test" for determining if legislation violates the establishment clause. Similarly, it established the "Miller test" for laws banning obscenity in Miller v. California (1973). Warren Earl Burger (September 17, 1907 – June 25, 1995) was Chief Justice of the United States from 1969 to 1986. ... Holding Texas laws criminalizing abortion violated womens Fourteenth Amendment right to choose whether to continue a pregnancy. ... Holding For a law to be constitutional under the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, the law must have a legitimate secular purpose, must not have the primary effect of either advancing or inhibiting religion, and must not result in an excessive entanglement of government and religion. ... Miller v. ...

Other rulings include Landmark Communications v. Virginia in which the court ruled for fining a newspaper for revealing the identity of a judge under investigation by a state commission (H. Warrington Sharp.) The Burger Court also established a moratorium on capital punishment in Furman v. Georgia (1972), holding that states generally awarded death sentences arbitrarily and inconsistently. The moratorium, however, was lifted four years later in Gregg v. Georgia (1976). Also in United States v. Nixon the court ruled that the courts have the final voice in determining constitutional questions and that no person, not even the President of the United States, is completely above law. Capital punishment, or the death penalty, is the execution of a convicted criminal by the State as punishment for crimes known as capital crimes or capital offenses. ... Holding The arbitrary and inconsistent imposition of the death penalty violates the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments, and constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. ... Holding The imposition of the death penalty does not, automatically, violate the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment, lower courts judgement is affirmed. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

The Rehnquist Court (1986–2005)

U.S. Supreme Court, 1998.

Chief Justice William Rehnquist served from Burger's retirement in 1986 until his own death on September 3, 2005. The Rehnquist Court generally took a limited view of Congress's powers under the commerce clause, as exemplified by United States v. Lopez (1995). The Court made numerous controversial decisions, including Texas v. Johnson (1989), which declared that flag burning was a form of speech protected by the First Amendment; Lee v. Weisman (1992), which declared officially-sanctioned, student-led school prayers unconstitutional; Stenberg v. Carhart (2000), which voided laws prohibiting late-term abortions; and Lawrence v. Texas (2003), which struck down laws prohibiting sodomy. (Some commentators see these decisions as part of the "culture wars.") Another controversial decision of the Rehnquist court in 2003 was Gratz v. Bollinger which upheld affirmative action. Perhaps the most controversial decision made by the Court came in Bush v. Gore (2000), which ended election recounts in Florida following the presidential election of 2000, allowing George W. Bush to become the forty-third U.S. President. Image File history File links Supreme_Court_1998_new. ... Image File history File links Supreme_Court_1998_new. ... William Hubbs Rehnquist (October 1, 1924 – September 3, 2005) was an American lawyer, jurist and political figure, who served as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States and later as the Chief Justice of the United States. ... September 3 is the 246th day of the year (247th in leap years). ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Holding Possession of a gun near a school is not an economic activity that has a substantial effect on interstate commerce. ... Holding A Texas statute that criminalized the desecration of the American flag violated the First Amendment. ... Holding --- Court membership Case opinions Laws applied --- Lee v. ... Holding Laws banning partial-birth abortion are unconstitutional if they do not make an exception for the womans health, or if they cannot be reasonably construed to apply only to the partial-birth abortion (intact D&X) procedure and not to other abortion methods. ... Holding A Texas law prohibiting homosexual sodomy violated the liberty under the Fourteenth Amendment of adults to engage in private intimate conduct. ... Sodomy is a term of religious origin used to characterize certain sexual acts. ... The term Culture Wars has been used to describe ideologically-driven and often strident confrontations typical of American public culture and politics since the 1960s, but especially beginning in the 1980s. ... Holding A state universitys admission policy violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment because its ranking system gave an automatic point increase to all racial minorities rather than making individual determinations. ... Holding Any manual recount of votes seeking to meet the December 12 “safe harbor” deadline would be unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. ... Official language(s) English Capital Tallahassee Largest city Jacksonville Area  Ranked 22nd  - Total 65,794 sq mi (170,451 km²)  - Width 162 miles (260 km)  - Length 497 miles (800 km)  - % water 17. ... Presidential electoral votes by state. ... George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American businessman and politician, was elected in 2000 as the 43rd President of the United States of America, re-elected in 2004, and is currently serving his second term in that office. ... For the pop band, see Presidents of the United States of America. ...

Rehnquist led a remarkably stable Court - for the eleven years preceding Rehnquist's death, the composition of the Court remained unchanged - the longest such stretch in over 180 years.

O'Connor's Retirement

On July 1, 2005, Justice O'Connor announced that she would retire from the Supreme Court upon the confirmation of her successor. President Bush originally nominated United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Judge John Roberts to replace O'Connor on July 19, 2005. However, following the death of Chief Justice Rehnquist on September 3, Bush re-nominated Roberts as the new Chief Justice. The President subsequently nominated White House Counsel Harriet Miers to replace Justice O'Connor on October 3, 2005, but Miers withdrew her nomination on October 27, 2005 after controversy arose ostensibly from a Congressional request into notes about her role as White House Counsel. On October 31, 2005, President Bush nominated United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit Judge Samuel Alito to replace Justice O'Connor. On January 24, 2006, the Senate Judiciary Committee sent the nomination of Alito to the 100-member Senate. On January 31, 2006, the Senate confirmed Alito, 58-42, at which point O'Connor's retirement became effective. July 1 is the 182nd day of the year (183rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 183 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, or called simply the DC Circuit Court, is the federal appellate court for the U.S. district court in Washington, DC. Appeals from the DC Circuit, as with all the US Courts of Appeals, are heard by the... John Glover Roberts, Jr. ... July 19 is the 200th day (201st in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 165 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... September 3 is the 246th day of the year (247th in leap years). ... The White House Counsel is a staff appointee of the President of the United States. ... Harriet Miers Harriet Ellan Miers (born August 10, 1945 in Dallas, Texas) is an American lawyer, currently serving as White House Counsel. ... October 3 is the 276th day of the year (277th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... October 27 is the 300th day of the year (301st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 65 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Harriet Miers. ... October 31 is the 304th day of the year (305th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 61 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the following United States District Courts: District of Delaware District of New Jersey Western, Middle, and Eastern Districts of Pennsylvania District of the United States Virgin Islands The court is based at... Samuel Anthony Alito, Jr. ... The U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary (informally Senate Judiciary Committee) is a standing committee of the United States Senate, the upper house of the United States Congress. ...

The Roberts Court (2005—)

Chief Justice John Roberts was confirmed by the Senate on September 29, 2005 and presided over the Court for the first time on October 3, 2005, the day the 2005-2006 session opened. John Glover Roberts, Jr. ... September 29 is the 272nd day of the year (273rd in leap years). ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... October 3 is the 276th day of the year (277th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...