Us Supreme Court Landmark Decisions

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Plessy v Ferguson (1896)

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State law in Louisiana required that railroad companies have separate accommodation for both black and whites, which meant separate railway carriages.

This Supreme Court Case ruled that the ‘separate by equal’ provision in private services that was required by state government was constitutional under the Equal Protection Clause (14th Amendment). This ruling was overturned by the Brown v Board of Education decision in 1953.

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Brown vs Board of Education (1953)

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The court found that segregation deprived children in the minority of equal educational opportunities, and as such separate but equal has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal. It violates the Fourteenth amendment.

This Supreme Court case ruled that ‘separate but equal’ was inherently unequal through the deeming on state laws on segregated schools as unconstitutional. It overturns the Plessy v Ferguson 1896 decision.

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Gideon v Wainwright (1963)

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This Supreme Court case ruled that states in criminal cases must provide legal counsel to those who are unable to afford to pay for their own defence. The case is found under the Fourteenth Amendment as it extends the Fifth and Sixth amendments to the states.

The Court ruled unanimously that the right to counsel was protected under the Sixth Amendment. As a result of this 2000 prisoners were freed, although not Gideon himself. He was however allowed a retrial in which he was provided Counsel and was subsequently acquitted.

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Griswold v Connecticut (1965)

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The Connecticut Comstock Act of 1879 Due to The Connecticut Comstock Act of 1879 the running of birth control clinics was deemed an illegal practice. Estelle Griswold opened a birth control clinic in New Haven, Connecticut in 1961 but was arrested and charged, resulting in an $100 fine.

This Supreme Court case found that the Constitution protected a right to privacy. The case was ruled under the First, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Ninth and Fourteenth Amendment.