Constitutional Law II
Class Notes
Case Briefs
- Boumediene v. Bush: 9/8/09 ; Congress can't strip habeas corpus jurisdiction.
- Hughes v. Mathews: 9/10/09 ; suppression of psychiatric evidence is a violation of due process.
- Kansas v. Hendricks: 9/14/09 ; Civil confinement of sex predator and due process
- Lochner v. United States: 9/14/09 ; The constitution does not enact any particular economic policy
- West Coast Hotel v. Parish: 9/14/09 ; protection of women workers
- Powers v. Harris: 9/17/09 ; Selling caskets over the Internet
- Ferdon v. Wisconsin Patients Compensation Fund: 9/17/09 ; Rational basis with bite
- Gregg v. Georgia: 9/22/09 ; The death penalty is constitutional
- Atkins v. Virginia: 9/22/09 ; Can't execute the retarded
- District of Columbia v. Heller: 9/24/09 ; The 2A right is a personal right
- N.R.A. v. Chicago: 9/24/09 ; But it remains to be seen if 2A will be incorporated against the states
- Lindsey v. Normet: 9/24/09 ; No constitutional right to well-maintained housing
- Fort Worth School: 9/29/09 ; Horrible conditions give rise to new constitutional rights
- Horne v. Flores: 9/29/09 ; Right to english language education
- Griswold v. Connecticut: 9/29/09 ; Privacy: penumbras and emanations
- Roe v. Wade: 9/29/09, 9/30/09 ; Right to abortion is grounded in privacy
- Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey: 10/1/09 ; backing off from Roe
- Gonzales v. Carhart: 10/1/09 ; Partial birth abortion
- In re Storar: 10/1/09, 10/6/09 ; Right to die
- Johnson v. McIntosh: 10/6/09 ; Property rights of Indians
- Scott v. Sandford: 10/6/09 ; Negroes aren't people, according to the court
- The Civil Rights Cases: 10/6/09 ; 14A applies only to state actions
- Plessy v. Ferguson: 10/6/09 ; Separate but equal
- Korematsu v. United States: 10/8/09 ; The war power excuses racism.
- Sweatt v. Painter: 10/13/09 ; Separate law schools aren't equal
- Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka: 10/13/09 ; No more separate but equal: it's inherenty unequal
- Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka II: 10/13/09 ; Fix this with all deliberate speed
- Cooper v. Aaron: 10/13/09 ; SCOTUS is supreme-- fix this integration problem
- Green v. County School Board: 10/13/09 ; Eliminating discrimination isn't enough-- integration is required.
- Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg: 10/13/09 ; Many remedies are available; district courts have a lot of discretion; a flexible goal is OK; once you've got a unitary system, you're done.
- Milliken v. Bradley: 10/13/09 ; The scope of the remedy mustn't exceed the violation
- Missouri v. Jenkins: 10/15/09 ; Judge runs amok with remedies
- United States v. Fordice: 10/15/09 ; Need to eliminate policies and practices traceable to segregation
- Washington v. Davis: 10/15/09 ; Disproportionate impact alone is not enough to trigger strict scrutiny-- there must be a discriminatory purpose
- Ricci v. DeStefano: 10/20/09 ; Strong basis in evidence required for actions taken under pretense of fear of liability
- Buchannan v. Warley: 10/22/09 ; housing segregation struck down
- Shelley v. Kraemer: 10/22/09 ; You can be a racist in private, but the courts aren't going to help out
- United States v. Starett City Associates: 10/22/09 ; Even well-intentioned race-based classifications are in trouble
- Castaneda v. Partida: 10/22/09 ; Racial composition of grand juries in TX
- Edmonson v. Leesville Concrete Co Inc.: 10/22/09 ; Race-based peremptory challenges
- United States v. Farmer: 10/27/09 ; 3 strikes law
- Loving v. Virginia: 10/27/09 ; Miscegnation
- Palmore v. Sidoti: 10/27/09 ; Race in child custody battle
- Reed v. Reed: 10/27/09 ; Gender discrimination in inheritance law
- United States v. Virginia: 10/29/09 (and a bit on 10/27) ; Admitting women to VMI
- Davis v. Monroe County: 10/2909 ; Sexual abuse and harassment in public school
- Brandt v. Brandt: 11/3/09 ; gender equality cuts both ways
- Bowers v. Hardwick: 11/3/09 ; No consitutional right to practice sodomy
- Romer v. Evans: 11/3/09 ; CO statute denying any special protection to homosexuals
- Lawrence v. Texas: 11/3/09 ; Bowers overruled: unconsitutional to criminalize sodomy
- Strauss v. Horton: 11/3/09 ; No gay marriage in CA
- Helgeland v. Wisconsin Municipalities: 11/5/09 ; Everyone is jumping into this suit over benefits for same-sex dependents
- Witt v. Department of the Air Force: 11/5/09 ; DADT not constitutional, at least sort of
- Plyler v. Doe: 11/10/09 ; Barring children of illegal immigrants from schools
- Lozano v. Hazelton: 11/10/09 ; xenophobic legislation in PA
- Martinez v. Partch: 11/10/09 ; discrimination against foreigners in housing
- Ruiz v. Hull: 11/10/09 ; AZ official language statute
- Gregory v. Ashcroft: 11/10/09 ; Forcing old state judges to retire
- Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Center: 11/12/09 ; discriminatory zoning against the retarded
- Bragdon v. Abbott: 11/12/09 ; HIV is a disability under ADA
- Bates v. United Parcel Service: not discussed ; Hiring deaf drivers
- American Council of the Blind v. Paulson: 11/12/09 ; American money discriminates against the blind
- E.E.O.C. v. Watkins Motor Lines: 11/12/09 ; non-physiological obesity not a disability under ADnon-physiological obesity not a disability under ADAA
- Adarand Constructors Inc. v. Pena: 11/12/09 ; Set-asides for contracts are OK
- Regents of the University of California v. Bakke: 11/12/09 ; admission to medical school
- Gratz v. Bollinger: 11/17/09 ; Too overt an affirmative action program
- Grutter v. Bollinger: 11/17/09 ; You can consider race when selecting studentYou can consider race when selecting studentss
- Parents Involved v. Seattle School District: 11/19/09 ; Don't fix what isn't broken by using race classifications
- Southern Burlington NAACP v. Mount Laurel: 10/22/09 ; We are taking over
- Asian Americans for Equity v. Koch: 10/22/09 ; Gentrification of chinatown
- Schenck v. United States: 11/19/09 ; Clear and present danger
- Abrams v. United States: 11/19/09 ; A lot like Schenck but with a nice dissent from Holmes
- Dennis v. United States: 11/19/09 ; The Hand formula applied to restrictions on speech
- Brandenburg v. Ohio: 11/19/09 ; Lame meeting of the Klan
- Smith v. Collin: 11/19/09 ; Illinois Nazis
- Texas v. Johnson: 11/24/09 ; Flag burning
- UWM Post v. Board of Regents: 11/24/09 ; Speech restrictions on campus
- Rumsfeld v. Fair: 11/24/09 ; Military recruiters on campus aren't a speech violation
- Board of Regents v. Southworth: 11/24/09 ; Segregated fees for student activities
- Lathrop v. Donohue: 11/24/09 ; Bar dues
- Near v. Minnesota: 12/1/09 ; Censorship of newspaper
- New York Times v. United States: 12/1/09 ; Pentagon papers
- New York Times v. Sullivan: 12/1/09 ; No civil liability for possibly defamatory ad
- Nike v. Kasky: 12/1/09 ; Corporations have some free speech rights, but not the same as people
- Scopes v. State: 12/1/09 ; Upholding the verdict, but not the fine
- Kitzmiller v. Dover School District: 12/1/09 ; Intelligent design
- Lee v. Weisman: 12/1/09 ; Non-sectarian prayer at graduation
- Hinrichs v. Bosma: 12/1/09 ; prayer in the legislature
- Zelman v. Simmons-Harris: 12/3/09 ; School vouchers
- West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette: Not discussed ; Pledge of allegiance not OK in 1943
- Newdow v. United States: Not discussed ; "Under God" not OK either
- Wisconsin v. Yoder: 12/3/09 ; Amish don't have to go to school
- Employment Division v. Smith: 12/3/09 ; Peyote gets you fired, even if it's religious
- City of Boerne v. Flores: ; Enlarging the church and RFRA
- Cutter v. Wilkinson: ; RLUIPA and marginal religions in prison
- Noesen v. Pharmacy Examining Board: ; Pharmacist declines to give contraceptives
- Malicki v. Doe: ; Molested children can sue for wrongful hiring/retention
- Tomic v. Catholic Diocese of Peoria: ; Fired organist can't get his age discrimination suit going because of free exercise
- Lyng v. Northwest Indian Cemetary Association: ; Free exercise can't halt the government
- Lutheran Church v. FCC: ; FCC should stick to airwaves and not regulating church hiring practices