Formatting in this section is less consistent than with the American History or World History pages. Some cases get the full “Have To” History treatment while others merit only a single “Worth A Look” summary. A few omit the “Three Big Things” commonly found at the beginning while others include excerpts of the Court’s written opinions – majority, concurring, or dissenting.
While you’ll no doubt pick up on some point-of-view on my part, I’ve done my best to be as accurate and fair to each case as possible. As always, let me know if you have questions or comments – [email protected].
- Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge (1837) – Do states have the right to put the “general welfare” of citizens ahead of business profits? (from “Have To” History: Landmark Supreme Court Cases)
- Munn v. Illinois (1877) – Government has the right to regulate or limit industries which are essential to public interests. (from “Have To” History: Landmark Supreme Court Cases)
- The Lochner Era (1897-1937) – One of the major time periods of the Supreme Court. It was all about protecting big business from workers’ rights but left us with ideas like “substantive due process” and “unenumerated rights” which are still being debated today. (from “Have To” History: Landmark Supreme Court Cases)
- Minersville v. Gobitis (1940) – Can the state require little children to swear loyalty to the flag over their commitment to the Lord God Jehovah? Sure, why not? (from “Have To” History: A Wall Of Education)
- West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette (1943) – Can the state require little children to swear loyalty to the flag over their commitment to the Lord God Jehovah? On second thought, NO – that was a TERRIBLE idea! (from “Have To” History: A Wall Of Education)
- McCollum v. Board of Education (1948) – Fifteen years before the Court supposedly kicked out both prayer and the Lord God from public schools (better hope He doesn’t have an extra key!), it patiently explained that religious instruction at school – even if labeled “voluntary” – was a big no-no. (from “Have To” History: Landmark Supreme Court Cases)
- Flast v. Cohen (1968) – You have to actually experience harm before you have “standing” to sue, and paying taxes for stuff you don’t like doesn’t count – well, unless the issue involves state establishment of religion, maybe. (from “Have To” History: Landmark Supreme Court Cases)
- Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971) – This case produced the “Lemon Test,” a three-step rubric which more or less held for nearly half-a-century and guided the Court’s efforts to avoid “establishment” violations without unnecessarily hindering “free exercise.” Ah, the good old days! (from “Have To” History: A Wall Of Education)
- Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972) – It’s perfectly reasonable for the state to require young people to attend public school or some reasonable substitute thereof… unless they’re Amish. Because, you know – they seem to be doing OK with their own thing. (from “Have To” History: Landmark Supreme Court Cases)
- United States v. Nixon (1974) – Remember when we thought the stuff Nixon did was probably as bad as things could get in the Oval Office? Yeah, those were good times. (from “Have To” History: Landmark Supreme Court Cases)
- Stone v. Graham (1980) – Can states require schools to post the Ten Commandments in classrooms? (from “Have To” History: A Wall Of Education)
- Westside Community Schools v. Mergens (1990) – If schools allow non-curriculum clubs to meet on school property, they can’t exclude groups based on religious affiliation or political viewpoints. (from “Have To” History: A Wall Of Education)
- Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah (1993) – Wait, is “freedom of religion” supposed to protect, you know… even the WEIRD ones?! Spoiler: Yep. (unpublished)
- Brown v. Gwinnett County School District (1997, 11th Circuit Court of Appeals) – This one didn’t merit a PDF or anything fancy; it’s just a “moment of silence but hopefully you’ll pray” case I found interesting. (unpublished)
- Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow (2004) – Does the Pledge of Allegiance violate the Establishment Clause? Probably not… but you gotta have proper standing first before the Court gets sucked into THAT debate. (from “Have To” History: A Wall Of Education)
- PICS vs. Seattle SD1 (2007) – Can public schools consider race as a “tie breaker” for school placement? (this is a rough draft from an upcoming book of major cases of the Roberts Court)
- Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (2012) – You think teachers at private schools don’t have many rights? Try calling them “ministers” and see what happens to them! (from “Have To” History: A Wall Of Education)
- Holt v. Hobbs (2015) – Prisoners have a right to reasonable religious accommodations which don’t threaten the health or security of others… even facial hair. (unpublished)
- Trinity Lutheran v. Comer (2017) – Religious organizations cannot be excluded from government programs simply because they’re religious.