Eleanor Finch
The US Constitution and its amendments have been central to many landmark Supreme Court cases. For example, in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), the Court upheld a Louisiana law requiring rail passengers to be segregated based on race, a decision that was later overturned in Brown v. Board of Education (1954). The 14th Amendment has been at the heart of many cases, such as Roe v. Wade, which affirmed a woman's right to privacy and reproductive choice. The First Amendment has also been frequently litigated, with cases such as Tinker v. Des Moines challenging the right to free speech in schools. Other amendments that have been central to cases include the Sixth, guaranteeing the right to assistance of counsel, and the Eighth, prohibiting cruel and unusual punishment for minors.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| 1st Amendment | Protects the right to freedom of speech, including offensive speech like flag burning and symbolic speech. |
| 1st Amendment | Does not protect antiwar pamphlets sent to drafted men during wartime. |
| 4th Amendment | Protects students from unreasonable searches and seizures, including random drug tests of student athletes. |
| 5th Amendment | Protects individuals in custody from self-incrimination and guarantees their right to remain silent and to be assisted by an attorney. |
| 6th Amendment | Guarantees the right to assistance of counsel in criminal state trials. |
| 8th Amendment | Prohibits cruel and unusual punishment, including executing persons for crimes committed when they were 15 or younger. |
| 13th Amendment | Abolished slavery and deemed people of African descent to have none of the rights of citizens. |
| 14th Amendment | Protects the right to privacy, including the right of married couples to privately receive counseling regarding contraceptive use. |
| 14th Amendment | Protects against discrimination by state actors, including racial segregation in schools and on public transportation. |
| 14th Amendment | Protects the "right to contract," as in the case of Lochner v. New York, which struck down a law prohibiting bakers from working more than 10 hours a day and 60 hours a week. |
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What You'll Learn
The First Amendment and freedom of speech
The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects the freedom of speech, stating that the government must not "abridge the freedom of speech, or of the press". The Supreme Court has grappled with how far this protection extends, considering the threshold question of what constitutes "speech" for First Amendment purposes. This has included interpreting expressive conduct, such as flag burning or wearing a black armband, as symbolic speech that receives First Amendment protection.
The First Amendment also protects anonymity in speech, though this can be balanced against the government's need for transparency in campaign finance. For example, in Federal Communications Commission v. Midwest Video Corp. (1979), the Court ruled that cable television operators could not be required to act as "common carriers", promoting the journalistic freedom of cable station owners. In Near v. Minnesota (1931), the Supreme Court interpreted the First and Fourteenth Amendments to forbid "prior restraints" on the publication of a newspaper, recognising that lawsuits for libel are "subsequent punishments".
The First Amendment has been a crucial tool for civil rights movements, with the expressive actions of protesters and activists leading to the expansion of free expression principles. The Supreme Court has also ruled on the right to assemble, recognising in the 1930s that the right to gather collectively as one voice advanced benefits warranting constitutional protection. In the context of education, the Court has ruled that students may express their opinions, even on controversial subjects, as long as it does not materially disrupt classwork or invade the rights of others. For instance, in Loewen v. Turnipseed (1980), the U.S. District Court ruled in favour of a student, teacher, and adult residents who sued a school board for removing a magazine from a high school library, finding that the removal contravened the plaintiffs' First Amendment rights.
Recent cases involving the First Amendment and freedom of speech include Hoffman v. Westcott (2025), TikTok v. Garland (2025), and Shurtleff v. City of Boston (2022).
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The Fourteenth Amendment and equal protection
The Fourteenth Amendment, which was ratified in 1868, guarantees equal protection under the law to all citizens of the United States. The amendment has been interpreted and applied to various aspects of public life, including education, marriage, and voting rights. One of the most well-known cases involving the Fourteenth Amendment and equal protection is Brown v. Board of Education (1954), which ended racial segregation in public schools. The Court ruled that separate but equal facilities for blacks and whites were unconstitutional, overturning the previous decision in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896).
Another landmark case is Loving v. Virginia (1967), which struck down laws prohibiting interracial marriage. The Court held that these laws violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Similarly, in Sweatt v. Painter (1950), the Court ruled that a black student must be admitted to a state law school, as the separate law school established for blacks did not provide an equal legal education.
The Fourteenth Amendment has also been invoked in cases involving gender discrimination, such as Reed v. Reed (1971), which established that the Equal Protection Clause applies to gender-based classifications. In addition, Title IX of the Civil Rights Act of 1972, which prohibits gender discrimination in education programs receiving federal funding, is based on the Fourteenth Amendment. The Supreme Court's decision in Grove City College v. Bell (1984) further clarified the application of Title IX and the Fourteenth Amendment to cases of gender discrimination in education.
More recently, the Fourteenth Amendment has been used to argue for marriage equality for same-sex couples. In Obergefell v. Hodges (2015), the Supreme Court ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment requires states to license and recognize marriages between same-sex couples. This ruling was a significant milestone in the fight for LGBT rights.
Overall, the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause has been instrumental in ensuring that all citizens are treated equally under the law, regardless of race, gender, or other characteristics. It continues to shape legislation and court decisions, promoting fairness and justice in American society.
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The Sixth Amendment and right to counsel
The Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution guarantees the accused in a criminal prosecution the right "to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence". This right to counsel is guaranteed regardless of the defendant's ability to pay. The right to counsel applies at criminal trials, regardless of whether the trial is federal or state.
The right to counsel does not begin until the initiation of adversary judicial criminal proceedings. Even once these proceedings begin, the Sixth Amendment right to counsel applies only to critical stages of criminal prosecutions. In Hamilton v. Alabama, the court determined whether the right to counsel applied in an arraignment by examining whether it amounted to a critical stage in a criminal proceeding.
In Massiah v. United States, the Supreme Court held that the right to counsel was violated when there was used against the defendant at trial evidence of incriminating statements deliberately elicited from him by an informant after he had been indicted and in the absence of counsel. This decision created a new constitutional right not to be questioned about pending charges before a trial except in the presence of an attorney.
In Nix v. Whiteside, the Supreme Court found that an attorney in a criminal trial has a duty not to allow a client to give perjured information. The right to effective counsel typically entails that the attorney engages in zealous advocacy for the defendant. However, there are exceptions. In United States v. Shaffer Equip. Co., the Court determined that when a client wants to engage in perjury, the attorney is required to compel the client not to commit perjury, even if it could benefit the client's outcome.
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The Fifth Amendment and self-incrimination
The Fifth Amendment protects individuals from self-incrimination, providing the right not to serve as a witness against oneself in a criminal case. This protection applies in federal and state courts, during police interrogations, and in other legal contexts. The amendment also safeguards individuals from having their rights abused by the government, including the protection against double jeopardy, which prevents individuals from being tried twice for the same offence.
The right against self-incrimination allows individuals to refuse to answer questions or provide testimony that may incriminate them in a criminal matter. This right can be invoked by defendants and witnesses in criminal cases and applies even when the individual is not a suspect but may have information that could assist in building a criminal case. For example, in Hoffman v. United States, the Supreme Court ruled that a witness could refuse to testify if they had a reasonable fear that their testimony might assist the government in building a criminal case, even if it would not directly support a conviction.
The Fifth Amendment also applies in civil cases when criminal prosecution might result from disclosure. However, it does not protect individuals from being suspended from membership in a non-governmental, self-regulatory organization (SRO) if they refuse to answer questions posed by the SRO. The amendment also limits the use of evidence obtained illegally by law enforcement officers, and courts will often suppress statements made by suspects who have not been informed of their Miranda rights.
In the landmark case Miranda v. Arizona (1966), the Supreme Court held that the Fifth Amendment's Self-Incrimination Clause requires police to issue a Miranda warning to criminal suspects interrogated while in custody. This warning informs individuals of their right to remain silent and helps prevent coerced confessions. However, merely remaining silent is not enough to invoke this right; individuals must clearly and unambiguously assert their intention to remain silent for police to be required to cease questioning.
The protection against self-incrimination is not absolute and has some boundaries and exceptions. For example, it does not extend to voluntarily prepared business papers, and individuals can waive the right if they voluntarily provide information without invoking the Fifth Amendment. Additionally, in Salinas v. Texas, the Supreme Court held that a suspect's choice to invoke the Fifth Amendment could be used against them at trial, depending on the specific circumstances.
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The Eighth Amendment and cruel and unusual punishment
The Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution, adopted on December 15, 1791, prohibits the imposition of excessive bail, excessive fines, and cruel and unusual punishments. The amendment acts as a limitation on the state or federal government's power to impose unduly harsh penalties on criminal defendants before and after a conviction.
The Supreme Court has interpreted the Eighth Amendment's bar on cruel and unusual punishment more frequently than any of its other clauses, likely due to the ambiguity in determining what qualifies as "cruel and unusual". The Court has held that the Eighth Amendment prohibits certain types of punishment, such as drawing and quartering, public dissection, burning alive, or disembowelment. The amendment also prohibits the death penalty for defendants who were under the age of 16 when the crime was committed.
In Ingraham v. Wright (1977), the Supreme Court stated that the "unnecessary and wanton infliction of pain" constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. This standard was refined in Whitley v. Albers (1986), where the Court clarified that actions that may seem like an unconstitutional infliction of pain may be constitutional if done in good faith to restore discipline rather than to cause harm.
The Eighth Amendment also applies to prison conditions. In Estelle v. Gamble (1976), the Supreme Court established that the amendment may be violated due to factors related to a prisoner's confinement. Prison guard deliberate indifference to a prisoner's serious illness or injury would constitute cruel and unusual punishment. In Brown v. Plata (2011), the Court held that prison overcrowding in California was unconstitutional due to the resulting medical care violations.
The Eighth Amendment's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment has been incorporated into the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause, making it applicable to state and local governments. This was affirmed in Timbs v. Indiana (2019), where the Supreme Court ruled that the Excessive Fines Clause applies to states and localities.
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Frequently asked questions
Tinker v. Des Moines (1969). Mary Beth Tinker and her brother wore black armbands to school to protest the Vietnam War. The Supreme Court ruled that their actions were protected by the First Amendment.
Yes, in Gideon, the Supreme Court ruled that the Sixth Amendment right to assistance of counsel applies to criminal state trials.
Yes, in Thompson v. Oklahoma (1988), the Supreme Court ruled that executing persons for crimes committed when they were 15 or younger is cruel and unusual punishment, violating the Eighth Amendment.
Yes, in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), the Supreme Court upheld the doctrine of "separate but equal" in rail transportation. However, in Brown v. Board of Education (1954), the Court reversed its decision, declaring that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal" and violating the Fourteenth Amendment.
