Decade - 1960s

Chief Justice Earl Warren presided over the US Supreme Court from 1953-1969, so the landmark decisions of the 1960s can mostly be attributed to the Warren Court:

United States v. Raines, 362 US 17 (1960)

Reversed a District Court decision and determined the federal government can bring civil action against state officials for discriminating against African-Americans.

Boynton v. Virginia, 364 US 454 (1960)

Used the Interstate Commerce Clause to end Jim Crow laws applying to public transportation.

Gomillion v. Lightfoot, 364 US 339 (1960)

Held as unconstitutional under the Fifteenth Amendment state electoral redistricting designed to disenfranchise African-American voters.

McGowan v. Maryland, 366 US 420 (1961)

Held that laws with religious origins were not unconstitutional if they served a secular purpose (upholding Maryland's "blue laws" that prevented sale of certain items on Sunday).

Torcaso v. Watkins, 367 US 488 (1961)

Held that the Maryland constitutional requirement that public officials take an oath declaring belief in "existence of God" in order to "hold any office for profit or trust in this state" was unconstitutional because the US Constitution prohibits requiring a religious test for holding public office.

Mapp v. Ohio, 367 US 643 (1961)

Landmark case in which the Supreme Court held that evidence obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment protection against "unreasonable search and seizure" may not be used against a defendant in criminal proceedings.

Hamilton v. Alabama, 368 US 52 (1961)

Held that absence of counsel at a criminal arraignment is a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Clause.

Fong Foo v. United States, 369 US 141 (1962)

Upheld Fifth Amendment protection against double jeopardy in federal prosecution.

Baker v. Carr, 369 US 186 (1962)

Landmark decision upholding the plaintiff's standing to challenge the state for failing to perform electoral redistricting.

Engle v. Vitale, 370 US 421 (1962)

Held that it was unconstitutional to hold organized prayer in public schools, or to require recitation of prayers because it was a violation of the Establishment Clause.

Jones v. Cunningham, 371 US 236 (1963)

Held that state prison inmates had the right to file petitions for writs of habeas corpus challenging the legality and conditions of their imprisonment. This reversed the "hands-off" doctrine established in Pervear v. Massachusetts, (1866) regarding applicability of the Bill of Rights to state prisoners.

Edwards v. South Carolina, 372 US 229 (1963)

Held that police could not force peaceful demonstrators on government property to disperse when their behavior is otherwise legal.

Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 US 335 (1963)

Held that indigent defendants had the right to free counsel in criminal cases, per the Sixth Amendment.

Brady v. Maryland, 373 US 83 (1963)

Held that material evidence to guilt, innocence, or punishment cannot be withheld from a defendant under the Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Clause. Also required prosecution to notify the defendant when law enforcement officials involved in the case have a significant record of lying in an official capacity.

Abington School District v. Schempp, 374 US 203 (1963)

Consolidated case that declared public schools could not sponsor Bible reading, per the Establishment Clause.

New York Times v. Sullivan, 376 US 254 (1964)

Held that statements made about public figures could not be considered defamatory unless made with "actual malice," meaning the statement must be intentionally false or made with "reckless disregard for the truth."

Schneider v. Rusk, 377 US 163 (1964)

Invalidated the Immigration and Nationality Act that stripped naturalized US citizens of their US citizenship if they returned to their native country to live for three or more years.

Massiah v. United States, 377 US 201 (1964)

Held that police cannot continue eliciting self-incriminating statements from a defendant after he or she invokes the right to counsel.

Griffin v. County School Board of Prince Edward County,377 US 218 (1964)

Ruled that a school district's decision to close its public schools and provide students with vouchers to attend private schools was unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment Equal Protection Clause because the private schools were white-only, and refused to integrate. As a result of the school board's action, African-American children living in Prince Edward County had no access to education from 1959-1963.

Escobedo v. Illinois, 378 US 478 (1964)

Held that criminal suspects have the right to representation by an attorney during interrogation, per the Sixth Amendment.

Cooper v. Pate, 378 US 546 (1964)

Held that federal inmates have standing to address grievances in federal court, per the Civil Rights Act of 1871.

Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States, 379 US 241 (1964)

Allowed Congress to use the Commerce Clause to fight discrimination in a challenge of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Stanford v. Texas, 379 US 476 (1965)

Established clear guidelines for legal search and seizure.

Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 US 479 (1965)

Invalidated a Connecticut law that prohibited the use of contraceptives on the grounds that it was an unconstitutional invasion of privacy.

Albertson v. Subversive Activities Control Board, 382 US 70 (1965)

Held that persons believed to be members of the Communist Party could not be required to register because it violated their Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination.

Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections, 383 US 663 (1966)

Extended the 24th Amendment to states and abolished the poll tax in state elections.

United States v. Price, et al., 383 US 787 (1966)

This is the case used as the basis for the movie Mississippi Burning, involving criminal conspiracy charges against KKK members accused of murdering civil rights workers.

Sheppard v. Maxwell, 384 US 333 (1966)

Held that Sheppard did not receive a fair trial because the judge allowed excessive media coverage.

Miranda v. Arizona, 384 US 436 (1966)

Landmark decision against self-incrimination that resulted in the law enforcement requirement to advise a suspect of his or her rights before questioning.

Whitus v. Georgia, 385 US 545 (1967)

Held that Georgia's jury selection process employed unconstitutional racial discrimination tactics.

In Re Gault, 387 US 1 (1967)

Held that juveniles accused of crimes in delinquency proceedings were entitled to the same Fourteenth Amendment Due Process protection as adults.

Afroyim v. Rusk, 387 US 253 (1967)

Held that the federal government cannot strip a person of his or her citizenship.

Loving v. Virginia, 388 US 1 (1967)

Landmark civil rights case that declared Virginia's Racial Integrity Act of 1924, which prohibited interracial marriage, unconstitutional. This overturned the 1883 Supreme Court case Pace v. Alabama, (1883) and invalidated all race-related legal restrictions on marriage.

Katz v. United States, 389 US 347 (1967)

Extended Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable search and seizure to include warrantless wire-tapping.

Albrecht v. Herald Co., 390 US 145 (1968)

Outlawed the practice of price-fixing as a violation of the Sherman Anti-trust Act.

Terry v. Ohio, 392 US 1 (1968)

Held that police had the right to search stopped suspects for the purpose of self-protection or crime prevention. This is considered an exclusionary rule to the Fourth Amendment.

Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer, Co., 392 US 409 (1968)

Held that Congress could pass legislation barring discrimination in the sale or rental of real estate, whether private or public.

Epperson v. Arkansas, 393 US 97 (1968)

Held that Arkansas could not prohibit the teaching of evolution in public school, and could not legislate in favor of the biases of religious groups.

Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, 393 US 503 (1969)

Held that students had First Amendment rights that schools could not restrict without showing a constitutionally valid cause (this was the Vietnam War black armband protest).

Street v. New York, 394 US 576 (1969)

Held a New York statute prohibiting desecration of the flag was partially unconstitutional because it also banned "speech" against the flag.

For more information, see Related Questions, below.