Civil Rights Cases (1883)

1) Link to the Actual Opinion
Read the U.S. Reports opinion (PDF)

2) Summary of the Opinion
The Supreme Court struck down provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1875, which had outlawed racial discrimination in public accommodations like inns, theaters, and public transport. The Court held that the 14th Amendment only restricts state action, not discrimination by private individuals or businesses.

3) Why It Mattered
This ruling gutted Reconstruction-era civil rights protections and allowed Jim Crow segregation to flourish unchecked for decades.

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

1) Link to the Actual Opinion
Read the U.S. Reports opinion (PDF)

2) Summary of the Opinion
Homer Plessy, a mixed-race man, challenged Louisiana’s law requiring segregated railway cars. The Supreme Court upheld the law, ruling that “separate but equal” facilities for Black and white citizens did not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.

3) Why It Mattered
This case legitimized racial segregation and provided constitutional cover for Jim Crow laws across the South for more than half a century.

Korematsu v. United States (1944)

1) Link to the Actual Opinion
Read the U.S. Reports opinion (PDF)

2) Summary of the Opinion
Fred Korematsu, a U.S. citizen of Japanese descent, was convicted for violating a military exclusion order that required Japanese Americans to relocate to internment camps during World War II. The Supreme Court upheld his conviction, ruling that the exclusion was justified by wartime military necessity.

3) Why It Mattered
Korematsu is one of the most infamous Supreme Court rulings. It legitimized mass internment of Japanese Americans and stood for decades as precedent for extreme deference to the government in wartime.

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

1) Link to the Actual Opinion
Read the U.S. Reports opinion (PDF)

2) Summary of the Opinion
Black families in several states challenged segregated public schools. The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that “separate but equal” is inherently unequal, striking down racial segregation in public education under the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.

3) Why It Mattered
This case overturned Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) in the context of public education and became the foundation of the modern civil rights movement. It signaled that state-enforced segregation was unconstitutional.

Cooper v. Aaron (1958)

1) Link to the Actual Opinion
Read the U.S. Reports opinion (PDF)

2) Summary of the Opinion
After Brown v. Board of Education, Arkansas officials resisted desegregation at Little Rock Central High School. The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that states are bound by Supreme Court decisions and cannot nullify or delay constitutional rights through state action.

3) Why It Mattered
This case established that Supreme Court rulings are the supreme law of the land, binding on all states and officials. It directly confronted efforts to resist desegregation.

Loving v. Virginia (1967)

1) Link to the Actual Opinion
Read the U.S. Reports opinion (PDF)

2) Summary of the Opinion
Richard and Mildred Loving, an interracial couple, were convicted under Virginia law banning interracial marriage. The Supreme Court unanimously struck down the law, ruling that it violated the Equal Protection Clause and the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment.

3) Why It Mattered
This case ended all race-based legal restrictions on marriage in the United States. It became a cornerstone of civil rights jurisprudence and later informed cases about marriage equality.

Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978)

1) Link to the Actual Opinion
Read the U.S. Reports opinion (PDF)

2) Summary of the Opinion
Allan Bakke, a white applicant, challenged the University of California Medical School’s admissions program, which reserved seats for minority applicants. The Supreme Court struck down strict racial quotas as unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause but upheld the use of race as one factor among many in admissions.

Bush v. Gore (2000)

1) Link to the Actual Opinion
Read the U.S. Reports opinion (PDF)

2) Summary of the Opinion
The 2000 presidential election came down to disputed results in Florida. The Florida Supreme Court ordered a manual recount, but the U.S. Supreme Court halted it, ruling that the lack of uniform recount standards violated the Equal Protection Clause. The decision effectively awarded Florida’s electoral votes—and the presidency—to George W. Bush.

Obergefell v. Hodges (2015)

1) Link to the Actual Opinion
Read the U.S. Reports opinion (PDF)

2) Summary of the Opinion
James Obergefell and other same-sex couples challenged state bans on same-sex marriage. The Supreme Court ruled 5–4 that the 14th Amendment’s Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses guarantee the fundamental right to marry for same-sex couples.

3) Why It Mattered
The decision legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, making marriage equality the law of the land.

Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (2023)

1) Link to the Actual Opinion
Read the Supreme Court opinion (PDF)

2) Summary of the Opinion
Students for Fair Admissions challenged the admissions policies of Harvard and the University of North Carolina, arguing that their consideration of race violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. The Supreme Court ruled 6–3 that race-conscious admissions programs at both schools were unconstitutional.

3) Why It Mattered
This decision effectively ended affirmative action in college admissions, overturning decades of precedent (Grutter v. Bollinger, 2003) that had allowed limited consideration of race to promote diversity.