251 articles
1923 in the United States
1923 in the United States: Harding's death and Coolidge's succession, Taft Court landmark decisions Adkins, Meyer v. Nebraska, and Moore v. Dempsey, founding of the American Law Institute, and Gibran's The Prophet.
1999 term opinions of the Supreme Court of the United States
October 1999 Term opinions of the US Supreme Court (ended June 28, 2000): 74 signed opinions among 79 dispositions, 7,377 filings, including Stenberg v. Carhart, Hill v. Colorado, and four Fourth Amendment rulings.
2008 term opinions of the Supreme Court of the United States
October Term 2008 opinions of the U.S. Supreme Court (2008-2009): 29% of decisions were 5-4, with Ricci, NAMUDNO v. Holder, Melendez-Diaz, and Safford v. Redding among the term's notable rulings.
2016 term opinions of the Supreme Court of the United States
October Term 2016 Supreme Court opinions: seventy written decisions from an eight-Justice Court after Scalia's death, with Gorsuch joining in April 2017; leading cases included Matal v. Tam, Trinity Lutheran, Sessions v. Morales-Santana, and Ziglar v. Abbasi.
2017 term opinions of the Supreme Court of the United States
October Term 2017 Supreme Court opinions (Oct 2, 2017–Sep 30, 2018), published in U.S. Reports volumes 583–585. Gorsuch's first full term, Kennedy's last; 28 of 71 decisions unanimous; Janus, Trump v. Hawaii.
2019 term opinions of the Supreme Court of the United States
2019 term opinions of the U.S. Supreme Court: decisions of October Term 2019 (Oct 7, 2019-Oct 4, 2020), including Bostock, McGirt, Ramos, Trump v. Vance, and Seila Law, decided amid COVID-19 remote arguments.
2020 term opinions of the Supreme Court of the United States
October Term 2020 (October 5, 2020 to October 3, 2021) Supreme Court opinions: Amy Coney Barrett's first term, 55 merits decisions, 67 cases by the broad count, with major rulings including Brnovich v. DNC, Cedar Point Nursery, TransUnion, Arthrex, and Collins v. Yellen.
2021 term opinions of the Supreme Court of the United States
Supreme Court opinions from October Term 2021 (October 4, 2021 to October 2, 2022), also called OT2021, including Dobbs v. Jackson, Bruen, and West Virginia v. EPA: 63 merits opinions, 9 decided 5-4, historic 6-3 rate.
2022 term opinions of the Supreme Court of the United States
October Term 2022 Supreme Court opinions (Oct 3, 2022–Oct 1, 2023): 58 numbered decisions including Students for Fair Admissions, Biden v. Nebraska, 303 Creative, Sackett v. EPA, Moore v. Harper; Ketanji Brown Jackson's first term.
Abe Fortas
Abe Fortas served as a Supreme Court justice from 1965 to 1969. Appointed by President Johnson, he expanded students' rights before resigning over foundation payments.
Ableman v. Booth
Ableman v. Booth, 62 U.S. 506 (1859), unanimous Taney Supreme Court decision reversing Wisconsin's habeas release of Sherman Booth, holding state courts cannot free federal prisoners, and upholding the Fugitive Slave Act.
Affirmative action in the United States
Affirmative action in the United States: employment and admissions policies for federal contractors and universities. Key facts: Executive Order 11246 (1965, revoked 2025), Bakke, Grutter, and the 2023 SFFA ruling ending race-conscious college admissions.
Aliʻiōlani Hale
Aliʻiōlani Hale, Honolulu's Hawaiʻi Supreme Court building at 417 S. King St., designed by Thomas Rowe as a palace for Kamehameha V, dedicated 1874, home of the Kamehameha I statue.
Amy Coney Barrett
Amy Coney Barrett, US Supreme Court associate justice since October 2020 (Ginsburg seat), former Notre Dame Law professor and Seventh Circuit judge, Scalia clerk, originalist and textualist, confirmed 52–48.
Anthony Kennedy
Anthony Kennedy (born 1936, Sacramento) was an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, 1988-2018, the frequent swing vote who wrote Obergefell and Citizens United and retired July 31, 2018.
Antonin Scalia
Antonin Scalia (1936–2016), U.S. Supreme Court associate justice 1986–2016, Reagan nominee confirmed 98–0; leading originalist and textualist, author of Heller (2008); seat vacant until Gorsuch's 2017 confirmation.
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court: one of the eight non-chief members of the nine-member Court, presidentially nominated and Senate-confirmed with life tenure; 104 have served, salary $306,600 (2026).
Bancroft Davis
Bancroft Davis (John Chandler Bancroft Davis, 1822–1907) was an American diplomat, Court of Claims judge, and ninth Supreme Court Reporter of Decisions (1883–1902), editing United States Reports volumes 108–186 and serving in the Alabama claims arbitration.
Barack Obama Supreme Court candidates
Barack Obama Supreme Court candidates: Sonia Sotomayor (2009, first Latina justice, 68-31), Elena Kagan (2010, 63-37), and Merrick Garland (2016, never confirmed after Scalia's death).
Benjamin Chew Howard
Benjamin Chew Howard (1791–1872) was an American lawyer and Democratic politician from Maryland who served four terms in Congress and was the Supreme Court's Reporter of Decisions from 1843 to 1862.
Benjamin N. Cardozo
Benjamin N. Cardozo (1870–1938), American jurist, Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals 1926–1932 and U.S. Supreme Court justice 1932–1938; author of MacPherson, Palsgraf, and The Nature of the Judicial Process.
Betts v. Brady
Betts v. Brady, 316 U.S. 455 (1942), also called the Betts rule, held states need not appoint counsel for every indigent defendant, only under special circumstances; unanimously overruled by Gideon v. Wainwright in 1963.
Boumediene v. Bush
Boumediene v. Bush (2008), consolidated with Al Odah v. United States, is the 5-4 Supreme Court decision holding that Guantanamo detainees have a constitutional habeas corpus right and that MCA section 7 unconstitutionally suspended the writ.
Bowers v. Hardwick
Bowers v. Hardwick, 478 U.S. 186 (1986), the Supreme Court case upholding Georgia's sodomy statute against a due process challenge by Michael Hardwick; overruled by Lawrence v. Texas in 2003.
Brandenburg v. Ohio
Brandenburg v. Ohio, 395 U.S. 444 (1969), a per curiam Supreme Court decision reversing a KKK leader's conviction under Ohio's Criminal Syndicalism Act and establishing the two-part imminent lawless action test for incitement.
Brett Kavanaugh
Brett M. Kavanaugh, American Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court since October 6, 2018; former D.C. Circuit judge, Bush White House staff secretary, and Kennedy clerk, confirmed 50-48 after a contentious 2018 hearing.
Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court nomination
Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court nomination: President Trump's July 2018 nomination of D.C. Circuit judge Brett Kavanaugh to succeed Anthony Kennedy; confirmed 50-48 on October 6, 2018 after Ford allegations and a limited FBI investigation.
Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 (1954), the U.S. Supreme Court's unanimous Warren ruling that racial segregation in public schools violates the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause, overturning Plessy v. Ferguson's separate-but-equal doctrine.
Burger Court
Burger Court, the U.S. Supreme Court under Chief Justice Warren E. Burger, 1969–1986; decided Roe v. Wade, United States v. Nixon, and Lemon v. Kurtzman; transitional era between Warren and Rehnquist Courts.
Bush v. Gore
Bush v. Gore, 531 U.S. 98 (2000), Supreme Court per curiam decision halting the Florida recount; 7-2 equal protection holding, 5-4 remedy, delivering the presidency to George W. Bush over Al Gore, 271-266 electoral votes.