251 articles
Bushrod Washington
Bushrod Washington (1762-1829), nephew and heir of George Washington, was an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1798 to 1829, author of Corfield v. Coryell and Ogden v. Saunders, and John Marshall's close collaborator.
Byron White
Byron "Whizzer" White (1917–2002), NFL rushing leader and Rhodes Scholar, was a Kennedy-appointed U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice 1962–1993 known for judicial restraint and dissents in Miranda and Roe.
Cameras in the Supreme Court of the United States
Cameras in the Supreme Court of the United States: the Court prohibits all photography and video in its courtroom, offers same-day audio and livestreams since May 2020, and faces recurring Cameras in the Courtroom Act proposals.
Cert pool
The cert pool is a voluntary Supreme Court arrangement, proposed by Justice Lewis Powell in the early 1970s, in which participating chambers share screening of about 7,000 certiorari petitions; one clerk writes a pool memo with a grant recommendation. Seven justices participate; Alito and Gorsuch opt out.
Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge
Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge, 36 U.S. 420 (1837), also called Proprietors of Charles River Bridge v. Proprietors of Warren Bridge, a Supreme Court Contract Clause case: Taney held charters grant nothing by implication, allowing a competing free bridge.
Chase and Waite Courts (1864–1888)
The Chase and Waite Courts were consecutive eras of the US Supreme Court under Chief Justices Salmon Chase (1864–1873) and Morrison Waite (1874–1888), spanning Reconstruction and the first interpretations of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments.
Chase Court
The Chase Court (1864-1873) was the U.S. Supreme Court under Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase, spanning Reconstruction; known for Ex parte Milligan, Hepburn v. Griswold, the Slaughterhouse Cases, and the Johnson impeachment trial.
Cherokee Nation v. Georgia
Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831), a Supreme Court case in which Chief Justice John Marshall held the Cherokee Nation was a 'domestic dependent nation,' not a foreign state, so it could not sue Georgia under Article III; the case was dismissed, with Worcester v. Georgia following in 1832.
Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc.
Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. NRDC, 467 U.S. 837 (1984), the Supreme Court case establishing Chevron deference to agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes, overruled by Loper Bright in 2024.
Chief Justice of the United States
Chief Justice of the United States: presiding officer of the nine-member Supreme Court and head of the federal judiciary. Also called Chief Justice of the Supreme Court before 1866. Assigns majority opinions when in the majority; 17 holders since 1789; current Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr.
Chisholm v. Georgia
Chisholm v. Georgia, 2 U.S. 419 (1793): Supreme Court case in which executor Alexander Chisholm sued Georgia over an unpaid Revolutionary War debt; the 4-1 Court allowed the suit, prompting the Eleventh Amendment.
Citizens United v. FEC
Citizens United v. FEC, 558 U.S. 310 (2010), Supreme Court decision holding corporate and union independent election spending is First Amendment-protected speech, overruling Austin and part of McConnell, enabling super PACs and dark money.
Clarence Thomas
Clarence Thomas, U.S. Supreme Court associate justice since 1991 (nominated by George H. W. Bush, confirmed 52-48), known for originalism and textualism, weak deference to precedent, Bruen (2022), and ethics controversies.
Clarence Thomas Supreme Court nomination
Clarence Thomas Supreme Court nomination: George H. W. Bush's July 1, 1991 nomination of Thomas to succeed Thurgood Marshall; Anita Hill's sexual-harassment testimony; confirmed 52-48 on October 15, 1991, closest margin in a century.
Clear and present danger
Clear and present danger is a United States First Amendment doctrine, articulated by Justice Holmes Jr. in Schenck v. United States in 1919. It limits protected speech when threatening substantive evils.
Clerk of the Supreme Court of the United States
Clerk of the Supreme Court of the United States (Scott S. Harris, current Clerk): the Court's statutory administrative officer under 28 U.S.C. § 671, created by the Judiciary Act of 1789, managing dockets, filings, and Supreme Court Bar admissions, distinct from justices' law clerks.
Clinton v. Jones
Clinton v. Jones, 520 U.S. 681 (1997), the Supreme Court case also called Jones v. Clinton: unanimous holding that a sitting President has no temporary immunity from federal civil suits for unofficial acts predating office, arising from Paula Jones's harassment claim.
Closed Chambers
Closed Chambers, Edward Lazarus's 1998 Times Books account by a former Harry Blackmun clerk of the 1988-89 Rehnquist Court's factional strife over death penalty, race, and abortion cases, and its clerk confidentiality controversy.
Commerce Clause
The Commerce Clause (Article I, Section 8, Clause 3) grants Congress power to regulate interstate, foreign, and tribal commerce. Key cases: Gibbons v. Ogden (1824), Wickard, Lopez (1995), NFIB v. Sebelius; includes the dormant Commerce Clause limit on states.
Conspiracy against the United States
Conspiracy against the United States, 18 U.S.C. § 371, the general federal conspiracy statute: agreement of two or more persons to commit a federal offense or defraud the government, plus an overt act, punishable by up to five years.
Dartmouth College v. Woodward
Trustees of Dartmouth College v. Woodward, 17 U.S. (4 Wheat.) 518 (1819): Supreme Court case holding Dartmouth's 1769 royal charter a contract under the Contract Clause, shielding private corporate charters from state legislative alteration.
David Souter
David Hackett Souter (1939-2025), U.S. Supreme Court associate justice 1990-2009, appointed by George H.W. Bush from New Hampshire; co-authored Planned Parenthood v. Casey, dissented in Bush v. Gore, retired 2009.
Demographics of the Supreme Court of the United States
Demographics of the Supreme Court of the United States: race, gender, religion, professional, and educational characteristics of the 17 Chief Justices and 104 Associate Justices since 1789, from Thurgood Marshall (1967) and Sandra Day O'Connor (1981) to Ketanji Brown Jackson (2022).
Dennis v. United States
Dennis v. United States, 341 U.S. 494 (1951), Supreme Court case upholding Smith Act convictions of Eugene Dennis and ten Communist Party leaders, applying the gravity-of-evil reformulation of clear and present danger, later limited by Yates and Brandenburg.
Dissenting opinion
Dissenting opinion: a judge's written disagreement with a court's majority decision, with no legal effect but potential future influence. Traces US Supreme Court practice from seriatim opinions to John Marshall's single-opinion custom and William Johnson's 1805 first dissent.
District of Columbia v. Heller
District of Columbia v. Heller is a 2008 Supreme Court ruling, decided 5-4, that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to keep a handgun at home for self-defense.
Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization
Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, 597 U.S. 215 (2022), the Supreme Court decision holding no constitutional right to abortion, overruling Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, and returning abortion regulation to the states under rational-basis review.
Donald Trump Supreme Court candidates
Donald Trump Supreme Court candidates: the publicly released shortlists begun in May 2016 (11 names, later 21, pledged as the only source of picks) that yielded the confirmed nominees Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett, expanded in September 2020 with 20 names including three senators.
Double Jeopardy Clause
The Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment bars repeat trials or punishments for the same offense; incorporated against states in Benton v. Maryland (1969), limited by the dual sovereignty doctrine and the Blockburger same-elements test.
Dred Scott
Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857) was the U.S. Supreme Court's 7-2 ruling, written by Chief Justice Taney, that Black people were not U.S. citizens and Congress could not ban slavery in federal territories, voiding the Missouri Compromise; overturned by the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments.