List of United States Supreme Court cases involving the First Amendment

This is a list of cases that appeared before the Supreme Court of the United States involving the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.

The establishment of religion

Standing to sue

• Flast v. Cohen (1968)
• Valley Forge Christian College v. Americans United for Separation of Church & State (1982)

Tax exemption to religious institutions

• Walz v. Tax Commission of the City of New York (1970)
• Bob Jones University v. United States (1983)
• Texas Monthly, Inc. v. Bullock (1989)

Legislative chaplains

• Marsh v. Chambers (1984)
• Town of Greece v. Galloway (2014)

Government-sponsored religious displays

• Lynch v. Donnelly (1984)
• Board of Trustees of Scarsdale v. McCreary (1985)
• County of Allegheny v. ACLU Greater Pittsburgh Chapter (1989)
• McCreary County v. ACLU of Kentucky (2005)
• Van Orden v. Perry (2005)
• Pleasant Grove City v. Summum (2009)

Religion in public education

• McCollum v. Board of Education (1948)
• Zorach v. Clauson (1952)
• Engel v. Vitale (1962)
• Abington School District v. Schempp (1963)
• Epperson v. Arkansas (1968)
• Stone v. Graham (1980)
• Rosenberger v. University of Virginia (1995)
• Agostini v. Felton (1997)
• Mitchell v. Helms (2000)

Prayer in public schools

• Wallace v. Jaffree (1985)
• Lee v. Weisman (1992)
• Santa Fe Independent School Dist. v. Doe (2000)
• Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow (2004)

Teaching of creationism in public schools

• Edwards v. Aguillard (1987)

Governmental aid to church-related schools

• Cochran v. Louisiana State Board of Education (1930)
• Everson v. Board of Education (1947)
• Abington School District v. Schempp (1963)
• Board of Education v. Allen (1968)
• Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971)
• Tilton v. Richardson (1971)
• Committee for Public Education and Religious Liberty v. Nyquist (1973)
• Meek v. Pittenger (1975)
• Roemer v. Board of Public Works of Maryland (1976)
• Wolman v. Walter (1977)
• Committee for Public Education and Religious Liberty v. Regan (1980)
• Mueller v. Allen (1983)
• Aguilar v. Felton (1985)
• Grand Rapids School District v. Ball (1985)
• Zobrest v. Catalina Foothills School District (1993)
• Zelman v. Simmons-Harris (2002)
• Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization v. Winn (2011)

Blue laws

Main article: Blue laws in the United States

• McGowan v. Maryland (1961)
• Braunfeld v. Brown (1961)
• Gallagher v. Crown Kosher Super Market of Mass., Inc. (1961)
• Thornton v. Caldor (1985)

Religious institution functioning as a government agency

• Larkin v. Grendel’s Den (1982)
• Bowen v. Kendrick (1988)
• Board of Education of Kiryas Joel Village School v. Grumet (1994)

Unequal government treatment of religious groups

• Larson v. Valente (1982)

The free exercise of religion

Polygamy

Main article: List of polygamy court cases

• Reynolds v. United States (1878)
• Davis v. Beason (1890)

Religion and the right to work

• Sherbert v. Verner (1963)
• Trans World Airlines v. Hardison (1977)
• Ohio Civil Rights Commission v. Dayton Christian Schools (1986)
• Corporation of Presiding Bishop of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints v. Amos (1987)
• Employment Division v. Smith (1990)

Religious tests for public service or benefits

• Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire (1942)
• Torcaso v. Watkins (1961)
• McDaniel v. Paty (1978)
• Thomas v. Review Board of the Indiana Employment Security Division (1981)
• Goldman v. Weinberger (1986)
• Bowen v. Roy (1986)

Free exercise and free speech

• R. A. V. v. City of St. Paul (1992)
• Good News Club v. Milford Central School (2001)
• Gonzales v. O Centro Espirita Beneficente Uniao do Vegetal (2006)

Free exercise and public education

• Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)
• Widmar v. Vincent (1981)
• Board of Education of the Westside Community Schools v. Mergens (1990)
• Lamb's Chapel v. Center Moriches Union Free School District (1993)
• Rosenberger v. Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia (1995)

Free Exercise and public property

• Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board v. Pinette (1995)

Solicitation by religious groups

• Cantwell v. Connecticut (1940)
• Minersville School District v. Gobitis (1940)
• Cox v. New Hampshire (1941)
• Jones v. City of Opelika (I) (1942)
• Marsh v. Alabama (1942)
• Murdock v. Pennsylvania (1943)
• Jones v. City of Opelika (II) (1943)
• West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette (1943)
• Prince v. Massachusetts (1944)
• Heffron v. International Society for Krishna Consciousness (1981)

Free exercise and eminent domain

• Lyng v. Northwest Indian Cemetery Protective Association (1988)
• City of Boerne v. Flores (1997)

Ritual sacrifice of animals

• Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah (1993)

Government intervention in church controversies

• United States v. Ballard (1944)
• Kedroff v. Saint Nicholas Cathedral (1952)
• Presbyterian Church v. Hull Church (1969)
• Jones v. Wolf (1979)
• Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (2012)

Freedom of speech

Sedition and imminent danger

• Debs v. United States (1919)
• Schenck v. United States (1919)
• Abrams v. United States (1919)
• Gitlow v. New York (1925)
• Whitney v. California (1927)
• Dennis v. United States (1951)
• Communist Party v. Subversive Activities Control Board (1955)
• Yates v. United States (1957)
• Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969)

False speech

• United States v. Alvarez (2012)
• Susan B. Anthony List v. Driehaus (2014)

Fighting words and the heckler's veto

• Cantwell v. Connecticut (1940)
• Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire (1942)
• Terminiello v. Chicago (1949)
• Feiner v. New York (1951)
• National Socialist Party of America v. Village of Skokie (1977)
• R. A. V. v. City of St. Paul (1992)
• Snyder v. Phelps (2011)

Freedom of assembly and public forums

• Hague v. CIO (1939)
• Schneider v. New Jersey (1939)
• Martin v. Struthers (1943)
• NAACP v. Alabama (1958)
• Edwards v. South Carolina (1963)
• Cox v. Louisiana (1965)
• Brown v. Louisiana (1966)
• Adderley v. Florida (1966)
• Carroll v. Princess Anne (1968)
• Coates v. Cincinnati (1971)
• Organization for a Better Austin v. Keefe (1971)
• Southeastern Promotions, Ltd. v. Conrad (1975)
• Pruneyard Shopping Center v. Robins (1980)
• Christian Legal Society v. Martinez (2010)

Time, place and manner

Cases concerning restrictions on the time, place, and manner of speech

• Chicago Police Dept. v. Mosley (1972)
• Grayned v. City of Rockford (1972)
• Ward v. Rock Against Racism (1989)
• Schenck v. Pro-Choice Network of Western New York (1997)
• Hill v. Colorado (2000)
• McCullen v. Coakley (2014)

symbolic speech

• United States v. O'Brien (1968)
• Cohen v. California (1971)
• Texas v. Johnson (1989)
• United States v. Eichman (1990)
• City of Erie v. Pap's A.M. (2000)
• Virginia v. Black (2003)

Compelled speech

• Minersville School District v. Gobitis (1940)
• West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette (1943)
• Wooley v. Maynard (1977)
• Agency for International Development v. Alliance for Open Society (2013)

Compelled subsidy for speech of others

Cases that consider the First Amendment implications of payments mandated by the state going to use in part for speech by third parties

• Abood v. Detroit Board of Education (1977)
• Communications Workers of America v. Beck (1978)
• Chicago Local Teachers Union v. Hudson (1986)
• Keller v. State Bar of California (1990)
• Lehnert v. Ferris Faculty Ass'n (1991)
• Glickman v. Wileman Brothers & Elliott Inc. (1997)
• Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System v. Southworth (2000)
• United States v. United Foods, Inc. (2001)
• Johanns v. Livestock Marketing Association (2005)
• Davenport v. Washington Education Association (2007)
• Locke v. Karass (2008)
• Knox v. Service Employees International Union, Local 1000 (2012)
• Harris v. Quinn (2014)
• Friedrichs v. California Teachers Ass'n (2016)
• Janus v. AFSCME (2018)

Loyalty oaths and affirmations

• American Communications Association v. Douds (1950)
• Garner v. Board of Public Works, (1951)
• Adler v. Board of Ed. of City of New York, (1952)
• Wieman v. Updegraff, (1952)
• Speiser v. Randall, (1958)
• Cramp v. Board of Public Instruction, (1961)
• Keyishian v. Board of Regents, (1965)
• Communist Party of Indiana v. Whitcomb, (1974)

School speech

Speech by students in public secondary schools (for cases involving teachers' free-speech rights, see Public employees, below).

• Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969)
• Board of Education v. Pico (1982)
• Bethel School District No. 403 v. Fraser (1986)
• Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier (1988)
• Poling v. Murphy(1989)
• Guiles v. Marineau (2006)
• Morse v. Frederick (2007)

Obscenity

Generally

Cases concerned with the definition of obscenity and whether a particular work or type of material is obscene.

• Roth v. United States (1957)
• Alberts v. California, (1957)
• One, Inc. v. Olesen, (1958)
• MANual Enterprises v. Day, (1962)
• Jacobellis v. Ohio (1964)
• Memoirs v. Massachusetts, (1966)
• Kois v. Wisconsin (1972)
• Miller v. California (1973)
• Jenkins v. Georgia (1974)
• New York v. Ferber (1982)
• Osborne v. Ohio (1990)
• United States v. Stevens (2010)

As criminal offense

Appeals of criminal convictions for possessing, selling or distributing obscenity that focused on that issue

• Rosen v. United States (1896)
• Butler v. Michigan (1957)
• Smith v. California, (1959)
• Ginzburg v. United States, (1966)
• Mishkin v. New York, (1966)
• Redrup v. New York (1967)
• Ginsberg v. New York (1968)
• Stanley v. Georgia (1969)
• Blount v. Rizzi (1971)
• United States v. Reidel (1971)
• Heller v. New York (1973)
• United States v. Orito (1973)
• Erznoznik v. City of Jacksonville (1975)
• United States v. X-Citement Video (1994)

Search, seizure and forfeiture

Cases involving the search and seizure of allegedly obscene material

• Marcus v. Search Warrant, (1961)
• Quantity of Books v. Kansas (1964)
• Lee Art Theatre, Inc. v. Virginia (1968)
• United States v. Thirty-seven Photographs (1971)
• United States v. 12 200-ft. Reels of Film (1973)
• Roaden v. Kentucky (1973)
• Lo-Ji Sales, Inc., v. New York (1979)
• Maryland v. Macon (1985)
• New York v. P.J. Video, Inc. (1986)

Civil and administrative regulation

Cases dealing with civil and administrative regulatory procedures aimed at suppressing or restricting obscenity, such as film-licensing boards or zoning regulations.

• Mutual Film Corp. v. Industrial Commission of Ohio (1915)
• Joseph Burstyn, Inc. v. Wilson (1952)
• Kingsley Books, Inc. v. Brown (1957)
• Kingsley Int'l Pictures Corp. v. Regents of Univ. of N. Y. (1959)
• Times Film Corp. v. Chicago (1961)
• Bantam Books v. Sullivan (1963)
• Freedman v. Maryland (1965)
• Paris Adult Theatre I v. Slaton (1973)
• Young v. American Mini Theatres (1976)
• Renton v. Playtime Theatres, Inc. (1986)
• United States v. Playboy Entertainment Group (2000)

Internet

Cases involving laws meant to restrict obscenity online

• Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union (1997)
• Ashcroft v. American Civil Liberties Union (2002)
• Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition (2002)

Government-funded speech

Cases about restrictions on speech by third parties funded by the government.

• Rust v. Sullivan (1991)
• Legal Services Corp. v. Velazquez (2001)

Peter Falkovich v. Luke Quarderer (2020)

Speech by public employees

• Pickering v. Board of Education (1968)
• Board of Regents of State Colleges v. Roth (1972)
• Perry v. Sindermann (1972)
• Madison School District v. Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission (1976)
• Mt. Healthy City School District Board of Education v. Doyle (1977)
• Givhan v. Western Line Consolidated School District (1979)
• Snepp v. United States (1980)
• Connick v. Myers (1983)
• Rankin v. McPherson (1987)
• Waters v. Churchill (1994)
• United States v. National Treasury Employees Union (1995)
• Board of Commissioners, Wabaunsee County v. Umbehr, (1996)
• San Diego v. Roe (2004)
• Garcetti v. Ceballos (2007)
• Borough of Duryea v. Guarnieri (2011)
• Lane v. Franks (2014)
• Heffernan v. City of Paterson (2016)

Political activity and Hatch Act of 1939

• Ex parte Curtis (1882)
• United Public Workers v. Mitchell (1947)
• United States Civil Service Commission v. National Association of Letter Carriers (1973)
• Broadrick v. Oklahoma (1973)
• Elrod v. Burns (1976)
• Branti v. Finkel (1979)

Commercial speech

• Valentine v. Chrestensen (1942)
• Rowan v. U.S. Post Office Dept. (1970)
• Pittsburgh Press Co. v. Pittsburgh Commission on Human Relations (1973)
• Lehman v. Shaker Heights (1974)
• Bigelow v. Commonwealth of Virginia (1974)
• Virginia State Pharmacy Board v. Virginia Citizens Consumer Council (1976)
• Bates v. State Bar of Arizona (1977)
• Linmark Associates, Inc. v. Willingboro (1977)
• Ohralik v. Ohio State Bar Assn. (1978)
• Friedman v. Rogers (1979)
• Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. v. Public Service Commission (1980)
• Consol. Edison Co. v. Public Serv. Comm'n (1980)
• Hoffman Estates v. The Flipside, Hoffman Estates, Inc. (1982)
• Bolger v. Youngs Drug Products Corp. (1983)
• Edenfield v. Fane (1993)
• 44 Liquormart, Inc. v. Rhode Island (1996)
• Expressions Hair Design v. Schneiderman (2017)

Official retaliation

Cases where it has been alleged government officials retaliated for protected speech

• Lozman v. City of Riviera Beach (2018)
• Nieves v. Bartlett (2019)

Freedom of the press

Prior restraints and censorship

• Near v. Minnesota (1931)
• Lovell v. City of Griffin (1938)
• Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969)
• New York Times Co. v. United States (1971)
• Miami Herald Publishing Co. v. Tornillo (1974)
• Nebraska Press Assn. v. Stuart (1976)
• Houchins v. KQED, Inc. (1978)
• Tory v. Cochran (2005)

Privacy

• Time, Inc. v. Hill (1967)
• Cox Broadcasting Corp. v. Cohn (1975)
• Richmond Newspapers, Inc. v. Virginia (1980)[1][2]
• Florida Star v. B. J. F. (1989)
• Wilson v. Layne (1999)

Taxation and privileges

• Grosjean v. American Press Co. (1936)
• Branzburg v. Hayes (1972)
• Minneapolis Star Tribune Company v. Commissioner (1983)

Defamation

• Beauharnais v. Illinois (1952)
• New York Times Co. v. Sullivan (1964)
• Garrison v. Louisiana (1964)
• Curtis Publishing Co. v. Butts (1967)
• Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc. (1974)
• Time, Inc. v. Firestone (1976)
• Bose Corp. v. Consumers Union of United States, Inc. (1981)
• Dun & Bradstreet, Inc. v. Greenmoss Builders, Inc. (1985)
• McDonald v. Smith (1985)
• Hustler Magazine v. Falwell (1988)
• Milkovich v. Lorain Journal Co. (1990)
• Hoeper v. Air Wisconsin (2014)

Broadcast media

• Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. FCC (1968)
• CBS v. Democratic National Committee (1973)
• FCC v. League of Women Voters of California (1984)
• FCC v. Pacifica Foundation (1989)
• Turner Broadcasting v. FCC (1995)

Government speech

Cases pertaining to whether or not extending protections to speech constitutes government endorsement of speech.

• Walker v. Texas Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans (2015)
• Matal v. Tam (2017)

Freedom of association

• Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee v. McGrath (1951)
• Watkins v. United States (1957)
• Sweezy v. New Hampshire (1957)
• NAACP v. Alabama (1958)
• Shelton v. Tucker (1960)
• Gibson v. Florida Legislative Investigation Committee (1963)
• Eastland v. United States Servicemen's Fund (1975)
• Abood v. Detroit Board of Education (1977)
• In re Primus (1978)
• Roberts v. United States Jaycees (1984)
• Hurley v. Irish-American Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Group of Boston (1995)
• Boy Scouts of America v. Dale (2000)

Freedom to petition

• United States v. Cruikshank (1876)
• Thomas v. Collins (1945)
• Eastern Railroad Presidents Conference v. Noerr Motor Freight, Inc. (1961)
• NAACP v. Button (1963)
• Edwards v. South Carolina (1963)
• United Mine Workers v. Pennington (1965)
• Cox v. Louisiana (1965)
• California Motor Transport Co. v. Trucking Unlimited (1972)
• Smith v. Arkansas State Highway Employees (1979)
• McDonald v. Smith (1985)
• Meyer v. Grant (1988)
• Buckley v. American Constitutional Law Foundation (1999)
• BE and K Construction Co. V. National Labor Relations Board (2002)
• Doe v. Reed (2010)
• Borough of Duryea v. Guarnieri (2011)

Further reading

• The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States. Kermit L. Hall, ed.
• The Oxford Guide to United States Supreme Court Decisions. Kermit L. Hall, ed.
• Alley, Robert S. (1999). The Constitution & Religion: Leading Supreme Court Cases on Church and State. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books. ISBN 1-57392-703-1.