Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
Segregated facilities for blacks and whites are constitutional under the doctrine of separate but equal, which held for close to 60 years.

Near v. Minnesota (1931)
Except in rare cases, censorship is unconstitutional.

Brown v. Board of Education (1955)
Segregated schools in the several states are unconstitutional in violation of the 14th Amendment.

Roth v. United States (1957)
Obscene material is not protected by the First Amendment.

Engel v. Vitale (1962)
Government-directed prayer in public schools, even if it is denominationally neutral and non-mandatory, violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.

Roe v. Wade (1973)
Struck down abortion laws restricting abortion.

United States v. Nixon (1974)
Ruled that the doctrine of executive privilege is legitimate, however the President cannot invoke it in criminal cases to withhold evidence.

Texas v. Johnson (1989)
Law prohibiting burning of the American flag is unconstitutional as violating the First Amendment.

Planned Parenthood of Seattle v. Casey (1992)
Placed tighter restrictions on abortion by upholding parts of Pennsylvania’s abortion laws.

Vernonia School District 47J v. Acton (1995)
Schools may implement random drug testing upon students participating in school-sponsored athletics.

Bush v. Gore (2000)
Ended the recount of ballots in Florida in the 2000 presidential election as violating the Equal Protection Clause, effectively resolving the election in favour of George W. Bush.

Gonzales v. Carhart (2007)
Held that the Congress can prohibit a specific abortion procedure known as partial-birth abortion.

Boumediene v. Bush (2008)
Foreign terrorism suspects have constitutional rights to challenge their detention at the Guantánamo Bay naval base in United States courts.

The ruling, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010), overruled two precedents that upheld
restrictions on corporate spending to support or oppose political candidates, and that restricted campaign spending by corporations and unions. This ruling proved extremely controversial and President Obama called it “a major victory for big oil, Wall Street banks, health insurance companies and the other powerful interests that marshal their power every day in Washington to drown out the voices of everyday Americans.”