The Oyez Project: Judicial Power Issues - First Amendment Decisions

Allee v. Medrano

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Babbitt v. Farm Workers

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Boyle v. Landry

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Government Employees v. Windsor

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Middlesex Ethics Comm. v. Garden State Bar Assn.

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Ohio Civil Rights Comm'n v. Dayton Schools

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Samuels v. Mackell

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Wooley v. Maynard

Did the New Hampshire law unconstitutionally interfere with the freedom of speech guaranteed by the First Amendment?

In a 6-to-3 decision, the Court held that New Hampshire could not constitutionally require citizens to display the state motto upon their vehicle license plates. The Court found that the statute in question effectively required individuals to "use their private property as a 'mobile billboard' for the State's ideological message." The Court held that the State's interests in requiring the motto did not outweigh free speech principles under the First Amendment, including "the right of individuals to hold a point of view different from the majority and to refuse to foster. . .an idea they find morally objectionable."

Younger v. Harris

Did the federal court, in stopping a prosecution in a state court, violate constitutional principles of federalism?

In an 8-to-1 decision, the Court held that "settled doctrines" of federalism narrowly confined the availability of injunctive relief against state criminal prosecutions. Specifically, the Court found that a federal court could not properly enjoin enforcement of a statute "solely on the basis of showing that the statute 'on its face' abridges First Amendment rights." The Court referred to "the basic doctrine of equity jurisprudence," under which federal courts were required to show proper respect for state functions and notions of comity.

Zwickler v. Koota

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