The gallery of landmark cases

105 famous cases, each judged by Jev from the case record alone (facts, arguments, law and precedents as they stood at the time), then compared with what the court actually decided. Jev agreed with the real outcome in 91/105 (87%).

105 cases

• Trial of Bridget Bishop (Salem witch trials)

  differs

  Court of Oyer and Terminer, Salem, Massachusetts Bay · 1692 · Criminal law / witchcraft prosecution

  Bridget Bishop was tried for witchcraft on spectral evidence in 1692. She was convicted and hanged, the first execution of the Salem witch trials.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: defendant75%

• Marbury v. Madison

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 1803 · Judicial review

  Marbury sued to force delivery of his judicial commission. The Supreme Court denied the writ, ruling that the statute expanding its original jurisdiction was unconstitutional and establishing judicial review.

  Court: defendant · Jev: defendant56%

• Pierson v. Post

  agrees

  Supreme Court of New York · 1805 · Property / capture of wild animals

  Post was chasing a fox when Pierson killed and took it. The court ruled for Pierson, holding mere pursuit does not give property in a wild animal.

  Court: defendant · Jev: defendant99%

• McCulloch v. Maryland

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 1819 · Federal power / Necessary and Proper Clause

  Maryland taxed the Baltimore branch of the federal Bank of the United States. The Court upheld Congress's power to charter the bank and struck down the state tax on it.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff95%

• Gibbons v. Ogden

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 1824 · Commerce Clause

  Ogden held a New York steamboat monopoly; Gibbons ran rival boats under a federal license. The Court sided with Gibbons, holding that Congress's commerce power covers navigation between states.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff96%

• Vaughan v. Menlove

  agrees

  Court of Common Pleas (England) · 1837 · Torts / reasonable person standard

  Menlove's hayrick, stacked despite warnings, ignited and burned his neighbor's cottages. The court held negligence is judged by the reasonable person, not the defendant's own judgment.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff99%

• M'Naghten's Case

  agrees

  House of Lords (UK) · 1843 · Criminal law / insanity defence

  M'Naghten, acting under delusions, killed the Prime Minister's secretary. He was acquitted as insane, and the judges formulated the enduring rules for the insanity defense.

  Court: defendant · Jev: defendant79%

• Brown v. Kendall

  agrees

  Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts · 1850 · Torts / negligence standard

  Kendall accidentally struck Brown while separating fighting dogs with a stick. The court ordered a new trial, holding unintentional injury requires proof of a want of ordinary care.

  Court: defendant · Jev: defendant96%

• Hadley v. Baxendale

  agrees

  Court of Exchequer (England) · 1854 · Contracts / consequential damages

  A carrier's delay in delivering a mill's broken crankshaft cost the mill profits. The court denied recovery for lost profits the carrier could not have contemplated.

  Court: defendant · Jev: defendant99%

• Dred Scott v. Sandford

  differs

  Supreme Court of the United States · 1857 · Citizenship / slavery

  Dred Scott sued for freedom after living on free soil. The Court ruled that Black Americans were not citizens who could sue in federal court and that Congress could not ban slavery in the territories.

  Court: defendant · Jev: plaintiff34%

• Raffles v. Wichelhaus (The Peerless)

  agrees

  Court of Exchequer (England) · 1864 · Contracts / mutual mistake

  Two ships named Peerless sailed from Bombay, and buyer and seller meant different ones. The court found no binding contract for want of a meeting of the minds.

  Court: defendant · Jev: defendant96%

• Rylands v. Fletcher

  agrees

  House of Lords (UK) · 1868 · Torts / strict liability

  Water from Rylands's new reservoir burst through old shafts and flooded a mine. The court held him strictly liable for the escape of the accumulated water.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff94%

• R v Dudley and Stephens

  agrees

  Queen's Bench Division (England) · 1884 · Criminal law / necessity defence

  Shipwrecked sailors killed and ate a cabin boy to survive. The court convicted them of murder, holding necessity is no defense to killing an innocent.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff97%

• Hamer v. Sidway

  agrees

  New York Court of Appeals · 1891 · Contracts / consideration

  An uncle promised $5,000 if his nephew abstained from drinking, smoking, and gambling until twenty-one. The court enforced the promise, treating forbearance as consideration.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff100%

• Carlill v. Carbolic Smoke Ball Co.

  agrees

  Court of Appeal (England and Wales) · 1893 · Contracts / unilateral offer

  Mrs Carlill used the smoke ball as directed and caught influenza anyway. The court enforced the advertised £100 reward as a unilateral offer accepted by performance.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff99%

• Plessy v. Ferguson

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 1896 · Equal protection / segregation

  Plessy was arrested for sitting in a whites-only railcar. The Court upheld Louisiana's separate-car law under the 'separate but equal' doctrine.

  Court: defendant · Jev: defendant47%

• Lochner v. New York

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 1905 · Liberty of contract / due process

  A bakery owner was fined for letting an employee exceed New York's 60-hour week. The Court struck the limit down as an unconstitutional interference with liberty of contract.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff50%

• MacPherson v. Buick Motor Co.

  agrees

  New York Court of Appeals · 1916 · Torts / products liability

  MacPherson was injured when his car's defective wheel collapsed. The court held the manufacturer liable to the consumer despite the absence of privity.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff98%

• Wood v. Lucy, Lady Duff-Gordon

  agrees

  New York Court of Appeals · 1917 · Contracts / implied promise

  A designer placed her own endorsements despite an exclusive marketing deal. The court enforced the contract, implying the agent's promise of reasonable efforts.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff98%

• International News Service v. Associated Press

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 1918 · Unfair competition / misappropriation

  INS copied AP's freshly gathered news and resold it to rivals. The Court enjoined the practice as unfair competition, recognizing quasi-property in 'hot news.'

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff96%

• Schenck v. United States

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 1919 · Free speech / clear and present danger

  Schenck was convicted for mailing anti-draft leaflets in wartime. The Court upheld the conviction, announcing that speech posing a 'clear and present danger' can be punished.

  Court: defendant · Jev: defendant49%

• Dodge v. Ford Motor Co.

  differs

  Supreme Court of Michigan · 1919 · Corporate law / shareholder primacy

  Ford withheld big dividends to fund expansion and benefit workers. The court ordered a special dividend, ruling a corporation is run primarily for shareholders' profit.

  Court: mixed · Jev: plaintiff91%

• Jacob & Youngs, Inc. v. Kent

  agrees

  New York Court of Appeals · 1921 · Contracts / substantial performance

  A builder installed the wrong brand of equal-quality pipe. The court let it recover the contract price less the trivial difference in value rather than the cost of replacement.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff98%

• Gitlow v. New York

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 1925 · Incorporation / free speech

  Gitlow was convicted under New York's criminal anarchy law for publishing a revolutionary manifesto. The Court upheld the conviction while holding that free speech binds the states.

  Court: defendant · Jev: defendant34%

• State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes (Scopes Monkey Trial)

  agrees

  Rhea County Circuit Court, Tennessee · 1925 · Criminal law / teaching evolution

  Scopes was tried for teaching evolution in defiance of Tennessee's Butler Act. He was convicted and fined, though the state supreme court later voided the fine on a technicality.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff49%

• Buck v. Bell

  differs

  Supreme Court of the United States · 1927 · Due process / forced sterilization

  Carrie Buck challenged a Virginia order for compulsory sterilization of the 'feebleminded.' The Court upheld the eugenic sterilization statute.

  Court: defendant · Jev: plaintiff48%

• Palsgraf v. Long Island Railroad Co.

  agrees

  New York Court of Appeals · 1928 · Torts / duty and proximate cause

  Fireworks dropped by a passenger exploded, and falling scales injured Palsgraf down the platform. The court dismissed her claim, holding the railroad owed no duty to an unforeseeable plaintiff.

  Court: defendant · Jev: defendant99%

• Meinhard v. Salmon

  agrees

  New York Court of Appeals · 1928 · Fiduciary duty / joint venture

  Salmon took an expanded lease offer personally without telling his co-venturer. The court made him share it, holding partners owe 'the punctilio of an honor the most sensitive.'

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff96%

• Hawkins v. McGee

  agrees

  Supreme Court of New Hampshire · 1929 · Contracts / expectation damages

  A surgeon promised a boy a 'hundred percent perfect hand' and failed badly. The court enforced the promise and measured damages by the difference between the promised and delivered hand.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff52%

• Near v. Minnesota

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 1931 · Prior restraint / press freedom

  Minnesota enjoined a scandal-sheet newspaper as a public nuisance. The Court struck down the gag law, holding that prior restraint on publication violates press freedom.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff96%

• Donoghue v. Stevenson

  agrees

  House of Lords (UK) · 1932 · Torts / negligence and duty of care

  Donoghue fell ill after drinking ginger beer containing a decomposed snail. The House of Lords let her sue the manufacturer, founding the modern duty of care.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff89%

• State of New Jersey v. Bruno Richard Hauptmann (Lindbergh kidnapping)

  agrees

  Hunterdon County Court of Oyer and Terminer, New Jersey · 1935 · Criminal law / kidnapping and murder

  Hauptmann was tried for kidnapping and killing the Lindbergh baby on ransom-money, handwriting, and ladder evidence. He was convicted of murder and executed.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff83%

• Erie Railroad Co. v. Tompkins

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 1938 · Civil procedure / federal common law

  Tompkins won in federal court under 'general' common law that differed from state law. The Court reversed, ruling federal courts in diversity cases must apply state law.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff33%

• Wickard v. Filburn

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 1942 · Commerce Clause

  Filburn grew wheat above his federal quota for use on his own farm. The Court upheld the penalty, holding that even home-consumed wheat affects interstate commerce in the aggregate.

  Court: defendant · Jev: defendant90%

• Korematsu v. United States

  differs

  Supreme Court of the United States · 1944 · Equal protection / wartime detention

  Korematsu was convicted for defying the wartime exclusion order for Japanese Americans. The Court upheld the exclusion as a military necessity.

  Court: defendant · Jev: plaintiff82%

• International Shoe Co. v. Washington

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 1945 · Civil procedure / personal jurisdiction

  Washington taxed a shoe company whose salesmen solicited there. The Court upheld jurisdiction, founding the 'minimum contacts' test for personal jurisdiction.

  Court: defendant · Jev: defendant65%

• United States et al. v. Hermann Göring et al. (Nuremberg Trial of the Major War Criminals)

  agrees

  International Military Tribunal, Nuremberg · 1946 · International criminal law

  The Allies tried top Nazi leaders for aggression, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Nineteen were convicted, establishing individual criminal responsibility under international law.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff99%

• Summers v. Tice

  agrees

  Supreme Court of California · 1948 · Torts / alternative liability

  Two hunters fired negligently and one shot blinded Summers in one eye, with no way to tell whose pellet hit. The court shifted the burden to the defendants and held both liable.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff98%

• Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 1952 · Separation of powers / executive power

  President Truman seized the steel mills to avert a wartime strike. The Court blocked the seizure, holding the President had no constitutional or statutory authority to take the mills.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff99%

• Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 1954 · Equal protection / school segregation

  Black families challenged racially segregated public schools. The Court unanimously ruled that separate schools are inherently unequal and violate the Fourteenth Amendment.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff88%

• Lucy v. Zehmer

  agrees

  Supreme Court of Virginia · 1954 · Contracts / objective theory

  Zehmer signed a farm sale on a restaurant check after drinks, then called it a joke. The court ordered specific performance, judging intent by outward acts.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff97%

• Mapp v. Ohio

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 1961 · Fourth Amendment / exclusionary rule

  Police searched Mapp's home without a valid warrant and found obscene materials. The Court suppressed the evidence, extending the exclusionary rule to state prosecutions.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff93%

• Overseas Tankship (UK) Ltd v Morts Dock & Engineering Co (The Wagon Mound No 1)

  agrees

  Privy Council · 1961 · Torts / remoteness of damage

  Spilled furnace oil ignited and burned a Sydney wharf. The Privy Council denied liability, holding negligence is limited to reasonably foreseeable damage.

  Court: defendant · Jev: defendant91%

• Baker v. Carr

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 1962 · Justiciability / apportionment

  Tennessee voters challenged legislative districts left unchanged since 1901. The Court held that equal-protection challenges to apportionment are justiciable, opening the door to reapportionment suits.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff95%

• Engel v. Vitale

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 1962 · Establishment Clause / school prayer

  New York composed a nondenominational prayer for voluntary classroom recitation. The Court struck it down as an unconstitutional establishment of religion.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff95%

• Gideon v. Wainwright

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 1963 · Sixth Amendment / right to counsel

  Gideon was convicted after being denied a lawyer because he could not afford one. The Court ruled states must appoint counsel for indigent felony defendants.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff93%

• New York Times Co. v. Sullivan

  differs

  Supreme Court of the United States · 1964 · Defamation / First Amendment

  An Alabama official won a libel verdict over a civil-rights ad with minor errors. The Court reversed, requiring public officials to prove actual malice to recover for defamation.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: defendant70%

• Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. United States

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 1964 · Commerce Clause / civil rights

  A motel refused Black guests and challenged the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The Court upheld Title II, holding Congress could bar discrimination in public accommodations under the Commerce Clause.

  Court: defendant · Jev: defendant99%

• Griswold v. Connecticut

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 1965 · Privacy / contraception

  Connecticut prosecuted Planned Parenthood staff for counseling contraception. The Court struck down the ban, recognizing a constitutional right to marital privacy.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff87%

• Williams v. Walker-Thomas Furniture Co.

  agrees

  U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit · 1965 · Contracts / unconscionability

  A furniture company used a clause letting it repossess everything on any missed payment. The court said judges may refuse to enforce unconscionable contract terms and sent the case back.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff93%

• Miranda v. Arizona

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 1966 · Fifth Amendment / custodial interrogation

  Miranda confessed after custodial interrogation without warnings. The Court suppressed the confession, requiring police to advise suspects of their rights before questioning.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff90%

• Loving v. Virginia

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 1967 · Equal protection / interracial marriage

  The Lovings were convicted for marrying across racial lines. The Court struck down Virginia's anti-miscegenation law under equal protection and due process.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff100%

• Katz v. United States

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 1967 · Fourth Amendment / wiretapping

  Agents wiretapped a public phone booth without a warrant. The Court suppressed the recordings, holding the Fourth Amendment protects reasonable expectations of privacy, not just places.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff95%

• Terry v. Ohio

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 1968 · Fourth Amendment / stop and frisk

  An officer patted down a man acting suspiciously and found a gun. The Court upheld the stop-and-frisk on reasonable suspicion short of probable cause.

  Court: defendant · Jev: defendant78%

• Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 1969 · Student speech

  Students were suspended for wearing black armbands protesting the Vietnam War. The Court ruled the silent protest was protected speech absent substantial disruption.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff100%

• Brandenburg v. Ohio

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 1969 · Free speech / incitement

  A Klan leader was convicted under Ohio's syndicalism law after a filmed rally. The Court reversed, holding speech may be punished only if it incites imminent lawless action.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff92%

• New York Times Co. v. United States (Pentagon Papers)

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 1971 · Prior restraint / national security

  The Nixon administration sued to stop publication of the Pentagon Papers. The Court lifted the injunctions, holding the government had not met its heavy burden for prior restraint.

  Court: defendant · Jev: defendant100%

• Lemon v. Kurtzman

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 1971 · Establishment Clause

  Pennsylvania reimbursed church-school teachers' salaries for secular subjects. The Court struck the program down, announcing a three-part test for laws touching religion.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff97%

• Furman v. Georgia

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 1972 · Eighth Amendment / death penalty

  Furman challenged his death sentence under statutes giving juries unguided discretion. The Court invalidated existing capital schemes as arbitrary and cruel and unusual.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff92%

• Roe v. Wade

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 1973 · Privacy / abortion

  Roe challenged Texas's near-total abortion ban. The Court struck it down, recognizing a constitutional right to abortion and adopting a trimester framework.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff89%

• Miller v. California

  differs

  Supreme Court of the United States · 1973 · Obscenity

  Miller was convicted for mass-mailing sexually explicit brochures. The Court vacated the conviction and set out a three-part community-standards test for obscenity.

  Court: mixed · Jev: defendant59%

• United States v. Nixon

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 1974 · Executive privilege

  Nixon refused to surrender White House tapes subpoenaed for the Watergate trial. The Court unanimously ordered production, holding executive privilege qualified, not absolute.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff95%

• Gregg v. Georgia

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 1976 · Eighth Amendment / death penalty

  After Furman, Georgia enacted a guided-discretion death penalty scheme. The Court upheld it, ruling capital punishment is not per se unconstitutional.

  Court: defendant · Jev: defendant93%

• Buckley v. Valeo

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 1976 · Campaign finance

  Challengers attacked the post-Watergate campaign-finance law. The Court upheld contribution limits and disclosure but struck down expenditure and candidate-spending caps.

  Court: mixed · Jev: mixed94%

• Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California

  agrees

  Supreme Court of California · 1976 · Torts / duty to warn

  A patient told his therapist he would kill Tarasoff, and no one warned her. The court allowed the suit, holding therapists must use reasonable care to protect identifiable victims.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff97%

• Regents of the University of California v. Bakke

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 1978 · Affirmative action

  Bakke, a white applicant, was rejected by a medical school reserving seats for minorities. The Court struck the quota but allowed race as one admissions factor.

  Court: mixed · Jev: mixed29%

• Diamond v. Chakrabarty

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 1980 · Patent law / living organisms

  The Patent Office refused a patent on a genetically engineered bacterium. The Court allowed it, ruling human-made living organisms are patentable subject matter.

  Court: defendant · Jev: defendant68%

• Chevron U.S.A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 1984 · Administrative law / agency deference

  The NRDC challenged EPA's 'bubble' reading of the Clean Air Act. The Court upheld it, ruling courts must defer to reasonable agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff89%

• Sony Corp. of America v. Universal City Studios, Inc. (Betamax)

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 1984 · Copyright / fair use

  Studios sued the VCR maker for enabling home taping. The Court found for Sony, ruling home time-shifting is fair use and the device has substantial non-infringing uses.

  Court: defendant · Jev: defendant99%

• New Jersey v. T.L.O.

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 1985 · Fourth Amendment / school searches

  A school official searched a student's purse after catching her smoking. The Court upheld the search, ruling school searches need only reasonable suspicion, not probable cause.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff60%

• Batson v. Kentucky

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 1986 · Jury selection / equal protection

  A prosecutor struck all Black jurors at Batson's trial. The Court reversed, holding race-based peremptory strikes violate equal protection and can be challenged on the trial record.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff97%

• Bowers v. Hardwick

  differs

  Supreme Court of the United States · 1986 · Privacy / sodomy laws

  Hardwick was arrested in his bedroom for consensual sodomy. The Court upheld Georgia's law, finding no fundamental right to homosexual intimacy.

  Court: defendant · Jev: plaintiff72%

• People v. Goetz

  agrees

  New York Court of Appeals · 1986 · Criminal law / self-defense standard

  Goetz shot four youths who approached him on the subway. The court reinstated the indictment, holding self-defense requires an objectively reasonable belief in the need for deadly force.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff86%

• Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier

  differs

  Supreme Court of the United States · 1988 · Student press

  A principal removed articles from the school newspaper. The Court upheld the censorship, ruling educators may control school-sponsored publications for pedagogical reasons.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: defendant61%

• Texas v. Johnson

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 1989 · Symbolic speech / flag burning

  Johnson burned the flag at a political protest. The Court overturned his conviction, holding flag burning is protected expressive conduct.

  Court: defendant · Jev: defendant98%

• Cruzan v. Director, Missouri Department of Health

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 1990 · Right to refuse treatment

  Cruzan's parents sought to remove her feeding tube after years in a vegetative state. The Court upheld Missouri's requirement of clear and convincing evidence of the patient's wishes.

  Court: defendant · Jev: defendant81%

• Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 1992 · Abortion regulation

  Planned Parenthood challenged Pennsylvania's abortion restrictions. The Court reaffirmed Roe's core under an 'undue burden' test, upholding most provisions but striking spousal notice.

  Court: mixed · Jev: mixed86%

• Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 1992 · Takings / regulatory taking

  A coastal law barred Lucas from building on his beachfront lots. The Court ruled that a regulation wiping out all economic use is a taking requiring compensation.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff81%

• Liebeck v. McDonald's Restaurants

  agrees

  New Mexico Second Judicial District Court · 1994 · Torts / products liability (hot coffee)

  Liebeck was badly burned by coffee served near boiling. A jury awarded her compensatory and large punitive damages, later reduced, before the case settled.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff64%

• Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc.

  differs

  Supreme Court of the United States · 1994 · Copyright / parody fair use

  A rap group parodied 'Oh, Pretty Woman' commercially without a license. The Court held commercial parody can be fair use and sent the case back.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: defendant56%

• United States v. Lopez

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 1995 · Commerce Clause limits

  Lopez was convicted under the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act. The Court struck it down, holding gun possession near schools is not commerce Congress can reach.

  Court: defendant · Jev: defendant94%

• People v. O.J. Simpson

  agrees

  Los Angeles County Superior Court · 1995 · Criminal law / murder trial

  Simpson was tried for the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. The jury acquitted him after the defense attacked the evidence handling and police credibility.

  Court: defendant · Jev: defendant66%

• Romer v. Evans

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 1996 · Equal protection / sexual orientation

  Colorado's Amendment 2 barred anti-discrimination protections for gay people. The Court struck it down as lacking any rational, legitimate purpose.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff100%

• United States v. Virginia (VMI)

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 1996 · Equal protection / sex discrimination

  The federal government challenged VMI's male-only admissions. The Court ruled the exclusion unconstitutional and rejected a separate women's program as no substitute.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff100%

• Clinton v. Jones

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 1997 · Presidential immunity

  Paula Jones sued the sitting President over pre-office conduct. The Court let the suit proceed, holding presidents have no temporary immunity for unofficial acts.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff86%

• Bush v. Gore

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 2000 · Equal protection / election recount

  Florida ordered a manual recount with varying county standards in the 2000 election. The Court halted it under equal protection, effectively deciding the presidency for Bush.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff97%

• Lawrence v. Texas

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 2003 · Liberty / sodomy laws

  Two men were convicted under Texas's ban on same-sex intimacy. The Court reversed, holding private consensual conduct is protected liberty and overruling Bowers.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff96%

• Grutter v. Bollinger

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 2003 · Affirmative action

  Grutter challenged Michigan Law School's holistic use of race in admissions. The Court upheld it as narrowly tailored to the compelling interest in diversity.

  Court: defendant · Jev: defendant97%

• Kelo v. City of New London

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 2005 · Takings / public use

  New London condemned homes for private economic development. The Court upheld the taking, ruling economic revitalization qualifies as public use.

  Court: defendant · Jev: defendant69%

• Hamdan v. Rumsfeld

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 2006 · Military commissions / war powers

  A Guantanamo detainee challenged trial by military commission. The Court ruled the commissions violated military law and the Geneva Conventions.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff93%

• District of Columbia v. Heller

  differs

  Supreme Court of the United States · 2008 · Second Amendment

  Heller was denied a permit to keep a handgun at home in D.C. The Court struck the ban, holding the Second Amendment protects an individual right to armed self-defense.

  Court: defendant · Jev: plaintiff51%

• Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 2010 · Campaign finance / corporate speech

  Citizens United was barred from airing a film criticizing a candidate. The Court struck limits on corporate independent expenditures as violations of free speech.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff84%

• National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 2012 · Affordable Care Act

  States and businesses challenged the Affordable Care Act. The Court upheld the individual mandate as a tax but struck the Medicaid expansion's funding threat as coercive.

  Court: mixed · Jev: mixed56%

• Shelby County v. Holder

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 2013 · Voting Rights Act

  Shelby County challenged the Voting Rights Act's preclearance formula. The Court struck the coverage formula as outdated, rendering preclearance inoperative.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff79%

• Riley v. California

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 2014 · Fourth Amendment / cell phones

  Police searched Riley's cell phone without a warrant after arrest. The Court ruled police generally need a warrant to search a phone's digital contents.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff94%

• Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.

  differs

  Supreme Court of the United States · 2014 · Religious freedom / RFRA

  Hobby Lobby's owners objected on religious grounds to covering contraception. The Court exempted closely held corporations from the mandate under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

  Court: defendant · Jev: plaintiff69%

• Obergefell v. Hodges

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 2015 · Same-sex marriage

  Same-sex couples challenged state marriage bans and nonrecognition. The Court ruled states must license and recognize same-sex marriages nationwide.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff98%

• Carpenter v. United States

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 2018 · Fourth Amendment / cell-site data

  Police obtained months of cell-site location records without a warrant. The Court ruled acquiring historical location data is a search generally requiring a warrant.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff94%

• Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 2018 · Free exercise / anti-discrimination

  A baker refused a wedding cake for a same-sex couple. The Court set aside the state's order, finding its proceedings showed hostility to the baker's religious beliefs.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff95%

• Bostock v. Clayton County

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 2020 · Title VII / sexual orientation

  Employees were fired for being gay or transgender. The Court ruled such firings are discrimination 'because of sex' under Title VII.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff95%

• Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization

  differs

  Supreme Court of the United States · 2022 · Abortion

  Mississippi banned most abortions after fifteen weeks. The Court upheld the ban, overruling Roe and Casey and returning abortion regulation to the states.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: defendant32%

• New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 2022 · Second Amendment / public carry

  New York required a special need for a concealed-carry license. The Court struck the requirement, recognizing a right to carry in public for self-defense.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff89%

• Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College

  differs

  Supreme Court of the United States · 2023 · Affirmative action

  Students for Fair Admissions challenged race-conscious admissions at Harvard and UNC. The Court ruled the programs violated equal protection and Title VI.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: defendant34%

• Trump v. United States

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 2024 · Presidential immunity

  Trump sought dismissal of his federal election indictment on immunity grounds. The Court ruled former presidents have immunity for official acts and sent the case back for sorting.

  Court: mixed · Jev: mixed22%

• Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo

  agrees

  Supreme Court of the United States · 2024 · Administrative law / Chevron overruled

  Fishing companies challenged a rule making them pay for federal observers. The Court overruled Chevron, holding courts must interpret statutes without deferring to agencies.

  Court: plaintiff · Jev: plaintiff84%