Significant Oral Arguments of the Supreme Court 1955-1993
The Warren Court | The Burger Court | The Rehnquist Court
In 1996, the Supreme Court Historical Society appointed an Ad Hoc Committee of distinguished legal scholars and Supreme Court practitioners to determine the most significant oral arguments heard by the Supreme Court from 1955 until 1993. The Committee was asked to pick not only important cases, but also examples of effective appellate advocacy. Ultimately the Committee selected 411 cases; 130 from the Warren Court era, 160 from the Burger Court Era and 121 from the first seven years of the Rehnquist Court.
The Burger Court
396 U.S. 19 (1969) Alexander v. Holmes County Board of Education
text of opinion
397 U.S. 150 (1970) Association of Data Processing Organizations v. Camp
text of opinion
399 U.S. 42 (1970) Chambers v. Maroney
text of opinion
397 U.S. 471 (1970) Dandridge v. Williams
text of opinion
396 U.S. 435 (1970) Evans v. Abney
text of opinion
397 U.S. 254 (1970) Goldberg v. Kelly
text of opinion
400 U.S. 112 (1970) Oregon v. Mitchell, Texas v. Mitchell, United States v. Arizona, United States v. Idaho
text of opinion
397 U.S. 664 (1970) Walz v. Tax Commission of the City of New York
text of opinion
398 U.S. 333 (1970) Welsh v. United States
text of opinion
399 U.S. 78 (1970) Williams v. Florida
text of opinion
397 U.S. 358 (1970) In re Winship
text of opinion
401 U.S. 23 (1971) In Re Stolar to the Supreme Court of Ohio
text of opinion
403 U.S. 388 (1971) Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics
text of opinion
401 U.S. 371 (1971) Boddie v. Connecticut
text of opinion
403 U.S. 443 (1971) Coolidge v. New Hampshire
text of opinion
403 U.S. 365 (1971) Graham v. Richardson
text of opinion
402 U.S. 99, 91 S. Ct. 1319 (1971) Ehlert v. United States
text of opinion
403 U.S. 88 (1971) Griffin v. Breckenridge
text of opinion
401 U.S. 424 (1971) Griggs v. Duke Power Co.
text of opinion
403 U.S. 602 (1971) Lemon v. Kurtzman
text of opinion
403 U.S. 15 (1971) Cohen v. California
text of opinion
403 U.S. 713 (1971) New York Times Co. v. United States, United States v. Washington Post The
text of opinion
403 U.S. 217 (1971) Palmer v. Thompson
text of opinion
404 U.S. 71 (1971) Reed v. Reed
text of opinion
403 U.S. 29 (1971) Rosenbloom v. Metromedia Inc.
text of opinion
402 U.S. 1 (1971) Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg County Board of Education
text of opinion
406 U.S. 404 (1972) Apodaca v. Oregon
text of opinion
407 U.S. 25 (1972) Argersinger v. Hamlin
text of opinion
408 U.S. 238 (1972) Furman v. Georgia, Branch v. Texas, Jackson v. Georgia
text of opinion
408 U.S. 665 (1972) Branzburg v. Hayes, Pappas In re, United States v. Caldwell, Caldwell v. U.S.
text of opinion
412 U.S. 94 (1973) Columbia Broadcasting System Inc. v. Democratic National Committee
text of opinion
405 U.S. 330 (1972) Dunn v. Blumstein
text of opinion
405 U.S. 438 (1972) Eisenstadt v. Baird
text of opinion
407 U.S. 67 (1972) Fuentes v. Shevin
text of opinion
408 U.S. 606 (1972) Gravel v. United States
text of opinion
408 U.S. 1 (1972) Laird v. Tatum
text of opinion
407 U.S. 551 (1972) Lloyd Corporation Ltd. v. Tanner
text of opinion
408 U.S. 593 (1972) Perry v. Sindermann
text of opinion
405 U.S. 727 (1972) Sierra Club v. Morton
text of opinion
406 U.S. 205 (1972) Wisconsin v. Yoder
text of opinion
413 U.S. 756 (1973) Committee for Public Education and Religious Liberty v. Nyquist
text of opinion
410 U.S. 179 (1973) Doe v. Bolton
text of opinion
411 U.S. 677 (1973) Frontiero v. Richardson
text of opinion
413 U.S. 189 (1973) Keyes v. Denver School District
text of opinion
411 U.S. 792 (1973) McDonnell Douglas Corporation v. Green
text of opinion
413 U.S. 15 (1973) Miller v. California
text of opinion
412 U.S. 92 (1973) Richmond School Board v. Virginia State Board of Education
text of opinion
410 U.S. 113 (1973) Roe v. Wade
text of opinion
411 U.S. 1 (1973) San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez
text of opinion
412 U.S. 218 (1973) Schneckloth v. Bustamonte
text of opinion
412 U.S. 669 (1973) United States v. SCRAP
text of opinion
416 U.S. 312 (1974) DeFunis v. Odegaard
text of opinion
415 U.S. 651 (1974) Edelman v. Jordan
text of opinion
417 U.S. 484 (1974) Geduldig v. Aiello
text of opinion
418 U.S. 323 (1974) Gertz v. Robert Welch Inc.
text of opinion
418 U.S. 241 (1974) Miami Herald Publishing Co. v. Tornillo
text of opinion
418 U.S. 717 (1974) Milliken v. Bradley
text of opinion
417 U.S. 843 (1974) Saxbe v. Washington Post Co.
text of opinion
416 U.S. 232 (1974) Scheuer v. Rhodes
text of opinion
418 U.S. 208 (1974) Schlesinger v. Reservists Committee to Stop the War
text of opinion
418 U.S. 683 (1974) United States v. Nixon
text of opinion
416 U.S. 1 (1974) Village of Belle Terre v. Boraas, Belle Terre v. Boraas
text of opinion
425 U.S. 682 (1975) Alfred Dunhill of London, Inc. v. The Republic of Cuba
text of opinion
421 U.S. 809 (1975) Bigelow v. Virginia
text of opinion
420 U.S. 469 (1975) Cox Broadcasting Corp. v. Cohn
text of opinion
421 U.S. 773 (1975) Goldfarb v. Virginia State Bar
text of opinion
419 U.S. 565 (1975) Goss v. Lopez
text of opinion
419 U.S. 522 (1975) Taylor v. Louisiana
text of opinion
422 U.S. 490 (1975) Warth v. Seldin
text of opinion
420 U.S. 636 (1975) Weinberger v. Wiesenfeld
text of opinion
424 U.S. 1 (1976) Buckley v. Valeo
text of opinion
426 U.S. 833 (1976) National League of Cities v. Usery, California v. Usery
text of opinion
429 U.S. 190 (1976) Craig v. Boren
text of opinion
427 U.S. 347 (1976) Elrod v. Burns
text of opinion
428 U.S. 153 (1976) Gregg v. Georgia
text of opinion
427 U.S. 539 (1976) Nebraska Press Association v. Stuart
text of opinion
427 U.S. 424 (1976) Pasadena City Board of Education v. Spangler
text of opinion
438 U.S. 265 (1976) Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
text of opinion
425 U.S. 748 (1976) Virginia State Board of Pharmacy v. Virginia Citizens Consumer Council Inc.
text of opinion
426 U.S. 229 (1976) Washington v. Davis
text of opinion
429 U.S. 252 (1977) Arlington Heights v. Metropolitan Housing Development Corp
text of opinion
433 U.S. 350 (1977) Bates v. Arizona State Bar
text of opinion
430 U.S. 274 (1977) Complete Auto Transit Inc. v. Brady
text of opinion
430 U.S. 651 (1977) Ingrahan v. Wright
text of opinion
432 U.S. 464 (1977) Maher v. Roe
text of opinion
433 U.S. 267 (1977) Milliken v. Bradley
text of opinion
431 U.S. 494 (1977) Moore v. City of East Cleveland
text of opinion
433 U.S. 425 (1977) Nixon v. Administrator General Services Administration
text of opinion
430 U.S. 144 (1977) United Jewish Organization of Williamsburgh v. Carey
text of opinion
433 U.S. 72 (1977) Wainwright v. Sykes
text of opinion
438 U.S. 234 (1978) Allied Structural Steel Co. Spannaus
text of opinion
438 U.S. 478 (1978) Butz v. Economou
text of opinion
438 U.S. 726 (1978) Federal Communications Commission v. Pacifica Foundation
text of opinion
435 U.S. 765 (1978) First National Bank of Boston v. Bellotti
text of opinion
436 U.S. 658 (1978) Monell v. Department of Social Services City of New York
text of opinion
435 U.S. 589 (1978) Nixon v. Warner Communications Inc. et al.
text of opinion
438 U.S. 104 (1978) Penn Central Transportation Co. v. New York City
text of opinion
437 U.S. 617 (1978) Philadelphia v. New Jersey
text of opinion
437 U.S. 153 (1978) Tennessee Valley Authority v. Hill
text of opinion
436 U.S. 547 (1978) Zurcher v. The Stanford Daily
text of opinion
443 U.S. 526 (1979) Columbus (Ohio) Board of Education v. Penick, Dayton (Ohio) Board of Education v. Brinkman
text of opinion
440 U.S. 648 (1979) Delaware v. Prouse
text of opinion
441 U.S. 153 (1979) Herbert v. Lando
text of opinion
443 U.S. 595 (1979) JONES v. WOLF
text of opinion
442 U.S. 256 (1979) Personnel Admin. of the Com. of Massachusetts v. Feeney
text of opinion
443 U.S. 193 (1979) United States v. Weber, United Steelworkers of America v. Weber
text of opinion
447 U.S. 557 (1980) Central Hudson Gas & Electric Co. v. Public Service Commission of New York
text of opinion
448 U.S. 448 (1980) Fullilove v. Klutznick
text of opinion
448 U.S. 297, 100 S.Ct. 2671 (1980) Harris v. McRae
text of opinion
448 U.S. 555 (1980) Richmond Newspapers v. Commonwealth of Virginia
text of opinion
446 U.S. 291 (1980) Rhode Island v. Innis
text of opinion
449 U.S. 200 (1980) United States v. Will
text of opinions
453 U.S. 654 (1981) Dames & Moore v. Regan
text of opinion
453 U.S. 490 (1981) Metromedia Inc. v. City of San Diego
text of opinion
450 U.S. 464 (1981) Michael M. v. Superior Court of Sonoma Country
text of opinion
451 U.S. 1, 101 S.Ct. 1531 (1981) Pennhurst State School and Hospital v. Halderman, Mayor of city of Philadelphia v. Halderman, Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Citizens v. Penhurst State School and Hospital, Commissioners and Mental Health/Mental Retardation Administrators for Bucks County v. Halderman, Pennhurst Parents-Staff Association v. Halderman
text of opinion
453 U.S. 57 (1981) Rostker v. Goldberg
text of opinion
454 U.S. 263 (1981) Widmar v. Vincent
text of opinion
458 U.S. 527 (1982) Crawford v. Los Angeles Board of Education
text of opinion
457 U.S. 596 (1982) Globe Newspaper Co. v. Superior Court
text of opinion
457 U.S. 800 (1982) Harlow v. Fitzgerald
text of opinion
458 U.S. 886 (1982) NAACP v. Claiborne Hardware Co.
text of opinion
459 U.S. 116 (1982) Larkin v. Grendel's Den
text of opinion
457 U.S. 731 (1982) Nixon v. Fitzgerald
text of opinion
458 U.S. 50 (1982) Northern Pipe Line Construction Co. v. Marathon Pipe Line Co, United States v. Marathon Pipe Line Co.
text of opinion
457 U.S. 202 (1982) Plyler v. Doe, Texas v. Certain Named and Unnamed Undocumented Alien Children
text of opinion
457 U.S. 1 (1982) RODRIGUEZ v. POPULAR DEMOCRATIC PARTY
text of opinion
458 U.S. 457 (1982) Washington v. Seattle School Dist. #1
text of opinion
461 U.S. 574 (1983) Bob Jones University v. United States, Goldsboro Christian Schools v. United States
text of opinion
461 U.S. 95 (1983) City of Los Angeles v. Lyons
text of opinion
462 U.S. 919 (1983) Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Chadha, United States House of Representatives v. Chadha
text of opinion
463 U.S. 783 (1983) Marsh v. Chambers
text of opinion
463 U.S. 1032 (1983) Michigan v. Long
text of opinion
464 U.S. 238 (1983) Silwood v. Kerr McGee
text of opinion
465 U.S. 886 (1984) Blum v. Stenson
text of opinion
468 U.S. 288 (1984) Clark v. Community for Creative Non-Violence
text of opinion
468 U.S. 364 (1984) Federal Communications Commission v. League of Women Voters of California
text of opinion
467 U.S. 561 (1984) Firefighters Local Union #1784 v. Stotts
text of opinion
467 U.S. 229 (1984) Hawaii Housing Authority v. Midkiff
text of opinion
467 U.S. 69 (1984) Hishon v. King & Spalding
text of opinion
465 U.S. 668 (1984) Lynch v. Donnelly
text of opinion
468 U.S. 222 (1984) Regan v. Wald
text of opinion
466 U.S. 668 (1984) Strickland v. Washington
text of opinion
468 U.S. 897, 104 S.Ct. 3405 (1984) United States v. Leon
text of opinion
470 U.S. 68 (1985) Ake v. Oklahoma
text of opinion
473 U.S. 432 (1985) City of Cleburn Texas v. Cleburne Living Center
text of opinion
469 U.S. 528 (1985) Garcia v. San Antonio Metropolitan Transit Authority
text of opinion
473 U.S. 373, 105 S.Ct. 3216 (1985) Grand Rapids School District v. Ball
text of opinion
469 U.S. 325 (1985) New Jersey v. T.L.O.
text of opinion
470 U.S. 274 (1985) Supreme Court of New Hampshire v. Piper
text of opinion
472 U.S. 38 (1985) Wallace v. Jaffree
text of opinion
476 U.S. 79 (1986) Batson v. Kentucky
text of opinion
478 U.S. 186 (1986) Bowers v. Hardwick
text of opinion
478 U.S. 714 (1986) Bowsher v. Synar, O'Neill v. Synar, Senate v. Synar, United States Senate v. Synar
text of opinion
476 U.S. 207 (1986) California v. Ciraolo
text of opinion
475 U.S. 41 (1986) City of Renton v. Playtime Theatres Inc.
text of opinion
477 U.S. 57 (1986) Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson
text of opinion
478 U.S. 328 (1986) Posadas de Puerto Rico Associates v. Tourism Council of Puerto Rico
text of opinion
478 U.S. 30 (1986) Thornburg v. Gingles
text of opinion
476 U.S. 267 (1986) Wygant v. Jackson Board of Education
text of opinion
