Judicial

Verizon Lawsuit Successfully Overturns FCC Net Neutrality Rules, Court Demands Title II Reclassification

| Importance: 9/10

The DC Circuit Court of Appeals delivers a landmark ruling in Verizon v. FCC, striking down the Federal Communications Commission’s anti-blocking and anti-discrimination net neutrality rules while paradoxically outlining the path to stronger protections through Title II reclassification. The …

Verizon Communications DC Circuit Court of Appeals Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Julius Genachowski net-neutrality telecommunications regulatory-capture verizon fcc +1 more
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Yates v. United States Limits Smith Act Prosecutions, Supreme Court Begins Retreat from McCarthyism

| Importance: 7/10

On June 17, 1957, the Supreme Court issued three decisions that significantly limited McCarthyist overreach: Yates v. United States, Watkins v. United States, and Service v. Dulles. Known as “Red Monday” to conservative critics, these rulings began the judicial rollback of the security …

Earl Warren U.S. Supreme Court Oleta O'Connor Yates Communist Party USA Department of Justice civil-liberties judicial first-amendment mccarthyism red-scare +1 more
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Supreme Court Affirms Montgomery Bus Segregation Unconstitutional, Boycott Ends in Victory

| Importance: 9/10

On November 13, 1956, the United States Supreme Court affirmed the district court ruling in Browder v. Gayle, declaring Montgomery, Alabama’s bus segregation laws unconstitutional. The decision marked the triumphant conclusion of the 381-day Montgomery Bus Boycott and established Martin Luther …

Martin Luther King Jr. Rosa Parks E.D. Nixon Jo Ann Robinson Montgomery Improvement Association +2 more civil-rights segregation judicial nonviolent-resistance democratic-breakthrough
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Brown II Orders Desegregation with "All Deliberate Speed," Enabling Decade of Resistance

| Importance: 8/10

On May 31, 1955, one year after declaring school segregation unconstitutional in Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court issued Brown II, its implementation ruling. Rather than setting firm deadlines or providing specific remedies, the Court ordered desegregation proceed “with all …

Earl Warren U.S. Supreme Court NAACP Legal Defense Fund Thurgood Marshall Southern state governments civil-rights segregation judicial democratic-erosion massive-resistance
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Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court Decision Declares School Segregation Unconstitutional

| Importance: 10/10

On May 17, 1954, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Earl Warren delivered the unanimous ruling in the landmark civil rights case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. The Court declared that racial segregation in public schools violated the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, …

Earl Warren Thurgood Marshall NAACP Legal Defense Fund U.S. Supreme Court civil-rights institutional-racism judicial democratic-erosion segregation
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Dennis v. United States Supreme Court Upholds Smith Act Convictions, Criminalizes Political Advocacy

| Importance: 8/10

On June 4, 1951, the United States Supreme Court ruled 6-2 in Dennis v. United States, upholding the convictions of eleven Communist Party leaders under the Smith Act of 1940. The decision effectively criminalized political advocacy, allowing prosecution for teaching or advocating revolutionary …

Fred Vinson U.S. Supreme Court Eugene Dennis Communist Party USA Department of Justice mccarthyism civil-liberties judicial first-amendment red-scare +1 more
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