Supreme Court Cases

Religion- Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow (2004) - The U.S. Supreme Court heard this case which was based on religion in schools. The problem was the words "Under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance. On June 14, 2004, the Supreme Court held Michael Newdow, as a noncustodial parent, did not have standing to bring the suit on his daughter's behalf. The mother was previously given sole custody of the daughter. The Ninth Circuit's decision was thus reversed as a matter of procedural law, so it did not consider the constitutional question raised by the case.Minority- Ricci v. DeStefano (2009) - The United States Supreme Court heard a case regarding racial discrimination in New Haven, Connecticut. Eighteen city firefighters, seventeen who were white and one who was Hispanic, brought suit under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 after they had passed the test for promotions to management and the city had nevertheless declined to promote them. New Haven officials invalidated the test results because none of the black firefighters who passed the exam had scored high enough to be considered for the positions. They stated that they feared a lawsuit over the test's adverse impact on a protected minoritySchool System-Roper v. Simmons (2005) - The U.S. Supreme Court held in this case that it is cruel and unusual punishment to execute persons for crimes they committed before age 18. Matthew Simmons was sentenced to death for the murder of a woman when he was 17 years of age.