View source for Essay:25 Worst Court Decisions

The vast majority of the "25 Worst Court Decisions" involved some [[deceit|deception]], impropriety or inadequate scholarship, as discussed in the footnotes.  (All decisions are by the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] except where noted; rulings overturned by the court system are not included.)

''[[U.S. Term Limits v. Thornton]]'', 25th below, could be reversed by the new Supreme Court post-Justice [[Anthony Kennedy]], who was essential to the 5-4 majority.

At least 5 out of these 25 worse decisions, or 20%, were urged by the [[ACLU]],<ref>http://www.lectlaw.com/files/cur59.htm</ref> as noted below.

#[[Roe v. Wade]] (and [[Doe v. Bolton]]) (1973) ("legalized" [[abortion]])<ref>Neither woman in these cases actually wanted an [[abortion]], and both later attempted unsuccessfully to have these decisions overturned.  The [[ACLU]] filed a brief to request these decisions.  Roe v. Wade, which was never legal as it was ruled on by liberal activist judges who acted outside their mandate and overreached their power, was officially overturned on June 24, 2022 as a result of the ruling on [[Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization]], returning the regulation of abortion to the individual states.</ref>
#[[Wickard v. Filburn]] (1942) (granted Congress power to prohibit growing wheat on your own land) and turned the [[Commerce Clause]] on its head.<ref>http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0317_0111_ZS.html</ref>
#[[Dred Scott v. Sanford]] (1857) (authorized slavery & denied citizenship to blacks)<ref>The Court far exceeded the controversy before it in its ruling.  President [[James Buchanan]] reportedly had sought this decision privately with the Court, and the decision was rendered two days after his inauguration.</ref>
#[[Plessy v. Ferguson]] (1896) (upheld racial segregation)
#[[Goodridge v. Department of Public Health]] (Mass. Sup. Ct. 2003) (mandated [[same-sex "marriage"]])<ref>[http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/07/21/after_2_years_same_sex_marriage_icons_split_up/ The lead plaintiffs separated about two years after getting "married"]</ref>
#[[Engel v. Vitale]] (1962) (banned prayer in [[public school]])<ref>The Court cited no precedential holding in its entire opinion.  This was an [[ACLU]] case.</ref>
#[[Buck v. Bell]] (1927) (approved of forced sterilization of low-IQ women)<ref>The case was based on a fraudulent claim that the woman was mentally retarded.</ref>
#[[Plyler v. Doe]] (1982) (mandated that all illegal immigrants be given free education in [[public school]]s)
#[[Stenberg v. Carhart]] (2000) ("legalized" partial-birth abortion)<ref>The Court invalidated the [[partial-birth abortion]] laws even though they had never been applied, contrary to its ruling in ''United States v. Salerno'', 481 U.S. 739, 745 (1987), that a facial challenge to a statute can succeed only if there are no circumstances in which the statute may be applied constitutionally.  The Court did not even cite or distinguish the ''Salerno'' precedent.</ref>
#[[Roper v. Simmons]] (2005) (cited foreign law to prohibit the [[death penalty]] for crimes committed by 17-year-olds)
#[[Kelo v. City of New London]] (2005) (expanded [[eminent domain]])
#[[Lemon v. Kurtzman]] (1971) (used to justify eliminating religion from public life)<ref>Chief Justice [[Warren Burger]], who later lamented hostility to religion, wrote the ''Lemon'' decision for the Court but admitted privately in a dinner conversation with [[Andrew Schlafly]] in late 1991 that Burger never intended for it to be applied in the broad manner that it was.</ref>
#[[Romer v. Evans]] (1996) (holding unconstitutional a [[Colorado]] referendum prohibiting [[special rights|special laws]] favoring [[homosexuals]])
#[[Lawrence v. Texas]] (2003) (struck down sodomy laws, allowing immoral conduct)<ref>This case was a set-up whereby a false claim of a [[felony]] was reported to the police in order to compel an arrest in someone's apartment.</ref>
#[[Stone v. Graham]] (1980) (banned the [[Ten Commandments]] from display in [[public school]])<ref>The Court issued a 5-4 unsigned ([[per curiam]]) decision without hearing argument on the merits of the case.  This was an [[ACLU]] case.</ref>
#[[Epperson v. Arkansas]] (1968) (prohibited limitations on [[evolution]] indoctrination in public schools)<ref>Justice [[Abe Fortas]] wrote this opinion only weeks after he was rejected by the [[Senate]] for improprieties in his nomination to become Chief Justice,[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A45149-2005Mar17.html] and as a new scandal was lurking that led to Chief Justice [[Earl Warren]] telling him to resign.  This opinion was released a mere 27 days after oral argument, which is much quicker than usual.  This was an [[ACLU]] case.</ref> 
#[[Edwards v. Aguillard]] (1987) (banned scientific evidence of creation from [[public schools]])<ref>This was an [[ACLU]] case.</ref>
#[[Baker v. Carr]] (1962) (one man one vote)
#[[Missouri v. Jenkins]] (1985) (upheld 1990) (ordered tax increase for school)
#[[Montoy v. Kansas]] (Kan. Sup. Ct. 2005) (ordered tax increase for school)
#[[Mapp v. Ohio]] (1961) (required criminal courts to exclude evidence if seized improperly)
#[[United States v. Callender]] (upheld the [[Sedition Act]])
#[[Griswold v. Connecticut]] (1965) (created a "right to privacy" not present in the Constitution which has been used to justify abortion and sodomy)
#[[Block v. Hirsh]] (1921) (declared [[rent control]] to be constitutional despite deprivation of rights of property owners)
#[[U.S. Term Limits v. Thornton]] (1995) (by a 5-4 vote, the Court declared it unconstitutional for states to limit terms for their congressmen)

== References ==

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[[Category:United States Supreme Court Cases]]
[[Category:Law]]
[[Category:Essays]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:25 Worst Court Decisions}}