 Nixon v. Fitzgerald (1982) |
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In this case, the Supreme Court ruled that a president "is entitled to absolute immunity from damages liability predicated on his official acts."
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| Opinion of Chief Justice Hornblower on the Fugitive Slave Law (1836) |
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Justice Hornblower’s opinion in the State v. Sheriff of Burlington County called into question the authority of the Fugitive Slave Act. The opinion calls into question discrepancies between the federal law and state statute. This opinion is over the case of the Helmsley family. Alexander Helmsley and his wife, Nancy, were a free black couple living in New Jersey. Someone accused them of being fugitive slaves. Under the Fugitive Slave Act, the family should have been sent back to their former enslaver; however, New Jersey’s Personal Liberty Law protected them from being extradited from the state. Hornblower’s opinion advocated for following the state personal liberty law over following the federal law.
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| Ozawa v. United States (1922) |
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The Supreme Court found in Ozawa v. United States that Japanese immigrants were not eligible for naturalization, based on a contested category of whiteness. The case considered the meaning of "free white persons" from the 1906 Naturalization Act and whether factors like assimilability should be considered. While the court determined in Ozawa that the words "white person" were meant to indicate a person of the "caucasian race," the decision in U.S. v. Thind just months later stated that the word "caucasian" was meant to refer to the "common understanding" of race and not a scientific one.
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| Page Act (1875) |
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The Page Act was a federal law that profiled Chinese and other women immigrating from Asian countries as immoral, barring them from entering the United States.
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| Pensionado Act (1903) |
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This act, passed in the aftermath of the Philippine–American War, established a scholarship program for Filipino people to receive an education in the U.S.
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| Peonage Act of 1867 |
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Following the passage of the 13th Amendment, this act officially abolished peonage, or debt slavery, in the United States. It specifically targeted New Mexico Territory, where this form of involuntary servitude was historically practiced. This act was later codified at 42 U.S.C. § 1994.
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| Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992) |
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In the Supreme Court case of Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the ruling in Roe v. Wade was upheld, but changed the scrutiny standard from "strict scrutiny" to an "undue burden" standard.
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| Platt Amendment (1903) |
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The Platt Amendment was a part of the Army Appropriations Act of 1901 and stipulated conditions of Cuban independence following the Spanish-American war. It laid the foundation of Cuban-U.S. relations for the next several decades.
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| Prigg v. Pennsylvania (1842) |
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The case of Prigg v. Pennsylvania evaluated the legality of Pennsylvania's personal liberty laws. Margaret Morgan moved from Maryland to Pennsylvania after being granted her freedom. When relatives of her previous enslaver wanted to reclaim her, they sent Edward Prigg to Pennsylvania to find her. Pennsylvania courts found Prigg guilty of violating the state's personal liberty laws, but the Supreme Court ruled that the federal fugitive slave laws overrule state laws.
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| Proclamation 10903 - Invocation of the Alien Enemies Act Regarding the Invasion of the United States by Tren de Aragua (2025) |
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This proclamation issued by President Donald Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to apprehend and remove suspected members of Tren de Aragua from within the U.S. The proclamation calls for the apprehension, restraint, and removal of Venezuelan citizens who are at least 14 years of age, within the U.S., and who are not U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents.
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| Proclamation 10948 - Enhancing National Security By Addressing Risks At Harvard University (2025) |
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This presidential proclamation claims that because of an increase of criminal activity at Harvard University, and a failure of the University to comply with federal directives, international student visas will be revoked.
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| Proclamation 10949 - Restricting the Entry of Foreign Nationals to Protect the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats (2025) |
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A presidential proclamation that reinstates the muslim travel ban from Donald Trump's first presidency.
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| Proclamation 4417 - An American Promise (1976) |
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This proclamation issued by President Gerald Ford confirmed the termination of Executive Order 9066, which had authorized the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II.
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| Public Law 280 (1953) |
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This law gave California, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oregon, and Wisconsin criminal and civil jurisdiction on Indian reservations, as the U.S. government resolved to terminate the special trustee relationship tribes held with the United States, eroding tribal sovereignty.
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| Quartering Act (1765) |
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A part of the American Mutiny Act, the Quartering Act required American colonists to house and board British soldiers. The Act placed financial burden of quartering soldiers on the colonies. It specified the supplies soldiers of different ranks were expected to be furnished with by the colonies, and the costs associated with failure to comply. This act is the reason the Third Amendment was included in the Constitution of the United States. Like the Stamp and Sugar Acts, the Quartering Act forced colonists into extra financial responsibilities without any representation in Parliament.
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| Quartering Act (1774) |
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One of the Intolerable or Coercive Acts, the Quartering Act of 1774 expanded the Quartering Act of 1765 to allow soldiers to be housed in private homes. While the other Intolerable Acts applied directly to Massachusetts, the Quartering Act applied to all of colonial North America. After this act and the other Intolerable Acts were passed, the First Continental Congress met to formalize a reaction to the perceived overstepping of British parliament.
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| Queen Anne's Speech in Parliament (1712) |
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In a speech by Queen Anne before Parliament, she described a contract granted to England by Spain for slave trading rights and emphasized peace with France, as England received the contract from Spain.
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| Re: DEI Programs Are Lawful Under Federal Civil Rights Laws and Supreme Court Precedent (2025) |
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This memorandum from law professors across the United States explains how diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives are legally defensible, in spite of the January 21, 2025, Executive Order titled "Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity."
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| Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act Fact Sheet (2022) |
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This statement from the White House outlines critical elements in the reauthorized Violence Against Women Act signed by President Joe Biden as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022.
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| Refugee Act (1980) |
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This act provided a permanent and systematic procedure for the admission of refugees of special humanitarian concern to the United States as well as comprehensive and uniform provisions for the effective resettlement and absorption of the refugees who are admitted.
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| Regulated Slave Trade Act (1788) |
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This act, also known as Dolben's Act, placed limits and regulations on the slave trade, and illustrates the attempts to regulate the numbers of children in the slave trade.
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| Rehabilitation Act (1973) |
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This act regulated the Department of Labor and specifically sought to limit discrimination based on disabilities. It required affirmative action in federal employment and created and extended civil rights to people with disabilities. While not as maybe far-reaching as the Americans with Disabilities Act, this act was passed nearly 20 years earlier.
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| Report of the Woman's Rights Convention Held at Seneca Falls (1848) |
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Generally credited as the first call for equal rights for women, this document is the result of the Seneca Falls Convention of 1848. It calls for suffrage rights for women, as well as equal rights in all aspects of society. The convention was organized by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott, both women were from abolitionist families, highlighting a sharp divide between women’s rights advocates before and after the Civil War.
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| Savanna's Act (2018) |
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Savanna's Act (also known as the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Act) addressed federal and tribal jurisdictional cooperation concerning issues of violence and disappearance in the Native American community. The law is named after Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind, a member of the Spirit Lake Nation of North Dakota who was murdered in 2017. The act was signed into law in 2020.
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| Scott Act (1888) |
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The Scott Act rejected the guarantee of free travel for Chinese people provided by the Angell Treaty of 1880. The act stated that Chinese laborers who left the U.S. would not be able to return.
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