Worst supreme court decisions full#

Texas in 2003 (although some states still practice anti-sodomy laws, seemingly oblivious to their unconstitutional nature). One of the few dissenters, Justice Harry Blackmun, reported “an almost obsessive focus on homosexual activity” during the ruling, which was eventually overturned by Lawrence v. In 1986, the Supreme Court upheld the state of Georgia’s decision to criminalize gay and lesbian sexual activity. Dagenhart, was strictly a matter for the individual states to decide. What it would not admit, however, was that the government had any right in deciding whether children should be put to work in mines and industry. Dagenhart (1918)īy the 2nd decade of the 20th century, the Supreme Court had already decided the power of government extended to enforcing restrictions on gambling and other such vices.

Within two days of the decision, Exxon’s stock jumped $23 billion a rather unfair reward for causing one of the biggest environmental disasters in history. Despite the verdict being accompanied by a $5 billion fine in damages, Exxon managed to get away with paying just $500 million after the Supreme Court ruled they should not be held liable for punitive damages in excess of compensatory ones. After years of litigation, Exxon Shipping was finally found guilty of the Exxon Valdez oil spill.

Worst supreme court decisions full#

You expect the party responsible for a major oil spill to feel the full force of the law. Here, we take a look at 10 of the very worst Supreme Court decisions ever made. Looking back over the past 230 years of the Supreme Court’s history, there’re a few decisions that truly make the mind boggle. Given the complexity of some of these cases, it’s inevitable that sometimes, the wrong decisions are made (to put it mildly). Each year, the United States Supreme Court rules on about 80 decisions.