Individual Rights
and Liberties
Under the
U.S. Constitution
The Case Law of the U.S. Supreme Court
Ioannis G. Dimitrakopoulos
Martinus Nijhoff Publishers
Leiden / Boston
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Dimitrakopoulos, Ioannis G.
Individual rights and liberties under the U.S. Constitution: the case law of the U.S.
Supreme Court / by Ioannis G. Dimitrakopoulos.
p.cm.
Includes index.
ISBN-13: 978-90-04-15791-0
ISBN-10: 90-04-15791-3
1. Civil rights—United States—Cases. 2. United States. Supreme Court.
I. Title.
KF4748.D465 2007
342.7308'5—dc222006048095
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1. In General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
2. The “Case or Controversy” Requirement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
a. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
b. Advisory Opinions—Administrative Duties—Rulemaking . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
c. Ripeness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
d. Standing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
i. Constitutional Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
ii. Non-Constitutional Prudential Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
iii. Particular Questions of Standing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
e. Mootness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
f. Final Judgments—Reopening of Cases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
3. Adequate State Grounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
4. The Abstention Doctrine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
5. The “Not Pressed or Passed Upon Below” Rule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
6. Political Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
7. The “Act of State” Doctrine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
C. Judicial Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
1. Generally . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
2. Standards of Review in Constitutional Rights Cases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
3. Facial Challenges. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
4. Avoidance of Constitutional Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
D. Effects of the Court’s Decisions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
1. Judicial Supremacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
2. Declaration of Unconstitutionality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
3. Power of Precedent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
4. Retroactivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
E. How the Court Adjudicates Cases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
CHAPTER 2: GENERAL ISSUES OF CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS . . . . . . . . . 53
A. Rightholders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
1. Fetus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

2. General Principles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
a. Deprivation of Protected “Liberty” or “Property” Interests. . . . . . . . . . 112
b. Procedural Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
i. Introduction—The Mathews Balancing Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
ii. Notice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
iii. Hearing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
iv. Right to (Retained or Appointed) Counsel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
v. Standard of Proof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
vi. Legislative Presumptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
vii. Impartial Decisionmaker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
3. Particular Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
a. Takings of Property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
b. Pre-Judgment Attachments—Civil Forfeitures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
c. Damage to a Person’s Reputation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
d. Deprivation of Public or Private Employment—Exclusion from a
Professional Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
e. Suspension of a Driver’s License . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
f. Suspension or Dismissal of Students from Public Schools . . . . . . . . . . 140
g. Termination of Welfare or Disability Benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
h. Right to Notice and Hearing in the Civil Trial Context . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
i. Prisoners’ Liberty Interests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
B. Right of Access to Courts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
1. In General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
2. Indigents’ Access to Judicial Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
a. Generally . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
b. In Criminal Cases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
c. In Civil Cases. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
C. Jury Trial in Civil Cases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
D. The Fifth Amendment’s Privilege Against Compulsory Self-Incrimination. . . . 160
1. General Considerations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160

a. The Defendant’s Right to Appeal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
b. The “Harmless Error” Rule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
CHAPTER 4: DIGNITY AND WORTH OF THE INDIVIDUAL—
PERSONAL INVIOLABILITY AND LIBERTY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
A. Dignity and Worth of the Individual. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
B. Personal Inviolability and Liberty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
1. Compulsory Labor and Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
2. The Right to Travel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
Table of Contents • vii
viii • Individual Rights and Liberties Under the U.S. Constitution
a. The Right to Travel and Settle in the United States—
Residency Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
b. The Right to International Travel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
3. The Right to Bodily Integrity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
a. Generally . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
b. Corporal Punishment in Public Schools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
c. The Right to Refuse Medical Treatment, Vaccination, and the
Administration of Drugs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
4. Termination of Life-Sustaining Medical Treatment—Assisted Suicide . . . . 237
5. Deprivation of Personal Liberty Without Prior Criminal Conviction . . . . . 239
a. In General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
b. Involuntary Commitment to a Mental Institution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
i. Generally . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
ii. Civil Commitment of Minors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
iii. Conditions of Confinement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
c. Detention of Aliens Who Are Deportable or Whose Deportability or
Admissibility Is Under Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
d. Detention of “Enemy Combatants” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
e. Deprivation of Personal Liberty During Criminal Proceedings . . . . . . 251
i. In General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251

ix. Abortion Laws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
x. Economic Regulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
xi. Military Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
2. In the Civil Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
E. Other Due Process Restrictions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
1. In the Criminal Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
a. Entrapment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
b. Arbitrary Penalties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
c. Mandatory Non-Capital Sentences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
d. Conditions of Imprisonment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
2. In the Civil or Quasi-Criminal Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
a. In General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
b. Excessive Punitive Damages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
F. The Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
1. In General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
2. Kind or Method of Punishment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
a. The Death Penalty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
b. Deprivation of Citizenship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
c. Prison Deprivations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
i. Generally . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
ii. Conditions of Imprisonment—Medical Care of Prisoners . . . . . . . 311
iii. Use of Excessive Force Against Inmates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314
3. Proportionality of Sentences—Mandatory Life Imprisonment . . . . . . . . . . 315
4. Punishable Conduct . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
G. The Excessive Fines Clause . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
H. The Double Jeopardy Clause. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321
1. In General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321
2. Attachment and Termination of Jeopardy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
3. The “Dual Sovereignty” Doctrine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324
4. Same Offense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325

CHAPTER 7: SEARCHES AND SEIZURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365
A. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365
B. Scope of the Fourth Amendment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365
1. Government Conduct . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365
2. What Constitutes “Search” or “Seizure”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 366
a. Generally . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 366
i. Search . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 366
ii. Seizure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 368
iii. Abandment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373
b. Particular Types of Searches and Seizures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373
i. Particular Places, Effects, or Papers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373
ii. Particular Acts or Methods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380
3. Who May Invoke the Fourth Amendment Safeguards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385
C. Legality of Searches and Seizures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387
1. General Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387
a. Warrant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387
i. In General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387
ii. Particularity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387
iii. Issuing Officials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389
b. Probable Cause—Reasonable Suspicion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390
i. Generally . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390
ii. Informant’s Tip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395
c. Reasonableness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397
2. Particular Types of Searches and Seizures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 399
a. Particular Places, Effects, or Persons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 399
i. Private Dwellings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 399
ii. Commercial Premises—Offices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 400
iii. Fire-Damaged Premises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 400
iv. Murder Scenes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 402
v. Public Places. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 402

h. Reasonable Mistakes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 448
D. Remedies for Fourth Amendment Violations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 448
1. The Exclusionary Rule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 448
2. Bivens Actions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 452
CHAPTER 8: FREEDOMS OF CONSCIENCE, THOUGHT, AND BELIEF—
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 453
A. Freedoms of Conscience, Thought, and Belief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 453
1. In General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 453
2. Compelled Expression of Objectionable Ideas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 454
3. Compulsory Disclosure of Beliefs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 455
4. Freedom of Thought in Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 457
5. Exclusion from a Profession or Public Employment on the Basis of
Political Beliefs or Association . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 457
6. Oaths of Office . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459
7. Conscientious Objection to Military Service or Instruction. . . . . . . . . . . . . 459
8. Beliefs of the Defendant in the Sentencing Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 461
B. Freedom of Religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 462
1. The Free Exercise Clause . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 462
a. In General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 462
b. Ecclesiastical Administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 468
Table of Contents • xi
xii • Individual Rights and Liberties Under the U.S. Constitution
c. Internal Government Affairs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 469
d. Polygamy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 470
e. Religious Upbringing of Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 471
f. Sunday Closing Laws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 472
g. Denial of Government Benefits Because of Conduct Mandated by
Religious Belief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 473
h. Exclusion of the Pursuit of a Devotional Theology Degree from a
Scholarship Aid Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 475

C. Vagueness and Overbreadth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 541
D. The Distinction Between Content-Based and Content-Neutral Regulation
of Speech. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 546
1. General Considerations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 546
2. Particular Categories of Content-Based Regulations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 552
a. Advocacy of the Use of Force or of Law Violation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 552
i. The World War I Cases. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 552
ii. State Sedition Laws—Anti-Communist Legislation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 553
iii. The Modern “Incitement” Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 554
b. Injury to Reputation or Privacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 556
i. Defamation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 556
ii. Information Privacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 568
c. Unwelcome and Offensive Speech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 575
i. In General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 575
ii. Breach of Peace—“Fighting” Words. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 576
iii. Hostile Audiences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 579
iv. Captive Audiences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 580
v. Threats of Violence—Hate Speech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 582
d. Sexually Explicit Expression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 585
i. Obscenity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 585
ii. Child Pornography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 591
iii. Pornography and Sexism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 594
iv. Public Nudity Bans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 595
v. Zoning Legislation Dealing with Adult Entertainment Uses . . . . . 599
vi. Sexually Explicit Expression on Communications Media . . . . . . . 602
e. Commercial Speech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 613
i. Generally . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 613
ii. Specific Types of Advertising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 617
iii. Trade Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 637
f. Campaign-Related Speech—Lobbying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 638

Table of Contents • xiii
xiv • Individual Rights and Liberties Under the U.S. Constitution
b. Cable TV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 695
c. Internet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 699
PART II: FREE SPEECH PLUS CONDUCT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 701
A. In General. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 701
B. Time, Place, or Manner Restrictions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 701
C. Expressive Activity on Property Owned or Controlled by the Government
(The “Public Forum” Doctrine) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 703
1. Types of Fora—Standards of Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 703
2. Permit Requirement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 708
3. Particular Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 709
a. Court Grounds and Adjacent Sidewalks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 709
b. “No-Campaign Zone” Around Polling Places. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 709
c. Military Bases—Streets and Sidewalks Located Within Military
Reservations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 710
d. Prisons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 712
e. Public Libraries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 712
f. Airport Terminals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 713
g. Property Owned or Controlled by the U.S. Postal Service . . . . . . . . . . 715
i. Mail Boxes—Mail Regulations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 715
ii. Postal Sidewalks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 717
h. School Newspaper—School Facilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 718
i. School’s Internal Mail System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 718
j. School Administration Meetings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 719
k. Charity Drive in the Federal Workplace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 720
l. Public Fairgrounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 720
m. Advertising Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 721
i. Advertising on City Buses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 721
ii. Advertising on Utility Poles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 721

3. In the Prison Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 764
E. The Right Not to Associate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 764
1. Generally . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 764
2. Compelled Membership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 764
3. Compulsory Fees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 768
a. Compelled Contributions to Trade Unions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 768
i. In General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 768
ii. Procedural Safeguards. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 774
iii. Appropriate Remedies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 775
b. Compulsory Dues to State Bars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 776
F. Freedom of Political Association. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 777
1. General Considerations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 777
2. Organization and Internal Affairs of Political Parties—
Selection of Party Nominees. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 777
3. Ballot Access. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 783
4. Freedom of Political Association of Public Employees. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 790
5. Campaign Finance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 792
a. Contributions or Expenditures Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 792
i. In General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 792
ii. Contribution Restrictions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 793
iii. Expenditure Restrictions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 796
iv. Party Contributions and Expenditures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800
v. Corporate Financing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 808
vi. Contributions by Minors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 810
vii. Referenda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 811
b. Record-Keeping and Disclosure Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 812
c. Government Funding. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 816
CHAPTER 10: SUBSTANTIVE PROTECTION OF PROPERTY RIGHTS AND
ECONOMIC INTERESTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 817
A. The Takings Clause . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 817

b. Retroactive Taxation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 880
c. Imposition of Retroactive Liability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 882
8. Limitations on Fiscal Powers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 886
9. The Commerce Clause . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 891
a. Federal Commerce Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 891
b. Restrictions on State Regulatory Powers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 894
10. The Bankruptcy Clause . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 898
11. The Patent and Copyright Clause . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 900
CHAPTER 11: EQUAL PROTECTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 903
A. General Principles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 903
B. Classifications Based on Race or Ethnic Ancestry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 906
1. Historical Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 906
a. The Fourteenth Amendment and the “Separate but Equal”
Doctrine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 906
b. The Fifth Amendment and Anti-Japanese Measures During
World War II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 907
2. Applicable Standard of Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 908
3. Racial Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 908
4. Differential Treatment of Indian Tribes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 909
5. Affirmative Action—Benign or Remedial Racial Discrimination . . . . . . . . 910
6. De Jure/De Facto Racial Discrimination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 919
a. Generally . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 919
b. Selective Prosecution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 921
c. Jury Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 923
d. Capital Sentencing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 927
e. In the School Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 929
7. Remedying Segregation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 929
a. Public Schools and Universities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 929
b. Desegregation and Private Schools that Discriminate Racially . . . . . . . 936
c. Public Parks and Other Recreational Facilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 938

iv. Illegal Aliens. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 974
F. Age Classifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 977
G. Classifications Based on Mental Retardation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 979
H. Classifications Based on Sexual Orientation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 981
I. Electoral Franchise. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 982
1. The Right to Vote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 982
a. In General—Standard of Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 982
b. Voter Residency and Registration Requirements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 983
c. Poll Taxes—Property Qualifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 986
d. Literacy Tests. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 988
e. The Fifteenth Amendment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 989
f. Absentee Voting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 990
g. Disenfranchisement of Convicted Felons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 991
Table of Contents • xvii
xviii • Individual Rights and Liberties Under the U.S. Constitution
2. Candidacy Qualifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 992
3. The “One-Person, One-Vote” Principle—Apportionment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 993
a. Congressional Elections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 993
b. State Elections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 996
c. Judicial Redistricting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1002
4. Racial Gerrymandering. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1002
5. Political Gerrymandering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1006
6. Equality in the Counting and Recounting of Votes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1008
J. Economic and Social Legislation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1010
1. In General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1010
2. Protection of Legitimate Expectations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1010
3. Regulation of Economic Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1012
4. State Taxation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1014
5. Welfare Benefits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1019
6. Wealth Discrimination. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1024

• procedural rights (including fundamental rights in criminal procedure);
• personal inviolability and liberty;
• substantive guarantees against criminal or civil penalties;
• personal or family privacy and autonomy;
• searches and seizures;
• freedoms of conscience, thought, belief, and religion (including the
Establishment Clause);
• freedoms of speech, press, assembly, and association;
• substantive protection of property rights and economic interests;
• equal protection.
It also includes an introductory chapter on the Supreme Court, its organization,
jurisdiction, and procedures and the exercise of judicial review. The cut-off date is
January 1, 2006.
The book has been based on an exhaustive research of the relevant materials, con-
ducted mostly through computer databases. In the interest of accuracy, the text stays
close to, and often reproduces, the actual language of the Court’s opinions. In many
cases, the presentation and analysis are based on the Court’s own analysis and under-
standing of its prior decisions.
This book was written, in great part, while I was a Senior Visiting Scholar (for the
2003–2004 academic year) in the Earl Warren Legal Institute (renamed as “Institute for
Legal Research”), at the University of California, Berkeley. I cannot thank enough
Professor Harry Scheiber, Director of the Institute, Riesenfeld Professor of Law and
History, and former President of the American Society of Legal History, for his friendship,
valuable guidance, and multiple efforts to make my visit to Boalt Hall, School of Law, as
profitable as possible. I also wish to express my thanks to all the others Faculty Members
of Boalt Hall who offered me their support, especially to Jesse Choper, Earl Warren
Professor of Public Law and to Laurent Mayali, Lloyd M. Robbins Professor of Law.
Ioannis G. Dimitrakopoulos
Strasbourg, November 2006
xxi

“arise under” the federal Constitution, laws, or treaties
3
(or falls within one of the other
enumerated categories of Article III), or if it is not a “case or controversy” within the
meaning of that phrase in Article III, or if the cause is not one described by any juris-
dictional statute.
4
Only in a few cases, such as actions between states or disputes between
1
Commodity Futures Trading Comm’n v. Schor, 478 U.S. 833, 848, 850 (1986).
2
See also para. B89 (Eleventh Amendment).
3
“Dismissal for lack of subject matter jurisdiction because of the inadequacy of the fed-
eral claim is proper only when the claim is so insubstantial, implausible, foreclosed by prior
decisions of th[e] Court, or otherwise completely devoid of merit as not to involve a federal
controversy.” See Steel Co. v. Citizens for a Better Environment, 523 U.S. 83, 89 (1998).
4
Baker v. Carr, 369 U.S. 186, 198 (1962).
2 • Individual Rights and Liberties Under the U.S. Constitution
a state and the federal government, does the Supreme Court have original jurisdiction.
For the most part, the Court adjudicates appeals on decisions of lower federal courts
and state supreme courts.
5
2. The “Case or Controversy” Requirement
a. Introduction
[A4] The “case or controversy” limitation serves two complementary purposes. It
“limit[s] the business of federal courts to questions presented in an adversary context
and in a form historically viewed as capable of resolution through the judicial process,”
and it “define[s] the role assigned to the judiciary in a tripartite allocation of power to

Interpretation of state law: Where the Court is dealing with a state statute on direct review
of a state court decision that has construed the statute, such a construction is binding on the
Court. See New York v. Ferber, 458 U.S. 747, 769, n.24 (1982).
Since “district courts and courts of appeals are better schooled in and more able to inter-
pret the laws of their respective States” (see, e.g., Brockett v. Spokane Arcades, Inc., 472 U.S. 491,
500, n.9 (1985)), the Court normally follows lower federal court interpretations of state law (see
McMillian v. Monroe County, 520 U.S. 781, 786 (1997)).
6
Flast v. Cohen, 392 U.S. 83, 95 (1968).
7
Allen v. Wright, 468 U.S. 737, 750 (1984), quoting Warth v. Seldin, 422 U.S. 490, 498
(1975).
8
Clinton v. Jones, 520 U.S. 681, 700 (1997).
9
Morrison v. Olson, 487 U.S. 654, 677 (1988), quoting Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U.S. 1, 123
(1976).