Supreme Court rulings have repeatedly entrenched injustice, curtailed liberties, and required later correction. These 25 decisions stand out for their lasting damage and widespread condemnation by historians and jurists. Vote to rank the worst.
What counts: 'Worst' ranks decisions by scale of harm to rights, democracy, and equality, especially those later overturned or repudiated. Vote totals and ratings are approximate.
Dred Scott v. Sandford▲ Rising
The Court ruled that Black people could never be citizens and struck down the Missouri Compromise. It inflamed sectional conflict and helped trigger the Civil War. The decision remains the benchmark for judicial overreach.
Year: 1857Vote: 7-2Overturned: ✓Field: SlaveryInfamy: 9.8/10
added by IJRin 3 rankingsDred Scott v. Sandford
Plessy v. Ferguson▲ Rising
The Court upheld racial segregation under the 'separate but equal' doctrine. It legitimized Jim Crow laws for nearly six decades. The ruling entrenched second-class citizenship for Black Americans.
Year: 1896Vote: 7-1Overturned: ✓Field: Civil rightsInfamy: 9.5/10
added by IJRin 3 rankingsPlessy v. Ferguson
Buck v. Bell▲ Rising
The Court approved forced sterilization of the 'feeble-minded.' Justice Holmes declared 'three generations of imbeciles are enough.' The ruling enabled thousands of eugenics-based sterilizations.
Year: 1927Vote: 8-1Overturned: —Field: EugenicsInfamy: 9.1/10
added by IJRBuck v. Bell
Lochner v. New York▲ Rising
The Court struck down a law limiting bakery work hours as violating freedom of contract. It launched the Lochner era of aggressive judicial review against labor laws. The decision blocked worker protections for decades.
Year: 1905Vote: 5-4Overturned: ✓Field: LaborInfamy: 8.7/10
added by IJRLochner v. New York
Korematsu v. United States▲ Rising
The Court upheld the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. It accepted racial classifications based on military necessity claims later proven false. The decision stains civil liberties jurisprudence.
Year: 1944Vote: 6-3Overturned: ✓Field: Civil libertiesInfamy: 9.3/10
added by IJRin 3 rankingsKorematsu v. United States
The Court upheld convictions for anti-draft speech under the clear-and-present-danger test. It severely limited First Amendment protections during wartime. The broad standard chilled dissent for years.
Year: 1919Vote: 9-0Overturned: ✓Field: SpeechInfamy: 8.2/10
added by IJRin 2 rankingsSchenck v. United States
The Civil Rights Cases▲ Rising
The Court invalidated the Civil Rights Act of 1875, ending federal protection against private racial discrimination. It narrowed the 14th Amendment dramatically. Segregation expanded unchecked.
Year: 1883Vote: 8-1Overturned: ✓Field: Civil rightsInfamy: 8.9/10
added by IJR
The Court struck down the federal child-labor law as exceeding commerce power. It protected exploitative industries for two decades. Congress later circumvented the ruling with new taxes.
Year: 1918Vote: 5-4Overturned: ✓Field: LaborInfamy: 7.9/10
added by IJRHammer v. Dagenhart
Minersville School District v. Gobitis
The Court upheld mandatory flag salutes despite religious objections. Jehovah's Witness children faced expulsion and mob violence. The ruling was reversed within three years.
Year: 1940Vote: 8-1Overturned: ✓Field: ReligionInfamy: 7.8/10
added by IJRMinersville School District v. Gobitis
The Court dismissed federal charges against perpetrators of the Colfax massacre. It held that the 14th Amendment did not protect against private violence. Enforcement of Reconstruction collapsed.
Year: 1876Vote: 9-0Overturned: —Field: Civil rightsInfamy: 8.6/10
added by IJRUnited States v. Cruikshank
The Court narrowly interpreted the 14th Amendment's privileges or immunities clause. It gutted a key Reconstruction provision. Fundamental rights enforcement shifted almost entirely to states.
Year: 1873Vote: 5-4Overturned: —Field: ReconstructionInfamy: 8/10
added by IJRSlaughter-House Cases
The Court refused to require counsel for indigent defendants in state courts. It left poor defendants without representation in serious cases. Gideon later reversed the rule.
Year: 1942Vote: 6-3Overturned: ✓Field: Due processInfamy: 7.5/10
added by IJRBetts v. Brady
Morehead v. New York ex rel. Tipaldo
The Court struck down a New York minimum-wage law for women. It doubled down on Adkins during the Depression. Public backlash helped shift the Court.
Year: 1936Vote: 5-4Overturned: ✓Field: LaborInfamy: 7/10
added by IJRMorehead v. New York ex rel. Tipaldo
The Court upheld Georgia's sodomy law, rejecting privacy claims for consensual adult conduct. It entrenched criminalization of homosexuality for seventeen years. The ruling was later reversed.
Year: 1986Vote: 5-4Overturned: ✓Field: PrivacyInfamy: 8.4/10
added by IJRBowers v. Hardwick
The Court upheld a state law banning integrated private education. It extended Plessy to private institutions. Segregated schooling gained further legal cover.
Year: 1908Vote: 7-2Overturned: ✓Field: EducationInfamy: 7.3/10
added by IJRBerea College v. Kentucky
The Court denied a woman admission to the bar solely because of her sex. It endorsed separate spheres ideology. Professional barriers for women persisted for generations.
Year: 1873Vote: 8-1Overturned: —Field: GenderInfamy: 7.7/10
added by IJRBradwell v. Illinois
The Court upheld convictions of Communist leaders under the Smith Act. It broadened the clear-and-present-danger test into a balancing approach. Political speech faced new risks.
Year: 1951Vote: 6-2Overturned: ✓Field: SpeechInfamy: 7.4/10
added by IJRDennis v. United States
The Court sustained curfews imposed solely on Japanese Americans. It accepted racial distinctions in the name of military security. The decision paralleled Korematsu's logic.
Year: 1943Vote: 9-0Overturned: ✓Field: Civil libertiesInfamy: 8.1/10
added by IJRHirabayashi v. United States
Adkins v. Children's Hospital▼ Falling
The Court invalidated a minimum-wage law for women as violating liberty of contract. It extended Lochner-era barriers to wage protections. The New Deal later overturned the doctrine.
Year: 1923Vote: 5-3Overturned: ✓Field: LaborInfamy: 7.6/10
added by IJRAdkins v. Children's Hospital
Wolf v. Colorado▼ Falling
The Court refused to apply the exclusionary rule to state courts. Illegally obtained evidence remained admissible in state prosecutions. Mapp later imposed the rule nationwide.
Year: 1949Vote: 6-3Overturned: ✓Field: Criminal procedureInfamy: 7.2/10
added by IJRWolf v. Colorado
Carter v. Carter Coal Co.▼ Falling
The Court invalidated the Bituminous Coal Conservation Act as exceeding commerce power. It blocked federal labor and price regulations. The ruling delayed New Deal coal policy.
Year: 1936Vote: 5-4Overturned: ✓Field: CommerceInfamy: 7.1/10
added by IJR
The Court ruled that the 14th Amendment did not grant women the vote. It blocked a key path to suffrage until the 19th Amendment. Women's political exclusion continued.
Year: 1875Vote: 9-0Overturned: ✓Field: VotingInfamy: 7.5/10
added by IJRMinor v. Happersett
Pace v. Alabama▼ Falling
The Court upheld Alabama's anti-miscegenation statute under equal application. It allowed states to criminalize interracial marriage. The precedent lasted until Loving.
Year: 1883Vote: 9-0Overturned: ✓Field: MarriageInfamy: 7.8/10
added by IJRPace v. Alabama
The Court declined to order Alabama to register Black voters despite proven disenfranchisement. It deemed the remedy political. Voting rights enforcement stalled for decades.
Year: 1903Vote: 6-3Overturned: —Field: VotingInfamy: 7.9/10
added by IJRGiles v. Harris
The Court upheld convictions for anti-war leaflets under the Espionage Act. It applied the bad-tendency test to suppress dissent. Holmes's dissent later influenced doctrine.
Year: 1919Vote: 7-2Overturned: ✓Field: SpeechInfamy: 7.3/10
added by IJRAbrams v. United States
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Dred Scott v. Sandford at the top is the correct call and I'll die on this hill.
Voted, but this order is going to look very different in a month once more people find it.
Missing a few names that belong in the top ten, but the top three is basically right.