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Whalen v. Roe
The Supreme Court upheld New York's prescription drug registry, finding that data collection to prevent drug misuse does not violate privacy rights.
Manson v. Brathwaite
An identification procedure may be allowed even if suggestive, provided the identification is reliable under all the circumstances. Reliability is the key factor for due process.
Estelle v. Gamble
The Supreme Court ruled that deliberately ignoring a prisoner's serious medical needs is unconstitutional. However, medical negligence alone, without intent, is not a violation.
United States v. Masthers
A guilty plea is invalid if evidence suggests the defendant is not mentally competent. Courts must hold a hearing to ensure a plea is knowing and voluntary when mental competence is in doubt.
United States v. Moore
The Supreme Court ruled physicians treating addiction can be prosecuted under the Controlled Substances Act if their prescribing practices fall outside accepted medical standards.
Ravin v. State
The Alaska Supreme Court ruled that adults have a constitutional right to privacy to possess and use marijuana at home. This right stands unless the state proves a compelling reason to intervene.
People v. Broadie
The Court of Appeals upheld mandatory life sentences for narcotics sales. It ruled that severe, inflexible penalties for drug offenses were not unconstitutionally disproportionate.
Breed v. Jones
The Supreme Court ruled that trying a juvenile as an adult for a crime they were already convicted of in juvenile court violates the Double Jeopardy Clause. Juvenile courts generally hold exclusive jurisdiction once a juvenile is tried.
United States v. Bass
The court held that Demerol addiction is relevant to an insanity defense. Bass's conviction was reversed because the government did not rebut expert testimony.
Cudnik v. Kreiger
A 1974 case ruled that denying pretrial detainees prescribed methadone treatment violated due process. The court ordered jail officials to allow detainees continued access to their approved methadone programs.
O’Brien v Moriarty
The Court found cell confinement did not violate the 8th Amendment. However, it cautioned that arbitrary or prolonged solitary confinement could become unconstitutional, while deferring to prison security judgments.
United States v. Kiffer
The court upheld marijuana distribution convictions, finding Congress's drug classification was rational. The law includes a mechanism for future scientific reassessment of the drug's status.
State v. Kanter
The Hawaii Supreme Court upheld marijuana criminalization, finding its classification as a narcotic did not violate due process or equal protection. Dissenting justices emphasized privacy.
People v. Lorentzen
The Michigan Supreme Court found a 20-year mandatory minimum sentence for marijuana sale to be cruel and unusual, ruling it disproportionate and ineffective for nonviolent offender rehabilitation.
People v Sinclair
The Michigan Supreme Court overturned a marijuana conviction, ruling that classifying cannabis as a narcotic violated equal protection, as scientific evidence showed it less harmful than opiates.