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Find a breakdown of the 111th Congress below, including the number of Republicans, Democrats, Independents and Vacancies. 111th Congress Rep. Dem. Ind. Vacancies Senate 40 58 2* 0 House 178… Read more
Learn about the minorities and women who are currently serving positions in the 111th Congress. The House of Representatives and Senate feature a diverse group of elected officials. The following tables detail which members of each state are a member of certain minority groups, including Asians and Pacific Islanders, African Americans, Hispanics… Read more
A table of the Hispanic Americans currently serving in the 111th Congress. There are 27 Hispanics in the House of Representatives and three in the Senate. State House Senate Arizona Raul M. Grijalva (D)Ed Pastor (D) California Lucille Roybal-Allard (D)Joe Baca (D)… Read more
Below is a complete list of the Asian-American and Pacific Islanders in the 111th Congress. There are six members in the House of Representatives and two in the Senate. State House Senate American Samoa Eni F. H. Faleomavaega (D) California Mike Honda (D)… Read more
A list of the African-Americans serving in the 111th Congress. There are 42 black members in the House of Representatives and one in the Senate. State House Senate Alabama Artur Davis (D) California Barbara Lee (D)Maxine Waters (D)Diane E… Read more
Below is a breakdown of the composition of the 110th Congress. 110th Congress Rep. Dem. Ind. Vacancies Senate 49 49 2 - House 199 235 0… Read more
Composition of the 109th Congress 109th Congress Rep. Dem. Ind. Vacancies Senate 55 44 1 - House 230 202 1 2
Composition of the 108th Congress 108th Congress Rep. Dem. Ind. Vacancies Senate 51 48 1 - House 227 205 1 2
Case SummaryJohn Watkins was convicted for refusing to answer questions of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) about people he believed were no longer members of the Communist Party. He asked the Supreme Court to review his conviction after it was affirmed by the Court of Appeals.The Court's DecisionIn a 6-1 decision, with… Read more
Historical BackgroundThe early 1970s was a time of growing distrust in the National Government. The Pentagon Papers exposed the intentional deception of the American people about Vietnam. Americans were shocked when the National Guard opened fire at a Kent State University protest following President Nixon's authorization for the United… Read more
Case SummaryEichman and others were prosecuted under the federal Flag Protection Act for setting fire to American flags. Eichman and the others stated that the Act violated the First Amendment, and courts in Washington State and in the District of Columbia agreed. The United States Government then appealed to the Supreme Court.The Court's… Read more
Case SummaryIn 1965, John Tinker, his sister Mary Beth, and a friend were sent home from school for wearing black armbands to protest the Vietnam War. The school had established a policy permitting students to wear several political symbols, but had excluded the wearing of armbands protesting the Vietnam War. Their fathers sued, but the… Read more
Case SummaryKraemer and other white property owners governed by a restrictive covenant brought suit in Illinois State court seeking to block the Shelley family, who were African-American, from owning property. The plaintiffs lost at trial, but on appeal the Missouri Supreme Court reversed and ruled that the agreement was effective and that… Read more
Historical BackgroundA major effort to promote national unity accompanied America's involvement (1917-1918) in World War I. As a part of this effort, Congress enacted a number of laws severely restricting 1st Amendment freedoms to curb antiwar dissent. In 1917, Congress passed the Espionage Act, which set stiff penalties for uttering and… Read more
Case SummaryIn 1980, Robert Goldberg challenged the U.S. draft registration policy by bringing suit against Bernard Rostker, the director of the Selective Service System. When Goldberg won in federal court, Rostker appealed to the Supreme Court.The Court's DecisionIn a 6-3 decision, the Court ruled that it was constitutional to register… Read more
Historical BackgroundSince the Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade, the legal, moral, and political controversy surrounding the abortion issue has polarized the American public. Two camps-one hailing Roe as a victory for “choice,“ the other arguing that the decision deprives the unborn child of its “right to life“-squared off in the… Read more
Case SummaryThe Driver's Privacy Protection Act of 1994 (DPPA) prohibited States from disclosing or selling a driver's personal information without the driver's consent. Data sold by the States had often fallen into the wrong hands and, in at least one case, had resulted in the murder of a woman who was being stalked. South Carolina, led… Read more
Case SummaryIn 1997, a group of organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), challenged the “indecent transmission“ and “patently offensive display“ provisions of the 1996 Communications Decency Act. These provisions made it a crime to send offensive Internet material to persons under age eighteen. The district court… Read more
Case Summary
Allan Bakke filed suit after learning that minority candidates with lower qualifications had been admitted to medical school under a program that reserved spaces for “disadvantaged“ applicants. The California Supreme Court ordered the school, the State-run University of California, to admit Bakke. The university then… Read more
Case SummaryJay Printz, a law enforcement officer from Arizona, sued to challenge the constitutionality of the Brady Act provision that required him and other local chief law enforcement officials (CLEOs) to conduct background checks on prospective gun purchasers. Printz and other officials won at the district court, but the Court of… Read more
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