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Key U.S. Supreme Court Cases in Strategic Litigation
Supreme Court cases it treats as models of strategic litigation, and discusses the end of Chevron deference.
strategic litigation uses selected cases to set precedent, and it points readers to the case list for the fund’s own matters.
Cases
It treats these decisions as examples of litigation used to change a rule for more than one party:
- Brown v. Board of Education (1954), which held racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional.
- Miranda v. Arizona (1966), which required police to inform suspects of their rights.
- Roe v. Wade (1973), which recognized a constitutional right to abortion. The post states that holding as history.
- Citizens United v. FEC (2010), on corporate spending in elections.
- Obergefell v. Hodges (2015), which required states to license same-sex marriages.
It also says strategic litigation shows up in environmental law, consumer protection, and administrative law, and that a case is chosen because it can travel beyond the named parties. That work depends on a legal team, evidence, and time for appeals.
Chevron
A later section asks why the Court overturned Chevron U.S.A., Inc. V. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. Chevron told courts to defer to an agency’s reading of an ambiguous statute. The later decision dropped that deference because of concern about agency power and unelected officials. Courts will now interpret those statutes themselves, that outcomes may vary, and that challenges to agency action become more useful to people bringing test cases.
To pick a case that can set a precedent, staff it, gather evidence, plan for appeals, and explain it in public. It closes by sending readers to the case list.
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