| Meyer v. Nebraska | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Argued February 23, 1923 Decided June 4, 1923 | |
| Full case name | Robert T. Meyer v. State of Nebraska |
| Citations | 262 U.S. 390 (more) |
| Case history | |
| Prior | Judgment for respondent, Meyer v. State, 107 Neb. 657, 187 N.W. 100 (1922). |
| Holding | |
| A 1919 Nebraska law prohibiting the teaching of modern foreign languages to grade-school children violated the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | McReynolds, joined by Taft, McKenna, Van Devanter, Brandeis, Butler, Sanford |
| Dissent | Holmes, joined by Sutherland |
| Laws applied | |
| U.S. Const. amend. XIV | |
Meyer v. Nebraska, 262 U.S. 390 (1923), was a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case that held that the "Siman Act", a 1919 Nebraska law prohibiting the use of minority languages as the medium of instruction in the schools, violated the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.[1] The Siman Act had been passed during World War I, as part of the English only movement and during a time of pervasive anti-German sentiment, atrocity propaganda, and spy scare paranoia promoted by the news media in the United States. The Supreme Court invalidated the Siman Act and stated that that the liberties granted by the Fourteenth Amendment apply just as much to minority language speakers.
This decision has been described by legal scholars as "the case that defined personal liberties"[2] and "America's First Privacy Case"[3] since the Court noted that it falls under constitutionally protected liberty to be free from bodily restraints, free to contract, and to have the ability to "establish a home and bring up children" with minimal government intrusion.
- ^ Meyer v. Nebraska, 262 U.S. 390 (1923).
- ^ "A Century of Meyer v. Nebraska: The SCOTUS Case that Defined Personal Liberties". www.jurist.org. June 2, 2023. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
- ^ SCARINCI, DONALD (April 16, 2015). "America's First Privacy Case: Meyer v. State of Nebraska". Constitutional Law Reporter. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
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