Meyer v. Nebraska - Significance, From Language To Personal Liberty, Greater Impact For The Future, Academic Freedom And The Constitution

court appellant decision appellee

Appellant

Robert T. Meyer

Appellee

State of Nebraska

Appellant's Claim

That the state denied him due process, as protected by the Fourteenth Amendment, when it convicted him for teaching the German language.

Chief Lawyer for Appellant

Charles E. Sandall

Chief Lawyer for Appellee

Mason Wheeler

Justices for the Court

Louis D. Brandeis, Pierce Butler, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Joseph McKenna, James Clark McReynolds (writing for the Court), Edward Terry Sanford, George Sutherland, William Howard Taft, Willis Van Devanter

Justices Dissenting

None

Place

Washington, D.C.

Date of Decision

4 June 1923

Decision

The Court reversed a lower court decision and found for the appellant.

Related Cases

Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479 (1965).
Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973).

Sources

Levy, Leonard W. ed. Encyclopedia of the American Constitution. New York: Macmillan, 1986.

Additional Topics

Meyer v. Nebraska - Significance

For the first time, the Supreme Court hinted that the right to privacy was implied in the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Although this case dealt with Meyer's right to teach German, and parents' rights to have their children learn the language, Meyer was later used as a precedent to uphold contraceptive and abortion rights. During and after World War I, a wave of "100 percent Amer…

Meyer v. Nebraska - From Language To Personal Liberty

The Supreme Court heard Meyer's case on 23 February, 1923. In a 7-2 decision, the Court overturned the Nebraska court's affirmation of the verdict. For the Court, Justice McReynolds noted that Meyer taught German as part of his occupation. Under the Fourteenth Amendment, Meyer had a right to work as a teacher, and the parents of his students had the right to have their children taught using German…

Meyer v. Nebraska - Academic Freedom And The Constitution

In 1915, the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) adopted a statement establishing certain guidelines for academic freedom. The AAUP, together with the Association of American Colleges, in 1940 produced a revision to the earlier statement, which it published as Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure. The statement, which called for freedom in the realms of research,…

Citing this material

Please include a link to this page if you have found this material useful for research or writing a related article. Content on this website is from high-quality, licensed material originally published in print form. You can always be sure you're reading unbiased, factual, and accurate information.

Highlight the text below, right-click, and select “copy”. Paste the link into your website, email, or any other HTML document.