1789 The United States Congress passes the Judiciary Act which creates the office of the United States Attorney General and the federal judiciary system, and orders the composition of the Supreme Court of the United States.
1790 In New York City, the Supreme Court of the United States attempts to convene for the first time.
1790 The Supreme Court of the United States convenes for the first time.
1803 In ''Marbury v. Madison'', the Supreme Court of the United States establishes the principle of judicial review.
1804 The Democratic-Republican-controlled United States Senate begins an impeachment trial against Federalist-partisan Supreme Court of the United States Justice Samuel Chase.
1841 The U.S. Supreme Court rules that captive Africans who had seized control of the ship carrying them had been taken into slavery illegally.
1857 Supreme Court of the United States rules in the Dred Scott v. Sandford case.
1879 Women's rights: American President Rutherford B. Hayes signs a bill allowing female attorneys to argue cases before the Supreme Court of the United States.
1893 The Supreme Court of the United States rules in ''Nix v. Hedden'' that a tomato is a vegetable, not a fruit, under the Tariff Act of 1883.
1895 In Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co. the Supreme Court of the United States declares unapportioned income tax to be unconstitutional.
1905 The Supreme Court of the United States decides ''Lochner v. New York'' which holds that the "right to free contract" is implicit in the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution.
1911 The United States Supreme Court declares Standard Oil to be an "unreasonable" monopoly under the Sherman Antitrust Act and orders the company to be broken up.
1915 The U.S. Supreme Court hands down its decision in ''Guinn v. United States'' 238 US 347 1915, striking down an Oklahoma law denying the right to vote to some citizens.
1916 In Brushaber v. Union Pacific Railroad, the Supreme Court of the United States declares the federal income tax constitutional.
1916 Louis D. Brandeis becomes the first Jew appointed to the United States Supreme Court.
1921 Former U.S. President William Howard Taft is sworn in as 10th Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, becoming the only person to ever be both President and Chief Justice.
1922 A challenge to the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, allowing women the right to vote, is rebuffed by the Supreme Court of the United States in ''Leser v. Garnett''.
1935 New Deal: The Supreme Court of the United States declares the National Industrial Recovery Act to be unconstitutional in A.L.A. Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States, (295 U.S. 495).
1936 The Supreme Court of the United States rules that the 1933 Agricultural Adjustment Act is unconstitutional in the case United States v. Butler et al.
1937 President Franklin D. Roosevelt proposes a plan to enlarge the Supreme Court of the United States.
1937 New Deal: the United States Senate votes down President Franklin D. Roosevelt's proposal to add more justices to the Supreme Court of the United States.
1939 United States labor law: The U.S. Supreme Court rules that sit-down strikes violate property owners' rights and are therefore illegal.
1953 The United States Supreme Court rules that Washington, D.C. restaurants could not refuse to serve black patrons.
1957 In Roth v. United States, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that obscenity is not protected by the First Amendment .
1964 In ''Wesberry v. Sanders'' the Supreme Court of the United States rules that congressional districts have to be approximately equal in population.
1965 The Supreme Court of the United States hands down its decision in Griswold v. Connecticut, effectively legalizing the use of contraception by married couples.
1967 The United States Supreme Court in ''Loving v. Virginia'' declares all U.S. state laws which prohibit interracial marriage to be unconstitutional.
1967 Thurgood Marshall is confirmed as the first African American Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
1967 Thurgood Marshall is sworn in as the first African-American justice of United States Supreme Court.
1969 Warren E. Burger is sworn in as Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court by retiring Chief Justice Earl Warren.
1970 Vietnam War: The Supreme Court of the United States votes 6 to 3 against hearing a case to allow Massachusetts to enforce its law granting residents the right to refuse military service in an undeclared war.
1973 The Supreme Court of the United States delivers its decision in Roe v. Wade, legalizing elective abortion in all fifty states.
1974 Watergate scandal: the United States Supreme Court unanimously ruled that President Richard Nixon did not have the authority to withhold subpoenaed White House tapes and they order him to surrender the tapes to the Watergate special prosecutor.
1975 John Paul Stevens is appointed a justice of The United States Supreme Court.
1978 The US Supreme Court hands down 5-3 decision in ''Stump v. Sparkman'', 435 U.S. 349, a controversial case involving involuntary sterilization and judicial immunity.
1978 The United States Supreme Court, in ''Regents of the University of California v. Bakke'' bars quota systems in college admissions.
1981 The Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approves Sandra Day O'Connor to become the first female justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
1981 Sandra Day O'Connor becomes the 102nd person sworn in as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States and the first woman to hold the office.
1986 The U.S. Supreme Court rules in Bowers v. Hardwick that states can outlaw homosexual acts between consenting adults.
1989 The U.S. Supreme Court rules that a law passed by the U.S. Congress banning all sexually oriented phone message services is unconstitutional.
1992 The United States Supreme Court rules in ''United States v. Álvarez-Machaín'' that it is permissible for the USA to forcibly extradite suspects in foreign countries and bring them to the USA for trial, without approval from those other countries.
1994 Copyright Law: The U.S. Supreme Court rules that parodies of an original work are generally covered by the doctrine of fair use.
1996 Gay rights: The Supreme Court of the United States rules in ''Romer v. Evans'' against a law that would have prevented any city, town or county in the state of Colorado from taking any legislative, executive, or judicial action to protect the rights of gays and lesbians.
1998 Gay rights: ''Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services'': The Supreme Court of the United States rules that federal laws banning on-the-job sexual harassment also apply when both parties are the same sex, although to strictly refer to this as "gay rights" is something of a misnomer.
1998 The Supreme Court of the United States rules that Ellis Island, the historic gateway for millions of immigrants, is mainly in the state of New Jersey, not New York.
1999 The Supreme Court of the United States upholds the murder convictions of Timothy McVeigh for the Oklahoma City bombing.
2000 The Supreme Court of the United States stays the sixth Florida recount.
2000 The United States Supreme Court releases its decision in ''Bush v. Gore''
2007 The Supreme Court of the United States upholds the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act in a 5-4 decision.