landmark (idea)

(Also Landmark Case, a major court decision by the Supreme Court or a court of appeals that is used for the purpose of defining in general what the law is. Some landmark court cases include

• the Dred Scott Decision in which it was ruled that negroes are not persons
• Brown v. Board of Education in which it was ruled that public schools which were racially segregated are operating unconstitutionally (see also Bolling v. Sharpe)
• Miranda v. Arizona in which a person arrested by police must be informed of their right to remain silent under the 5th Amendment
• Roe v. Wade which provided that states could not make illegal the termination of a pregnancy by abortion during the first trimester.