Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization
597 U.S. 215 (2022)
Holding
The Supreme Court overruled Roe and Casey, showing again that long-standing precedent can be reversed when a majority decides it was wrongly decided.
What Happened
Mississippi defended a law banning most abortions after fifteen weeks and asked the Supreme Court to reconsider earlier abortion precedents.
What the Court Decided
The Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey.
The Court held that the Constitution does not protect a right to abortion and returned the issue to elected governments.
What It Means in Practice
Dobbs matters in this project because it is another modern example of the Court overruling a major precedent that had been in place for decades.
Whatever someone thinks about the merits, the case proves that long-standing precedent can be dismantled when a majority of the Court is willing to do it.
How You Can Use It
Use Dobbs when the point is institutional power: the Supreme Court can reverse old doctrines if enough justices decide the earlier cases were wrong.
How It Can Be Used Against You
Defendants may say Dobbs involved constitutional abortion doctrine, not statutory interpretation under § 1983.
That is true. The case matters here because it defeats the claim that a doctrine becomes practically irreversible just because it has been around for a long time.