Skinner v. Oklahoma

E362099

United States Supreme Court case landmark decision

Skinner v. Oklahoma is a landmark 1942 U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down a state law mandating the sterilization of certain criminal offenders, recognizing procreation as a fundamental right under the Equal Protection Clause.

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All labels observed (4)

Label	Occurrences
Skinner v. Oklahoma canonical	2
Oklahoma Habitual Criminal Sterilization Act	1
Oklahoma's Habitual Criminal Sterilization Act violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment	1
Skinner v. Oklahoma ex rel. Williamson	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T3488652 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Skinner v. Oklahoma
Context triple: [United States Supreme Court cases of the Stone Court, includesCase, Skinner v. Oklahoma]

A. Strickland v. Washington
Strickland v. Washington is a landmark 1984 U.S. Supreme Court case that established the two-pronged test for determining when a criminal defendant’s right to effective assistance of counsel has been violated.
B. Powell v. Alabama
Powell v. Alabama is a landmark 1932 U.S. Supreme Court decision that held in capital cases the Due Process Clause requires defendants be given access to effective legal counsel, especially when they are young, illiterate, or otherwise disadvantaged.
C. Craig v. Boren
Craig v. Boren is a 1976 U.S. Supreme Court case that established intermediate scrutiny as the standard for evaluating gender-based classifications under the Equal Protection Clause.
D. Escobedo v. Illinois
Escobedo v. Illinois is a landmark 1964 U.S. Supreme Court case that expanded the Sixth Amendment right to counsel during police interrogations and helped lay the groundwork for the later Miranda warnings.
E. Coker v. Georgia
Coker v. Georgia is a 1977 U.S. Supreme Court decision that held the death penalty is a disproportionate punishment for the crime of raping an adult woman, thereby limiting the application of capital punishment under the Eighth Amendment.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Skinner v. Oklahoma
Target entity description: Skinner v. Oklahoma is a landmark 1942 U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down a state law mandating the sterilization of certain criminal offenders, recognizing procreation as a fundamental right under the Equal Protection Clause.

A. Strickland v. Washington
Strickland v. Washington is a landmark 1984 U.S. Supreme Court case that established the two-pronged test for determining when a criminal defendant’s right to effective assistance of counsel has been violated.
B. Powell v. Alabama
Powell v. Alabama is a landmark 1932 U.S. Supreme Court decision that held in capital cases the Due Process Clause requires defendants be given access to effective legal counsel, especially when they are young, illiterate, or otherwise disadvantaged.
C. Craig v. Boren
Craig v. Boren is a 1976 U.S. Supreme Court case that established intermediate scrutiny as the standard for evaluating gender-based classifications under the Equal Protection Clause.
D. Escobedo v. Illinois
Escobedo v. Illinois is a landmark 1964 U.S. Supreme Court case that expanded the Sixth Amendment right to counsel during police interrogations and helped lay the groundwork for the later Miranda warnings.
E. Coker v. Georgia
Coker v. Georgia is a 1977 U.S. Supreme Court decision that held the death penalty is a disproportionate punishment for the crime of raping an adult woman, thereby limiting the application of capital punishment under the Eighth Amendment.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (48)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	United States Supreme Court case ⓘ landmark decision ⓘ
areaOfImpact	compulsory sterilization jurisprudence ⓘ eugenics laws in the United States ⓘ reproductive autonomy ⓘ
category	United States Supreme Court cases of the Stone Court ⓘ United States equal protection case law ⓘ United States reproductive rights case law ⓘ
chiefJusticeAtDecision	Justice Harlan F. Stone ⓘ surface form: Harlan F. Stone
citation	316 U.S. 535 ⓘ
constitutionalProvisionInterpreted	Equal Protection Clause ⓘ surface form: Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment
countryOfOrigin	United States of America ⓘ surface form: United States
court	Supreme Court of the United States ⓘ
decisionDate	1942-06-01 ⓘ
decisionType	unanimous decision ⓘ
distinguishedFrom	Buck v. Bell opinion ⓘ surface form: Buck v. Bell
fullName	Skinner v. Oklahoma self-linksurface differs ⓘ surface form: Skinner v. Oklahoma ex rel. Williamson
historicalContext	decided during the era of American eugenics laws ⓘ
holding	Skinner v. Oklahoma self-linksurface differs ⓘ surface form: Oklahoma's Habitual Criminal Sterilization Act violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment Procreation is a fundamental right subject to strict scrutiny under the Equal Protection Clause ⓘ
issue	constitutionality of compulsory sterilization of certain criminal offenders ⓘ
jurisdiction	United States of America ⓘ surface form: United States
languageOfRecord	English ⓘ
lawChallenged	Skinner v. Oklahoma self-linksurface differs ⓘ surface form: Oklahoma Habitual Criminal Sterilization Act
legalPrinciple	classification of crimes for sterilization must meet equal protection requirements ⓘ laws that infringe on fundamental rights are subject to strict scrutiny under the Equal Protection Clause ⓘ procreation is one of the basic civil rights of man ⓘ
legalSubject	constitutional law ⓘ criminal law ⓘ equal protection ⓘ reproductive rights ⓘ
opinionOfTheCourtBy	William O. Douglas ⓘ surface form: Justice William O. Douglas
pageInUnitedStatesReports	535 ⓘ
petitioner	Jack T. Skinner ⓘ
precedentFor	cases recognizing procreation as a fundamental right ⓘ later equal protection cases involving fundamental rights ⓘ
recognizedRight	bodily integrity in the context of sterilization ⓘ right to procreate ⓘ
relatedDoctrine	fundamental rights ⓘ strict scrutiny ⓘ substantive due process ⓘ
remedy	state was barred from enforcing the sterilization statute against the petitioner ⓘ
respondent	State of Oklahoma ex rel. Williamson ⓘ
result	Oklahoma sterilization order against Jack Skinner was invalidated ⓘ
stateLawAtIssue	Oklahoma ⓘ
volumeInUnitedStatesReports	316 ⓘ
vote	9-0 ⓘ
yearDecided	1942 ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (5)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

United States Supreme Court cases of the Stone Court → includesCase → Skinner v. Oklahoma ⓘ

Buck v. Bell opinion → citedBy → Skinner v. Oklahoma ⓘ

Skinner v. Oklahoma → fullName → Skinner v. Oklahoma self-linksurface differs ⓘ

this entity surface form: Skinner v. Oklahoma ex rel. Williamson

Skinner v. Oklahoma → holding → Skinner v. Oklahoma self-linksurface differs ⓘ

this entity surface form: Oklahoma's Habitual Criminal Sterilization Act violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment

Skinner v. Oklahoma → lawChallenged → Skinner v. Oklahoma self-linksurface differs ⓘ

this entity surface form: Oklahoma Habitual Criminal Sterilization Act

All labels observed (4)

How this entity was disambiguated Show

Statements (48)

How these facts were elicited Show

Referenced by (5)

How this entity was disambiguated

How these facts were elicited