The Supremes' Greatest Hits

Tim Sandefur is working out here the 10 most important Supreme Court opinions every lawyer should read (or something like that).

I haven't the breadth and depth to answer the question, but I can say which ones have the greatest effect on my work in section 1983 cases:

1. Monroe v. Pape, 365 U.S. 167 (1961)
2. Monell v. New York City Dept. of Social Services, 436 U.S. 658 (1978)
3. Mt. Healthy City Sch. Dist. Bd. of Educ. v. Doyle, 429 U.S. 274 (1977)
4. Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800 (1982)
5. Malley v. Briggs, 475 U.S. 335 (1986)
6. Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386 (1989)
7. Heck v. Humphreys, 512 U.S. 477 (1994)
8. City of Newport v. Fact Concerts, Inc., 453 U.S. 247 (1981)
9, 10, 11, 12. Pickering/Connick/Elrod/Branti

Also, my top two personal favorites:

1. Garcia v. SAMTA - a case I studied to death in college, only to find it on a law school exam the next fall, resulting in a book award
2. Stanley v. U.S. - what I once wrote about this case got me onto the Law Review and helped get me into a U.S. district court clerkship