On This Day: February 24 - Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Larry Flynt Over Jerry Falwell

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Today marks Tuesday, February 24, the 55th day of the year 2026, leaving 310 days remaining.

Today in history:

On this day in 1988, the Supreme Court made a significant decision enhancing the legal shield for parody and satire. It unanimously overturned a $200,000 verdict initially awarded to Rev. Jerry Falwell against Hustler magazine and its publisher, Larry Flynt.

Also on this date:

Back in 1803, the landmark case of Marbury v. Madison saw the U.S. Supreme Court establish the crucial doctrine of judicial review, enabling the assessment of the constitutionality of laws and statutes.

In 1868, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 126-47 to impeach President Andrew Johnson due to his attempt to dismiss Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton. Johnson narrowly escaped removal from office as the Senate acquitted him by just one vote.

The year 1942 witnessed a tragic incident when the SS Struma, carrying nearly 800 Jewish refugees from Romania to British-controlled Palestine, was sunk by a Soviet submarine in the Black Sea, leaving only one survivor.

In 1981, Jean Harris was found guilty of second-degree murder by a jury in White Plains, New York, for the death of Dr. Herman Tarnower, the author of the “Scarsdale Diet.” Initially sentenced to 15 years to life, she received clemency from New York Governor Mario Cuomo in December 1992.

In 1991, the United States began ground operations in the Gulf War by entering Iraqi-held Kuwait.

In 2008, Cuba’s parliament named Raul Castro president, ending nearly 50 years of rule by his brother, Fidel, who announced days earlier that he would not seek reelection. Raul Castro served as president until April 2018.

In 2011, Discovery, the world’s most traveled spaceship, thundered into orbit for the final time, heading toward the International Space Station on a journey marking the beginning of the end of the shuttle era.

In 2020, Hollywood movie mogul Harvey Weinstein was convicted of rape and sexual assault in New York and was led off to prison in handcuffs in a pivotal moment for the #MeToo movement. An appeals court later threw out the verdict and ordered a new trial, but Weinstein remained behind bars after other convictions.

In 2022, Russia began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, launching airstrikes on cities and military bases and sending troops and tanks from multiple directions.