Ap Gov Required Court Cases

Equal Protection Clause

States cannot unreasonably discriminate against individuals. They must treat people "equally".

Citizen United v. FEC

The court held 5-4 that the free speech clause of the First Amendment prohibits the government from restricting independent expenditures for political campaigns by corporations, including nonprofit corporations, labor unions, and other associations.

Marbury v. Madison

established the principle of judicial review—the power of the federal courts to declare legislative and executive acts unconstitutional

Amendment: 14th

Clause: separate but equal

McCulloch v. Maryland

the Supreme Court ruled that Congress had implied powers under the Necessary and Proper Clause of Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution to create the Second Bank of the United States and that the state of Maryland lacked the power to tax the Bank.

Schenck v. United States

If speech is intended to result in a crime, and there is a clear and present danger that it actually will result in a crime, the First Amendment does not protect the speaker from government action

Brown v. Board

The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits states from segregating public school students on the basis of race.

Baker v. Carr

is the U.S. Supreme Court case that held that federal courts could hear cases alleging that a state's drawing of electoral boundaries, i.e. redistricting, violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution.

Engel v. Vitale

The majority, via Justice Black, held that school-sponsored prayer violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.

Gideon v. Wainwright

The Court held that the Sixth Amendment's guarantee of counsel is a fundamental right essential to a fair trial and, as such, applies the states through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Tinker v. Des Moines

The court found that the First Amendment applied to public schools, and school officials could not censor student speech unless it disrupted the educational process. Because wearing a black armband was not disruptive, the court held that the First Amendment protected the right of students to wear them.

New York Times v. United States

prior restraint-preventing publication-violated the 1st Amendment, Freedom of the Press

Wisconsin v. Yoder

Under the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment, a state law requiring that children attend school past eighth grade violates the parents' constitutional right to direct the religious upbringing of their children.

Roe v. Wade

The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment protects against state action the right to privacy, and a woman's right to choose to have an abortion falls within that right to privacy. A state law that broadly prohibits abortion without respect to the stage of pregnancy or other interests violates that right.

Shaw v. Reno

In the decision, the court ruled in a 5–4 majority that redistricting based on race must be held to a standard of strict scrutiny under the equal protection clause and on the basis that it violated the fourteenth Amendment because it was drawn solely based on race.

United States v. Lopez

Gun possession is not an economic activity that has any impact on interstate commerce, whether direct or indirect, so the federal government cannot base a law prohibiting gun possession near schools on the Commerce Clause (10th Amendment)

McDonald v. Chicago

The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment extends the Second Amendment's right to keep and bear arms to the states, at least for traditional, lawful purposes such as self-defense.

Commerce Clause

Congress can regulate trade between nations, between states, and among Indian tribes.

Due Process Clause 5th Amendment

The national government must observe fair procedures when it denies a person life, liberty, or property.

Due Process Clause 14th Amendment

State governments must observe fair procedures when they deny a person of life, liberty, or property.

Establishment Clause

Congress cannot establish an "official" religion. This, in effect, provides for separation of church and state.

Free Exercise Clause

Congress cannot pass laws that ban freedom of worship.

Reserved Power Clause

Any power that is not granted to the national government, or denied to the states, automatically reverts to the states.