Supreme Court Cases

Flashcards for reviewing landmark Supreme Court cases.

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

Established judicial review, giving the Court power to declare laws unconstitutional.

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

Federal law is supreme over state law; reinforced the Necessary and Proper Clause.

Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)

Strengthened federal power to regulate interstate commerce.

Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)

African Americans not citizens; ruled Missouri Compromise unconstitutional; intensified sectional tensions.

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

Upheld "separate but equal" doctrine; legalized segregation.

Schenck v. United States (1919)

Speech can be limited if it presents a "clear and present danger" (e.g., wartime).

Korematsu v. United States (1944)

Upheld internment, citing wartime necessity; later criticized but not formally overturned.

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

Overturned Plessy; ruled segregation in schools inherently unequal.

Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)

Guaranteed right to legal counsel for all defendants in criminal cases.

Miranda v. Arizona (1966)

Created the "Miranda warnings"; protected the 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination.

Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)

Yes-students do not shed their rights at the schoolhouse gate.

New Jersey v. T.L.O. (1985)

Schools need "reasonable suspicion", not a warrant-limited student rights in school settings.

Roe v. Wade (1973)

Legalized abortion nationwide based on right to privacy.

United States v. Nixon (1974)

Executive privilege is limited; Nixon had to hand over the tapes.

Bush v. Gore (2000)

Stopped the Florida recount, effectively deciding the 2000 election; controversial ruling.