Studied by 23 people
Marbury v. Madison (1803)
Established the principle of judicial review, meaning that American courts have the power to strike down laws and statutes that they find to violate the Constitution.
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)
Two questions: Is a Bank of the U.S. Constitutional? Can a state tax the federal government?
Chief Justice John Marshall affirms both the Supremacy Clause and the Elastic Clause
National (federal) government strengthened; federal government expands powers Necessary and proper clause declared that Congress has implied powers necessary to implement its enumerated powers and established the supremacy of the Constitution and federal laws over state laws.
Schenck v. United States (1919)
Man was passing out leaflets that opposed US entry into WWI and was advising people to not follow the draft and was arrested. Said he had the right to oppose the war and advocate that people not obey a law, US said it violated national security.
Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the segregated schools are otherwise equal in quality, authority under the fourteenth amendments equal protection clause.
Baker v. Carr (1961)
Drawing of congressional districts by states is a justiciable issue (6-3), rejected malapportionment, “One man, one vote,” and opened the door to equal protection challenges to redistricting.
Engel v. Vitale (1962)
No more state sponsored prayer in public schools as it violates the first amendment's establishment clause on religion.
Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)
The Court ruled that the Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution requires U.S. states to provide attorneys to criminal defendants who are unable to afford their own. Overturns Betts V. Brandy. Indigent defendants are entitled to an attorney in all criminal cases, Incorporates the‘ right to counsel’ in the 6th amendment and the due process clause in the 14th.
Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)
Students wore black armbands that symbolized protest against the Vietnam war. Symbolic free speech is protected, not just oral speech.
New York Times Co. v. United States (1971)
The Court established a “heavy presumption against prior restraint,” even in cases involving national security This means that the Court is very likely to find cases of government censorship unconstitutional. The government can only deal with the press after a work is published, to maintain the freedom of the press.
Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)
Wisconsin had compulsory education laws (must go to school up to certain age) and respondents were amish, who do not believe education past eighth grade served benefit to their religious way of life. Sending children to high school took away from fundamentals of their religion. Supreme court sided with amish (impacting their religious freedom, violating first amendment, free exercise clause).
Texas v. Johnson (1989)
the Supreme Court struck down on First Amendment grounds a Texas flag desecration law. The 5-4 decision has served as the center point of a continuing debate regarding the value of free speech as exercised through the burning of the U.S. flag as a form of political protest.
Shaw v. Reno (1993)
No congressional districts, no majority-minority districts and no racial gerrymandering. The court ruled that redistricting based on race must be held to a standard of strict scrutiny under the equal protection clause.
United States v. Lopez (1995)
a landmark case of the United States Supreme Court concerning the Commerce Clause. It was the first case since 1937 in which the Court held that Congress had exceeded its power to legislate under the Commerce Clause, the Court found the 1990 Gun-Free School Zones Act unconstitutional for overstepping the congressional boundaries of the Commerce Clause.
McDonald v. Chicago (2009)
The second amendment is an individual right (equal protection clause of the 14th amendment), every state must recognize the right of people to own guns as an individual right. Congress may not use the commerce clause to make possession of a gun in a school zone a federal crime, introducing a new phase of federalism that recognized the importance of state sovereignty and local control.
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010)
The Court held that corporate funding of independent political broadcasts in elections cannot be limited under the First Amendment (considers corporations and unions to be individuals). Put a lot more money into elections because super pacts were allowed to spend unlimited amounts of money on advertising on behalf of a candidate with one limitation: they cannot coordinate with the campaign of the candidate they are promoting. The political spending by corporations, associations, and labor unions is a form of protected speech under the First Amendment.
Article I (one) Legislative Branch
Commerce clause: United States Congress shall have power "to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes" Increases federal gov power.
Necessary and proper clause: The Congress shall have Power... To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof. Aka: the elastic clause/implied powers.
Section 10: No state shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or confederation; grant letters of marque and reprisal; coin money; emit bills of credit; make anything but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts; pass any bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts, or grant any title of nobility. No state shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay any imposts or duties on imports or exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing its inspection laws: and the net produce of all duties and imposts, laid by any state on imports or exports, shall be for the use of the treasury of the United States, and all such laws shall be subject to the revision and control of the Congress. No state shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any duty of tonnage, keep troops, or ships of war in time of peace, enter into any agreement or compact with another state, or with a foreign power, or engage in war, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent danger as will not admit of delay.
Article II (two) Executive Branch
Section 1: Qualifications are must be at least 35 years of age, be a natural born citizen, and must have lived in the United States for at least 14 years.
The election process.
Oath: “I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
Sections 2 and 3: Chief Executive (Head of Government vs Head of State) § 1 The executive power shall be vested in a President of the United States and oath (“faithfully execute the office”) Constitution mostly silent on HOW.
Primarily administrative duties, development of Cabinet [and by extension federal bureaucracy].
Section 4: Removal by impeachment, impeachment process happens in congress, trial in the House, and voting in the Senate.
Article III (three) Judicial Branch
The Supreme Court is head of the judicial branch. Congress can create smaller courts to help the supreme court work through the federal work load.
Federal courts can decide cases involving federal law, disputes between different states, and disputes between residents of different states.The 11th Amendment, passed in 1795, curtailed federal jurisdiction in several types of cases involving state governments; that amendment accounts for the crossed-out bits here.
"Original jurisdiction" means the court hears a case in the first instance. "Appellate jurisdiction" means that the court hears a case only upon appeal of a previous decision from a lower court. The Supreme Court only has original jurisdiction in special cases.
Someone accused of a crime in federal court has the right to have his trial heard by a jury of his peers, rather than decided solely by a judge.
Treason against the United States is punishable by levying war against them, or handing them to the enemy. The requirement for two eyewitnesses to an overt act of treason to convict someone for the crime remains an odd wrinkle in the law today.
All it means is that the government cannot punish the relatives or descendants of someone convicted of treason; the maximum punishment for committing treason is death.
Article IV (four) Relationships Between the States (Federalism)
Section 1: Full faith and credit shall be given in each state to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state. And the Congress may by general laws prescribe the manner in which such acts, records, and proceedings shall be proved, and the effect thereof. Drivers’ Licenses (Interstate Compact, 45 states –(MI, WI, GA, MA, TN)), marriage licenses [note: Obergefell v Hodges], divorce decrees, and most importantly: Court judgments.
Section 2: The citizens of each state shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several states. A person charged in any state with treason, felony, or other crime, who shall flee from justice, and be found in another state, shall on demand of the executive authority of the state from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the state having jurisdiction of the crime (extradition). States cannot treat citizens of other states in a discriminatory manner. Right to be protected from state gov’t; acquire and possess private property travel through or reside in any state; same tax treatment; to sue and defend oneself in court not absolute: out-of-state tuition is OK; doctors, attorneys, teachers from out of state may require new licensing to practice: professional standards; Note: This section had Fugitive Slave Law/ voided by the 13th amendment
Section 3: New states may be admitted by the Congress into this union, but no new states shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of any other state; nor any state be formed by the junction of two or more states, or parts of states, without the consent of the legislatures of the states concerned as well as of the Congress. The Congress shall have the power to dispose of and make all needful rules and regulations respecting the territory or other property belonging to the United States, and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to prejudice any claims of the United States or of any particular state.
Admission Procedures
Petition to Congress
Enabling Act
State Constitution
Popular Vote
Congressional consideration
Act of Admission
Presidential approval
Section 4: The United States shall guarantee to every state in this union a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them against invasion; and on the application of the legislature, or of the executive (when the legislature cannot be convened) against domestic violence.
Article V (five) Amending the Constitution
Proposed: either 2/3 of both houses of Congress or a Constitutional Convention called by 2/3 states.
Ratified: either 3/4 of 50 State Legislature or 3/4 of states Constitutional Convention.
Article VI (six) The Supreme Law
Clause two provides that the Constitution, federal laws made pursuant to it, and treaties made under its authority constitute the supreme law of the land. It provides that state courts are bound by the supreme law; in case of conflict between federal and state law, the federal law must be applied. Even state constitutions are subordinate to federal law.
Amendment I (one)
Freedoms, Right to petition, and assembly. Government cannot compel you to adopt/believe in a religion. Congress cannot make any law abridging the freedom of speech. Can however regulate time, place, and manner. Obscenity is not protected by free speech although it is hard to prove obscenity as it is not described but expected to be known and if there is one line of substance in something otherwise obscene it cannot be considered obscenity. Freedom of the press, there is very little that the press can do wrong and no prior restraint to whatever they may publish.
Establishment clause: prohibits the government from making any law “respecting an establishment of religion.”
Free exercise clause: protects citizens' right to practice their religion as they please, so long as the practice does not run afoul of a "public morals" or a "compelling" governmental interest.
Amendment II (two)
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
Amendment IV (four)
Right of people to be secure against unreasonable searches and seizures.
Exclusionary Rule: If the police violate the constitutional protection against unreasonable search and seizure, then your attorney would ask to have that evidence removed. If that evidence was the sole basis for arrest, the whole case may be thrown out.
Good Faith Exception: So many cases were being thrown out that the conservative courts started a backlash against that (police didn’t mean to violate rights = able to use)
Search Warrant required with exceptions: Exigent circumstances (i.e. hearing someone scream from a building), Plain view doctrine (i.e. what you can see when resident opens the door), Motor vehicle exception, Search incident to a lawful arrest, Border search exception (i.e. airports), Prison cell exception, Government office exception, Wiretap international phone calls & emails (FISA court - 2008).
Amendment V (five)
Rights in criminal cases:
No person shall be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb (Double jeopardy).
If you are found guilty, you can appeal because you asked for it. If it is a state case and you are found not guilty, the federal government can try you if there is an applicable federal law.
Due process of law.
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces.
No person shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself. Pleading the fifth.
No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law (implication of due process = guilty is pro capital punishment).
Nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation which is known as eminent domain
Amendment VI (six)
Right to a fair trial
The accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy (within 18 months) and public trial. Most trials are plead out (pleading guilty to a lesser charge to avoid trial/waiting).
Impartial jury of the State and district where in the crime shall have been committed.
Arraignment for the defendant, being informed of the nature and cause of the accusation. If this is not done then a person who committed any crime can have the charges dropped and be set free. Failure to arraign = violation of Habeas Corpus, exceptions during war, and military detention.
The order
Charges read against the defendant
Defendant pleads
Option of bail
To be confronted with the witnesses against him Have to be able to challenge witnesses
To have a compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor.
To have the assistance of counsel for his defense.
Amendment VII (seven)
In suits of common law where the value exceeds twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, deliberated upon according to the rules of the common law.
Amendment VIII (eight)
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted (cited by those against capital punishment).
Amendment IX (nine)
All the rights not listed in the Constitution belong to the people, not the government. In other words, the rights of the people are not limited to just the rights listed in the Constitution.
Only one additional fundamental/civil liberty identified by the Supreme Court: 1965 Griswold v. Connecticut = Right to privacy
Amendment X (ten)
The States’ rights amendment, "the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people." Reserves powers not delegated to the national government to the states and the people; the basis of federalism.
Thirteenth Amendment
constitutional amendment that outlaws slavery.
Amendment XIV (14)
Citizenship Clause: All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.
Privileges or Immunities Clause: No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.
Equal Protection Clause: nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
Section 5. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article
Selective incorporation of the bill of rights under the authority of the 14th amendment, done on a case-by-case basis by the supreme court.
Amendment XXIV (24)
The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay any poll tax
Amendment XXV (25)
Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress
Politics
the process of influencing the actions and policies of government.
Government
system whereby laws and policies for the nation are made --significance of rule of law.
political institutions
the structure of government, including the executive, legislature, and judiciary.
democracy
a system of government where power is held by the people.
republicanism
a system in which the government’s authority comes from the people.
republic
a government ruled by representatives of the people.
constitutional republic
a democratic system with elected representatives in which the Constitution is the supreme law.
natural rights
the right to life, liberty, and property, which government cannot take away.
social contract
people allow their governments to rule over them to ensure an orderly and functioning society.
American political culture
the set of beliefs, customs, traditions, and values that Americans share.
popular sovereignty
the idea that the government’s right to rule comes from the people.
inalienable rights
rights the government cannot take away.
liberty
social, political, and economic freedoms.
pluralist theory
a theory of democracy that emphasizes the role of groups in the policymaking process.
elitist theory
a theory of democracy that the elites (nameable group) have a disproportionate amount of influence in the policymaking process.
civil society groups
independent associations outside the government’s control.
Direct Democracy
citizens create/vote on laws, popular vote wins.
Representative Democracy
A system of government in which citizens elect representatives, or leaders, to make decisions about the laws for all the people. Also known as a republic.
participatory democracy
a theory that widespread political participation is essential for democratic government.
Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union
a governing document that created a union of thirteen sovereign states in which the states, not the union, were supreme.
writ of habeas corpus
the right of people detained by the government to know the charges against them.
bills of attainder
when the legislature declares someone guilty without a trial.
ex post facto laws
laws punishing people for acts that were not crimes at the time they were committed.
Economic System
how resources are owned and decisions about production are made.
capitalism
an economic system based on private ownership of capital.
socialism
either authoritarian or democratic, the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned/regulated by the community as a whole.
communism
"To each according to his ability, to each according to his need." There is no economic communist place in the world (closest is some African cultures), there are politically communist (one party) countries.
Power
ability of one person to cause another person to act in accordance. Authority: right to use power.
Legitimacy
what makes the law or leader a source of “right” in eyes of citizens [as opposed to international]. In the U.S.: Constitution AND competitive elections.
Legal obligations of citizens
Taxes, compliance with laws, jury duty, draft registration, education.
Libertarians
favor free markets and personal liberty
Conservatives
Want little regulation of economy (free market), smaller government with fewer services.
Social conservatives: favor regulation of morality
Liberals
a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law. Liberals espouse various views depending on their understanding of these principles. Want an active government (social security).
Declaration of Independence
The document approved by representatives of the American colonies in 1776 that stated their grievances against the British monarch and declared their independence. Natural rights. Rights inherent in human beings, not dependent on governments, which include life, liberty, and property.
U.S. Constitution
The Constitution, written in the wake of the failed Articles of Confederation and ratified by the states in 1789, outlines the structure and function of our government and also, through the Bill of Rights and subsequent amendments, guarantees our civil rights and liberties.
Shay’s Rebellion
A rebellion led by Daniel Shays of farmers in western Massachusetts in 1786-1787, protesting mortgage foreclosures. It highlighted the need for a strong national government (due to a weak military) just as the call for the Constitutional Convention went out.
A key weakness of time: Lack of tax law enforcement power.
Great/Connecticut Compromise
Problem: large states dissatisfied with equal state power
Proposals: Virginia Plan (based on population) and in response New Jersey Plan (same for each state)
Solution: a bicameral legislative body. House is based on population and in Senate all states have equal representation.
Grand Committee
a committee at the Constitutional Convention that worked out the compromise on representation.
Three-Fifths Compromise
an agreement reached by delegates at the Constitutional Convention that a slave would count as three-fifths of a person in calculating a state’s representation in the House.
Compromise on Importation
Congress could not restrict the international slave trade until 1808.
separation of powers
a design of government that distributes powers across institutions in order to avoid making one branch too powerful on its own.
checks and balances
a design of government in which each branch has powers that can prevent the other branches from making policy.
federalism
the sharing of power between the national government and the states.
Division of authority between levels of government. State governments have sovereignty. Where there is conflict, the federal government is supreme (Article VI/Supremacy Clause)
dual/layer cake federalism
a form of American federalism in which the states and the national government operate independently in their own areas of public policy.
cooperative/marble cake federalism
a form of American federalism in which the states and the national government work together to shape public policy.
fiscal federalism
the federal government’s use of grants-in-aid to influence policies in the states.
grants-in-aid
federal money provided to states to implement public policy objectives.
unfunded mandate
federal requirements the states must follow, without being provided with funding.
categorical grants
grant-in-aid provided to states with specific provisions on their use.
block grant
a type of grant-in-aid that gives state officials more authority in the disbursement of the federal funds.
revenue sharing
when the federal government apportions tax money to the states with no strings attached.
legislative branch
the institution responsible for making laws.
expressed or enumerated powers
authority specifically granted to a branch of the government in the Constitution.
implied powers
authority of the federal government that goes beyond its expressed powers.
judicial branch
the institution responsible for hearing and deciding cases through the federal courts.
supremacy clause
constitutional provision declaring that the Constitution and all federal laws and treaties are the supreme law of the land.
commerce clause
grants Congress the authority to regulate interstate business and commercial activity.
amendment
the process by which changes may be made to the Constitution.
Federalists
supporters of the proposed Constitution, who called for a strong national government.
Antifederalists
those opposed to the proposed Constitution, who favored stronger state governments.
Federalist Papers
a series of eighty-five essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay and published between 1787 and 1788 that lay out the theory behind the Constitution.
Federalist No. 51
an essay in which Madison argues that separation of powers and federalism will prevent tyranny.
faction
a group of self-interested people who use the government to get what they want, trampling the rights of others in the process.
Federalist No. 10
an essay in which Madison argues that the dangers of faction can be mitigated by a large republic and republican government.
Brutus No. 1
an Antifederalist Paper arguing that the country was too large to be governed as a republic and that the Constitution gave too much power to the national government.
unitary system
a system where the central government has all the power over subnational governments (ex: states). The central gov may give subnational govs certain powers but the central always has authority to take it back
Note 
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