Supreme Court Cases to know for APUSH

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

Established the power of the Supreme Court to declare an act of Congress or of the executive branch unconstitutional (judicial review)

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

Expanded Congress's ability to use its implied powers

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

Established the power of the Supreme Court to declare an act of Congress or of the executive branch unconstitutional (judicial review)

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

Expanded Congress's ability to use its implied powers

Trustees of Dartmouth College v. Woodward

Held that the Constitution protects private charters

Cohens v. Virginia (1821)

Ruled that a state court's decision is subject to review by the U.S. Supreme Court

Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)

Broadened the definition of commerce and established that a state cannot interfere with Congress's right to regulate interstate commerce.

Commonwealth v. Hunt (1842)

Ruled that workers have the right to organize

Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)

Ruled that African Americans cannot be U.S. citizens and that Congress has no power to forbid slavery in U.S. territories

Ex parte Milligan (1866)

Limited the President's power to suspend the writ of habeas corpus

Munn v. Illinois (1877)

Established that states may regulate privately owned businesses in the public's interest

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

Ruled that separate but equal facilities for African Americans are constitutional

Schenck v. United States (1919)

Held that the clear-and-present danger principle should be used as the test of whether a government may limit free speech

Gitlow v. New York (1925)

Held that 1st amendment rights to freedom of speech applied to states as well as the federal government

Patton v. United States (1930)

Upheld the 6th amendment's requirements for a jury trial in federal courts

Near v. Minnesota (1931)

Held that the guarantee of a free press does not allow a prior restraint on publication, except in extreme cases, such as during wartime

Schecter v. U.S. (1935)

The Dead Chicken Case! declared the National Industrial Recovery Act unconstitutional. It held that Congress had improperly delegated legislative authority to the National Industrial Recovery Administration and that the federal government had exceeded its jurisdiction because Schecter (pultry producer) was not engaged in interstate commerce; congress cannot regulate once a good has reached the consumption stage

Butler v. U.S. (1936)

court declared the AAA unconstitutional; congress cannot regulate agriculture (only states can); government cannot tax one group for the benefit of another (tax on processors for farmers)

Chaplisky v. New Hampshire (1942)

Ruled that insults and fighting words--like profanity and libel -- are not protected by the 1st amendment

West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette (1943)

Held that a school's required flag salute violated the 1st amendment's guarantees of freedom of religion

Everson v. Board of Education (1947)

Maintained that although public funds could be used to bus children to parochial schools, the wall separating church and state must be kept high and strong.

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954)

Ruled that separation of the races in public schools is unconstitutional; reversed the Plessy v. Ferguson decision

Mapp v. Ohio (1961)

The Court ruled that evidence seized illegally could not be used in state courts. This is called the exclusionary rule.

Baker v. Carr (1962)

Established the principle of "one person, one vote" and made such patterns of representation illegal. The Court asserted that the federal courts had the right to tell states to reapportion their districts for more equal representation.

Engle v. Vitale (1962)

Held that public schools cannot require students to say prayers

Edwards v. South Carolina (1963)

Ruled that 14th amendment doesn't permit a state to prohibit the peaceful expression of unpopular views

Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)

Held that defendants have the right to be represented by counsel in state trails and that lawyers must be provided to defendants who cannot afford to pay for them.

Eschobedo v. Illinois (1964)

The justices ruled that an accused person has a right to have a lawyer present during questioning by police

Wesberry v. Sanders (1964)

Ruled that congressional districts within states should be as nearly equal as possible.

Reynolds v Sims (1964)

Held that "one person, one vote" must apply to apportionment of both houses of a state legislature.

Grisworld v. Connecticut (1965)

Ruled that the Constitution did guarantee certain zones of privacy

Miranda v. Arizona (1966)

Declared that if accused persons have not been informed of their right to remain silent, then any statements they make may not be used as evidence against them

Sheppard v. Maxwell (1966)

Overturned a murder conviction based on unfair pretrial publicity and ordered a new trial

Katz v. United States (1967)

Expanded the 4th amendment protection against illegal searches to cover electronic surveillance

Terry v. Ohio (1968)

Upheld the police practice of "stop and risk" when an officer suspects a crime is about to be committed

Tinker v. Des Moines School District (1969)

Ruled that schools would need to show evidence of the possibility of substantial disruption before students' free speech at school could be limited

Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971)

Established a three-part test to determine whether state aid to parochial schools was constitutional

New York Times Co. v. United States (1971)

Affirmed the 1st amendment guarantee of a free press and limited "prior restraint" of the press

Miller v. California (1973)

Attempted to clarify 1st amendment rights by defining obscenity

Roe v. Wade (1973)

Established a woman's legal right to an abortion under certain circumstances

United States v. Nixon (1974)

Limited the scope of a President's use of executive privilege

Gregg v. Georgia (1976)

Established that the death penalty does not necessarily violate the Constitution

Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978)

Held that colleges and universities may consider a person's race as one factor in admission policies

Rostker v. Goldberg (1981)

Upheld the decision of Congress to exclude women from the military draft

Island Trees School District v. Pico (1982)

Limited a school board's powers to remove books from its school library

Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Chadha (1983)

Disallowed the legislative veto

New Jersey v. T.L.O. (1986)

Established a "reasonable suspicion" rule for school searches

South Dakota v. Dole (1986)

Upheld the federal government's right to attach strings to highway funds to states.

Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier (1988)

Affirmed that school administrators could censor official school publications

Texas v. Johnson (1989)

Ruled that a state law against flag burning was an unconstitutional limit on freedom of expression

Cruzan v. Director, Missouri Dept. of Health (1990)

Clarified the need to have "clear and convincing" evidence that an individual would have wanted to die before intravenous feeding could be terminated

Westside Community Schools v. Mergens (1990)

Ordered a school to permit students to meet on campus and discuss religion because it does not amount to a "state sponsorship of a religion"

Clinton v. City of New York (1998)

Overturned the Line-Item Veto Act