Court Cases

McCulloch v. Maryland

The 1819 Supreme Court case that established the federal government's implied powers and ruled that states could not tax federal entities.

Implied Powers

Powers that are not explicitly stated in the Constitution but are inferred from the enumerated powers.

United States v. Lopez

The 1995 case in which the Supreme Court ruled that the Gun-Free School Zones Act exceeded Congress's power under the Commerce Clause.

Engel v. Vitale

The 1962 Supreme Court case that ruled that government-directed prayer in public schools violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.

Free Exercise Clause

A First Amendment provision that prohibits the government from interfering with individuals' practice of their religion.

Tinker v. Des Moines

The 1969 Supreme Court case affirming that students have free speech rights at school.

New York Times Co v. United States

The 1971 Supreme Court case that upheld the freedom of the press against prior restraint by the government.

Schenck v. United States

The 1919 Supreme Court case that held the Espionage Act did not violate the First Amendment and imposed limits on free speech.

Selective Incorporation

The process by which rights enumerated in the Bill of Rights are applied to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause.

Gideon v. Wainwright

The 1963 Supreme Court case that ruled that the Sixth Amendment's right to counsel is applicable to state courts.

Brown v. Board of Education

The landmark 1954 Supreme Court case that declared racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional.

Citizens United v. FEC

The 2010 Supreme Court case that held that corporate funding of independent political broadcasts cannot be limited under the First Amendment.

Baker v. Carr

The 1962 Supreme Court case that established the principle of 'one person, one vote' in legislative apportionment based on the Equal Protection Clause.

Shaw v. Reno

The 1993 Supreme Court case that ruled that racial gerrymandering could be subject to scrutiny under the Equal Protection Clause.

Marbury v. Madison

The 1803 Supreme Court case that established the principle of judicial review, allowing the Court to nullify laws contrary to the Constitution.