Court Cases

This is a flashcard on all the AP court cases of unit 3 and below so far

Marbury v. Madison

• Decided/Ruled: Established judicial review, granting the Supreme Court the power to determine the constitutionality of laws.

• Issue/Constitutional Clause: Judicial Review; Article III, Section 2 (Supreme Court's jurisdiction), Supremacy Clause (implied).

• Connected Cases: This case is foundational for many cases involving the power of the judiciary.

Texas v. Johnson

• Decided/Ruled: Flag burning is a form of protected symbolic speech under the First Amendment.

• Issue/Constitutional Clause: Freedom of Speech; First Amendment (symbolic speech).

• Connected Cases: Tinker v. Des Moines Ind. Community School District, Spence v. Washington.

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission

• Decided/Ruled: Corporations and unions have First Amendment free speech rights, allowing them to spend unlimited amounts of money on political campaigns, independent of candidates or parties.

• Issue/Constitutional Clause: Freedom of Speech; First Amendment (corporate political spending).

• Connected Cases: McConnell v. Federal Election Commission, Buckley v. Valeo.

Miranda v. Arizona

• Decided/Ruled: Suspects must be informed of their Fifth Amendment rights (to remain silent, to an attorney) prior to interrogation. Established the "Miranda Warning."

• Issue/Constitutional Clause: Rights of the Accused; Fifth Amendment (self-incrimination), Sixth Amendment (right to counsel), Fourteenth Amendment (due process).

• Connected Cases: Gideon v. Wainwright, Escobedo v. Illinois.

Gideon v. Wainwright

• Decided/Ruled: States must provide legal counsel to indigent (poor) defendants in felony cases.

• Issue/Constitutional Clause: Rights of the Accused; Sixth Amendment (right to counsel), Fourteenth Amendment (due process clause, incorporation doctrine).

• Connected Cases: Miranda v. Arizona, Argensinger v. Hamlin.

Plessy v. Ferguson

• Decided/Ruled: Upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation under the "separate but equal" doctrine.

• Issue/Constitutional Clause: Equal Protection; Fourteenth Amendment (Equal Protection Clause).

• Connected Cases: Brown v. Board of Education (overturned Plessy).

Shaw v. Reno

• Decided/Ruled: Redistricting based predominantly on race is subject to strict scrutiny under the Equal Protection Clause.

• Issue/Constitutional Clause: Redistricting/Gerrymandering, Equal Protection; Fourteenth Amendment (Equal Protection Clause).

• Connected Cases: Baker v. Carr, Gomillion v. Lightfoot.

Baker v. Carr

• Decided/Ruled: Established the "one person, one vote" principle, mandating that legislative districts must be roughly equal in population. Opened the door for federal courts to hear redistricting cases.

• Issue/Constitutional Clause: Redistricting/Apportionment; Fourteenth Amendment (Equal Protection Clause).

• Connected Cases: Reynolds v. Sims, Shaw v. Reno.

McCulloch v. Maryland

• Decided/Ruled: Upheld the constitutionality of the Second Bank of the United States. Established the principles of implied powers and federal supremacy.

• Issue/Constitutional Clause: Federalism, Implied Powers, Supremacy of Federal Law; Article I, Section 8 (Necessary and Proper Clause/Elastic Clause), Article VI (Supremacy Clause).

• Connected Cases: Gibbons v. Ogden.

US v. Lopez

• Decided/Ruled: The Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990 was ruled unconstitutional as it exceeded Congress's authority under the Commerce Clause, limiting congressional power.

• Issue/Constitutional Clause: Federalism, Commerce Clause; Article I, Section 8 (Commerce Clause), Tenth Amendment (reserved powers for states).

• Connected Cases: Gibbons v. Ogden, Wickard v. Filburn.

US v. Nixon

• Decided/Ruled: The President's assertion of executive privilege is not absolute and must yield to a subpoena for evidence in a criminal trial. No one, including the President, is above the law.

• Issue/Constitutional Clause: Executive Privilege, Rule of Law, Separation of Powers; Article II (Executive Power).

• Connected Cases: This is a landmark case defining limits on presidential power.