SCOTUS Cases Test

Engel v. Vitale (1962)

Engel v. Vitale (1962)

No school sponsored prayer due to establishment clause

Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971)

Created a 3-pronged test to determine if giving state aid to private schools is constitutional (the Lemon Test)

Schenck v. U.S. (1919)

Speech that posted a “clear and present danger” (inciting people to ignore draft) could be punished

Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)

Students allowed to wear armbands in school to protest Vietnam… “civil liberties do not end at the school house door”

Texas v. Johnson (1989)

Legal to burn flag… “the flag protects those who hold it in contempt”

New York Times v. U.S. (1971)

Pentagon Papers: ok to publish details of how we got into Vietnam… government has no power of prior restraint

Miller v. California (1973)

Material is obscene if (A) the average person would find it offensive, (B) it depicts sexual conduct in a “patently offensive way" - defer to state laws on this part, (C) there is no “serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value” (the Miller Test)

Mapp v. Ohio (1961)

Exclusionary rule applies in state cases and protects against unreasonable searches and seizures

New Jersey v. TLO (1985)

Standard to search you in school is “reasonable suspicion”

Escobedo v. Illinois (1964)

6th amendment gives you the right to an attorney when being questioned (Escobedo had been asking to his attorney but was denied)

Miranda v. Arizona (1966)

5th amendment rights must be stated when detained: you have the right to remain silent, right to an attorney, and anything said can be used at trial; if detained and questioned without being read these rights, the conviction is void

Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)

All accused have the right to an attorney even if you cannot pay for it; overturned Betts v. Brady which only required the right to an attorney for capital cases or unusual circumstances

Furman v. Georgia (1972)

Death penalty law was not constitutional b/c it was applied arbitrarily; juries were not given enough guidelines on when to impose the death penalty and it was being imposed arbitrarily

Gregg v. Georgia (1976)

Death penalty is legal; law changed so juries got explicit instructions on when to impose death penalty

Roe v. Wade (1973)

Right to privacy and 14th amendment gives due process for women to make their own medical decisions; overturned by Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health organization

Korematsu v. United States (1944)

U.S. could intern Japanese-Americans in times of war because national security was more important than protecting civil liberties

Dred Scott v. Sandford (1957)

Enslaved people were not citizens and had no constitutional rights (pre-14th amendment)

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

Found that discrimination based upon race (segregation) was legal, as long as the separate accommodations were equal

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954)

Ended racial discrimination/segregation, stating “separate is inherently unequal”

Loving v. Virginia (1967)

Laws banning interracial marriages violate the Equal Protection and Due Process clause of the 14th amendment

University of California Regents v. Bakke (1978)

Race CAN be a factor in determining admissions into a university

Obergefell v. Hodges (2015)

The fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by both the due process clause and equal protection clause

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

Congress can do more than is expressed in the Constitution because of the elastic clause; Maryland was out of line taxing a U.S. bank; elastic clause gives Congress the power to create a national bank

Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)

Only Congress has the power to regulate interstate commerce… states can only regulate commerce within their borders

United States v. Nixon (1974)

Following Watergate, found that the president does not have the power of “executive privilege” to keep things secret if the nation’s interests are above those of the president’s need for privacy

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

Gave the Judicial Branch the power to declare laws and acts unconstitutional

1st Amendment

Freedom of RAPPS (religion, assembly, press, petition, speech)

4th Amendment

Freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures

5th Amendment

Criminal proceedings, due process, eminent domain, double jeopardy; protection from self incrimination

6th Amendment

Right to speedy trial by jury, right to an attorney

8th Amendment

No cruel and unusual punishment, no excessive bail

Rights of the Accused

4th, 5th, 6th, and 8th amendments together