SCOTUS CASES

Wisconsin vs yoder

• Backstory: Amish parents refused to send their children to high school because doing so conflicted with their religious beliefs. Wisconsin law required children to attend school until age 16.

• Constitutional Principle: Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment — protection of religious freedom.

• Ruling: The Court ruled in favor of the Amish families, finding that Wisconsin's education requirement violated their religious freedom in this situation.

Shaw v Reno

• Backstory: North Carolina created a strangely shaped congressional district designed to increase African American representation. Voters challenged the district because race played a major role in how it was drawn.

• Constitutional Principle: Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and racial gerrymandering.

• Ruling: The Court ruled that districts drawn primarily based on race could be challenged as unconstitutional. Race cannot be the predominant factor in redistricting without sufficient justification.

United States v. Lopez (1995)

• Backstory: A high school student brought a gun into school and was charged under a federal law banning guns in school zones. He challenged the federal government's authority to create the law.

• Constitutional Principle: Commerce Clause — limits on Congress's power to regulate interstate commerce.

• Ruling: The Court struck down the law, ruling that possessing a gun near a school was not sufficiently related to interstate commerce. This limited federal power and strengthened states' rights.

McDonald v. Chicago (2010)

• Backstory: Chicago had strict restrictions on handgun ownership, and residents challenged the restrictions under the Second Amendment.

• Constitutional Principle: Second Amendment right to bear arms and Fourteenth Amendment incorporation.

• Ruling: The Court ruled that the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to possess a handgun for self-defense and that this right applies to state and local governments.

Citizens United v. FEC (2010)

• Backstory: Citizens United wanted to distribute a political film criticizing Hillary Clinton shortly before the 2008 presidential election. Federal campaign-finance laws restricted certain corporate-funded political communications.

• Constitutional Principle: First Amendment freedom of speech, particularly political spending and independent expenditures.

• Ruling: The Court ruled that corporations and unions have a First Amendment right to make independent political expenditures. The decision significantly expanded protections for political spending by organizations.

New York Times v. United States (1971)

• Backstory: The government tried to stop The New York Times from publishing the Pentagon Papers, which contained classified information about the Vietnam War.

• Constitutional Principle: Freedom of the Press and protection against prior restraint under the First Amendment.

• Ruling: The Court ruled that the government could not prevent the newspapers from publishing the documents because it had not shown sufficient justification for prior restraint.

Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)

• Backstory: Students wore black armbands to school to protest the Vietnam War and were suspended. They argued that their protest was protected by the First Amendment.

• Constitutional Principle: Freedom of Speech and symbolic speech under the First Amendment.

• Ruling: The Court ruled that students have First Amendment rights at school. Schools can only restrict student expression when it causes substantial disruption to school activities.

Engel v. Vitale (1962)

• Backstory: A New York public school required students to begin the day with a government-written prayer. Some families challenged the practice.

• Constitutional Principle: Establishment Clause of the First Amendment — government cannot establish or promote religion.

• Ruling: The Court ruled that school-sponsored prayer in public schools is unconstitutional, even when the prayer is non-denominational and students are not required to participate.

Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)

• Backstory: Clarence Gideon was charged with a felony and could not afford a lawyer. Florida refused to provide him with an attorney.

• Constitutional Principle: Sixth Amendment right to counsel, applied to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment.

• Ruling: The Court unanimously ruled that states must provide lawyers to criminal defendants who cannot afford one in serious cases.

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

• Backstory: African American students challenged racial segregation in public schools. They argued that segregated schools were unequal despite the “separate but equal” doctrine.

• Constitutional Principle: Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

• Ruling: The Court unanimously ruled that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional because “separate” schools are inherently unequal. This overturned Plessy v. Ferguson in the context of public education.

baker v Carr

• Backstory: Tennessee had failed to redraw its voting districts for decades, creating districts with very unequal populations. Tennessee voters challenged this unequal representation.

• Constitutional Principle: Equal Protection Clause and the courts' ability to address redistricting issues.

• Ruling: The Court ruled that federal courts could hear cases involving legislative redistricting. This helped establish the principle of “one person, one vote.”

Schenck v. United States (1919)

• Backstory: Charles Schenck distributed materials encouraging Americans to resist the military draft during World War I. He was arrested and argued that his speech was protected by the First Amendment.

• Constitutional Principle: Freedom of Speech under the First Amendment is not absolute.

• Ruling: The Court upheld Schenck's conviction, ruling that speech could be restricted when it creates a “clear and present danger.”

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

• Backstory: Maryland attempted to tax the Second Bank of the United States, but bank employee James McCulloch refused to pay the tax.

• Constitutional Principle: Necessary and Proper Clause and Supremacy Clause — Congress has implied powers, and federal law takes priority over conflicting state laws.

• Ruling: The Court ruled that Congress had the constitutional power to create a national bank and that Maryland could not tax it. The decision strengthened federal power over the states.

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

• Backstory: William Marbury was appointed as a judge by President John Adams, but his commission was not delivered before Thomas Jefferson became president. Marbury asked the Supreme Court to order Secretary of State James Madison to deliver his commission.

• Constitutional Principle: Judicial Review — the power of courts to determine whether laws are constitutional.

• Ruling: The Supreme Court ruled that the law giving it the power to order Madison to deliver the commission was unconstitutional. This established judicial review.