AP Gov't SCOTUS FRQ Review

Which basic constitutional principle(s) is/are shown in McCulloch V. Maryland?

Which basic constitutional principle(s) is/are shown in McCulloch V. Maryland?

Federalism

Which article(s) is/are shown in McCulloch V. Maryland?

Expressed Powers of Congress/Necessary and Proper Clause/Elastic Clause (Article I, Section 8)

Which case “birthed” implied powers?

McCulloch V. Maryland

Which basic constitutional principle(s) is/are shown in United States V. Lopez?

Federalism

Which article(s) is/are shown in United States V. Lopez?

Article One, Section Eight — Powers of Congress (Commerce Clause) & Elastic Clause/Implied Powers

Which basic constitutional principle(s) is/are shown in Wisconsin V. Yoder?

Federalism

Which amendment(s) is/are shown in Wisconsin V. Yoder?

First Amendment (Freedom of Religion) — “Free Exercise Clause”

Which amendment(s) is/are shown in Tinker V. Des Moines?

First Amendment (Freedom of Speech/Expression)

Which amendment(s) is/are shown in Schenck V. United States?

First Amendment and Thirteenth Amendment

Which amendment(s) is/are shown in Citizens United V. Federal Election Commission?

First Amendment (Freedom of Speech)

Which basic constitutional principle(s) is/are shown in Baker V Carr?

Federalism & Separation of Powers

Which amendment(s) is/are shown in Baker V. Carr?

Fourteenth Amendment

Which basic constitutional principle(s) is/are shown in Marbury V. Madison?

Judicial Review & Separation of Powers

Which SCOTUS case created Judicial Review?

Marbury V. Madison

Which SCOTUS case established supremacy of the United States Constitution and federal laws over state laws?

McCulloch V. Maryland

McCulloch V. Maryland

A state tried to make a branch of the national bank in their state pay a large tax — which it would collect from customers. A cashier refused to collect/pay the tax. The state courts held that a national bank was unconstitutional because congress did not specifically have the power to create a national bank.

Marbury V. Madison

John Adams’ “Midnight Judges” — Right before leaving office, congress and Adams passed the Judiciary Act of 1801 — which created more courts, added new judges, and gave the President more power in appointing judges. Once the new president was in office, one of these “midnight judges” did not recieve his commission to begin his new job, so he sued the new president.

United States V. Lopez

A highschooler brought a gun to school. He was charged first under state law, and then under federal law. It was later decided that the federal 1990 Gun-Free School Zones Act was unconstitutional because it exceeded the powers given to congress under the commerce clause, which was the clause used to create the act. Gun-Free school zone laws are now up to states to decide.

Schenk V. United States

During WWI, a socialist distributed pamphlets declaring that the draft violated the 13th amendment (protection against unlawful servitude). The pamphlet urged men to disobey the draft through peaceful action. He was charged for violating the Espionage Act, and in response he appealed, saying the Espionage Act violated the first amendment. The SCOTUS ruled that the Espionage Act does not violate the first amendment because the first amendment does not protect speech that creates a “clear and present danger” to others.

Citizens United V. Federal Election Comission

Gave 1st amendment free speech “rights” to super PAC’s.

Baker V. Carr

Tennessee residents argued that the state government had ignored reapportionment for several decades, despite enormous shifts in the population, leaving the Congressional Districts extremely unequal in population, and therefor unequal in Congress. SCOTUS ruled that Tennessee was violating the fourteenth amendment.

Shaw V. Reno

The national government rejected North Carolina’s reapportioned map of Congressional Districts because it only had one majority black district. The next map had two, but was clearly gerrymandered. Residents sued the Attorney General claiming that racial gerrymandering goes against the Equal Protection Clause of the fourteenth amendment.