SCOTUS Cases Quiz AP GOV

What amendment and constitutional clause is Engel v. Vitale (1962) ?

First Amendment: Establishment Clause

What are the facts of Engel v. Vitale (1962) ?

1. The New York State Board of Regents created a short, voluntary prayer to be said at the start of every school day.

2. This practice was challenged by the parents of the students who objected the prayer, arguing that it went against the Establishment Clause of the 1st Amendment, which prohibits the government from establishing a religion.

What was the case holding to Engel v. Vitale (1962) ?

Supreme Court ruled..

• the practice of reciting prayers in public schools violates Establishment Clause bc it endorses religion

What is the amendment and constitutional clause for Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972) ?

First Amendment: Free Exercise Clause

What are the facts of Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972) ?

1. Jonas Yoder & Amish community refused to send their kids to school after 8th grade, which was require by law to do, because it went against their religion

2. The state prosecuted the parents for violating compulsory education laws after arguing that going to high school conflicted with their beliefs

what is the case holding for Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972) ?

The Supreme Court ruled…

• in fvaor of the amish

• compulsory education outweighed by the parents’ First Amendment right to free exercise of religion

What the amendment and constitutional clause of Tinker v. Des Moines (1969) ?

First Amendment: Free Speech

What are the facts of Tinker v. Des Moines (1969) ?

1. A group of students wore black armbands to school to protest the Vietnam War

2. The school banned the armbands and suspended students who continued to wear them

3. Students & Parents sued the school arguing that the band violated their First Amendment right to freedom of speech

What is the case holding for Tinker v. Des Moines (1969) ?

The Supreme Court Ruled…

• the schools actions violated the students’ right to symbolic speech, as long as it did not disrupt the educational process

What is the amendment and constitutional clause of NYTimes v. United States (1971) ?

First Amendment: Freedom of Press

What are the facts of NYTimes v. United States (1971) ?

1. Nixon administration tried to prevent the New York Times from publishing classified documents (pentagon papers) that detailed U.S. involvement in Vietnam War

2. Government argued that publication of the documents would harm national security

What is the case holding for NYTimes v. United States (1971) ?

Supreme Court Ruled…

• preventing publication through prior restraint violated the First Amendment’s protection of freedom of the press

• prior restraint is only justified in cases where there is “grave and immidate danger”

What is the amendment and constitutional clause for Schenck v. United States?

First Amendment: Freedom of Speech

What is the facts of Schenck v. United States ?

1. Schenck distributed leaflets urging resistance to military draft during WWI

2. He was charged with violated the espionage act of 1917, whcih made it a crime to obstruct military recruitment

3. Schenck argued that his speech was protected by First Amendment

What is the case holding for Schenck v. United States ?

Supreme Court Ruled..

• against Schenck

  • speech that creates “clear & present danger" means that Congress has a right to prevent that speech and it is not protected by First Amendment

What is the amendment and constitutional clause for Citizens United v. FEC (2010) ?

First Amendment: Freedom of Speech

What is the facts of Citizens United v. FEC (2010) ?

1. Citizens United spend $1 million on a documentary about Hillary Clinton during the 2008 democratic primary

2. The expenditure was restricted by BCRA, which limited corporate-funded political advertising close to elections

What is the case holding for Citizens United v. FEC (2010) ?

Supreme Court Ruled…

• government cannot limit political expenditures

  • restrictions violated free speech

• decision altered campaign finance laws, leading ot the rise of Super PACs

  • affirmed that political spending is a form of protected speech

What is the amendment and constitutional clause for Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) ?

Sixth Amendment: Right to Counsel

Fourteenth Amendment: Due Process Clause

What are the facts of Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) ?

1. Giden was charged with breaking & entering a pool hall in Florida

2. He couldn’t afford a lawyer so he requested one but that request was denied, saying that state law only allowed for appointed counsel in captial cases forcing Gideon to represent himself

3. He appealed to the Supreme Court arguing that his 6th Amendment right to counsel had been violated

What is the case holding for Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) ?

Supreme Court Ruled…

• overturned previous decision that held the right to counsel in state cases was not fundamental

• established the principal that ALL criminal defendants, regardless of their ability to pau, have the right to counsel

what is the amendment and constitutional cases for McDonald v. Chicago (2010) ?

Second Amendment: right o bear arms

Fourteenth Amendment: due process clause

What are the case facts of McDonald v. Chicago (2010) ?

1. Chicago tried to ban handguns

2. McDonald argued that the ban violated his Second Amendment right to bear arms with his Fourteenth Amendment right to due process

What is the case holding for McDonald v, Chicago (2010) ?

Supreme Court ruled…

• reaffirmed a person’s right to possess firearms for self-defense within the home and struck down Chicago’s handgun ban as unconstitutional

What is the amendment and constitutional clause for Brown v. Board of Education (1954) ?

Fourteenth Amendment: Equal Protection Clause

What are the facts of Brown v. Board of Education (1954) ?

1. Oliver Brown filed a class-action lawsuit against the kansas board of education on behalf of his daughter who was denied admission to an all-white elementary school

2. They argued that racial segregation in public schools violated Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment

What is the case holding for Brown v. Board of Education (1954) ?

Supreme Court Ruled…

• racial segregation in public school is unconstitutional

• overturned the “separate but equal” doctrine that was established in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

• The Court held that separate educational facilities are inherently unequal and have a detrimental effect on minority children