AP gov required court cases

Marbury V Madison

• Adams appointed fed judges in the middle of the night b/c he wanted to make jefferson mad. he ended up making Marbury mad because his appointment was never delivered.

• Marbury sued and asked for a writ of Mandamus or judicial command to force Madison to deliver the commissions

• In a unanimous decision the court decided that the judiciary act of 1789 was unconstitutional

• Judicial Review: The power of the federal courts to declare laws and government actions unconstitutional

• Writ of Mandamus: An order from a court to a government official to fulfill their official duties

McCulloch V Maryland

• In 1818 Maryland imposed taxes on the national bank, and a Baltimore branch cashier named James McCulloch refuses to pay the taxes. Maryland sued McCulloch. McCulloch argued that the state tax was illegitimate

• In a unanimous opinion, the court ruled that the second bank’s charter was illegitimate

• This case established that the federal government has the authority yo act beyond what is explicitly outlined in the constitution.

Schenck V United States (1919)

• Schenck wrote pamphlets that called on men to resist the draft

• Schenck was arrested because he violated the Espionnage Act of 1917

• Schenck sued, arguing the arrest violated the first amendment

• In an unanimous decision the court ruled that the arrest was constitutional

• Clear and present danger test: limited free speech under the first amendment by outlawing speech that posed a threat to the common good.

• “shouting fire in a crowded theater”

Brown V Board of Education (1954)

• A group of black families join together to file a lawsuit against the Topeka Board of ed

• they argued that racial segregation in public schools violated the equal protection clause

• Equal Protection Clause: argues that states do not have the power to deny any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

• The lower court ruled that it was allowed because of the precedent set in Plessy V Fergusson, which stated that segregation was allowed under the “separate but equal clause”

• In a unanimous decision the court ruled that the separate but equal clause was “inherently unequal” because racial segregation had a negative effect on children.

Baker V Carr (1962)

• The Tenesee State Constitution mandated that legislative districts be redrawn every ten years to ensure that they are proportional.

• in 1962 citizens sued Carr, the secretary of state, alleging that the state had failed to redraw its legislative districts since 1901.

• in a 6-2 opinion the court tuled that the tennessee case did not contain any questions that redistricitn was an appropiate matter on which the supreme court could intervene.

Engel V. Vitale (1962)

• NY state passed legislation requiring public schools to start their day with a voluntary non denominational prayer.

• Families sued the school and argued that the prayer violated the establishment clause of the first amendment

• establishment clause: congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of the religion

• in a 6-1 decision the court ruled that public schools could not promote prayer because the promotion of religion was considered a violated of the establishment clause

Gideon v Wrainwright

• Gideon was arrested in florida for breaking into a pool and stealing money. Gideon was poor and couldn’t afford an attorney so he represented himself.

• flordia law during this time said that only serious cases that involved the death penalty provided lawyers to the criminals.

• Gideon argued that he had been denied the 6th amendment right to an attorney

• in a unaminous decision the court ruled to incorporate the sixth amendment right to an attorney.

Tinker V Des Moines

• A group of students wore armbands to school to protest the vietnam war

• the school developed a new policy stating that students couldn’t wear armbands to school and that if they didn’t remove them then it would result in suspension

• The students were stopped and they refused to take the armbands off

• in a 7-2 decision the court ruled that the armbands did not cause disruption in the classroom and therefore represented an appropriate and constitutionally protected expression of symbolic speech.

• This ruling expanded the first amendment rights of students. saying that if they were not disrupting the learning environment, then students could not give up their rights.

NY Times v US

• during the Vietnam USA was losing, but the government wanted to cover it up and lie

• A classifies report of the United States involvement in Vietnam was leaked to the NY Times. The NY times published this report under the title the “pentagon papers”

• Nixons administration argued that the publication of this information needed to be prevented due to national security risks

• in a 6-3 decision the court ruled that the NY Times could continue to publish experts from the pentagon paper s the gov’t had not met ht burden of show that the prior restraint was justified.

Wisconsin V Yoder

• In 1971 three amish families stopped senidntheir kids to schoool after the 8th grade.

• Amish ppl dont believe in school after 8th grade

• The public high school threatened them and forced them to got to school

• the families sued the school

• in a unanimous decision the court ruled that the public high school education was in sharp conflict with the fundamental mode of life mandated by the amish religion and it would be a violation of the first amendment’;s fee exercise clause.

• developed the precedent that parents were allowed to educate their children outside of either the public school system or traditional private schools. It prioritized the free exercise of religion over state interests.

Shaw V Reno

• in 1990 NC submitted their redistricting map to the department of justice, which included a one majority-m minority Black district.

• NC was advised to revise it and add a second majority minority district

• In 1991, a group of white voters led by ruth shaw challenged the proposed redistricting, arguing it violated the equal protection clause and was gerrymandering

• gerrymandering: the practice of manipulating the boundaries of legislative districts to prove an advantage to on political party or group

• in a 5-4 opinion the court ruled that the shape of proposed district in NC was bizarre enough that it could not be explained as anything other than an attempt to separate voters along racial lines.

• the case established that any legislative redistrict must be strictly scrutinized and that any laws related to racially motivated redistricting must be held to narrow standards and compelling government interests.

US v Lopez

• the gun free school zones act made it a federal crime for a person to possess a gun in school property

• a hs senior alfonso lopez brought a gun to school and was charged with violating the act

• he was tried and war convicted of six months in jail

• lopez appealed the case arguing that the act was unconstitutional and that congress had exceeded its scope of authority under the commerce clause

• commerce clause: gives congress the authority to regulate commerce with foreign nations, along states, and indigenous tribes

• the appeals court overturned the conviction they argued that the posesión of firearms in educational environments would lead to crime and would weaken the national economy

• in a 5-4 decision the court upheld the appeals and declared in opposition to the government that the possession of a firearm in a school does not constitute economic activity and has no effect on interstate commerce

• the impact of this case was the first to declare that congress has exceeded its constitutional authority under the commerce clause. They upheld the principle that states should control local issues like gun possession in schools

McDonald v Chicago

• a retired resident of chicago (McDonald) attempted to buy a handgun for home defense

• he was unable to buy the gun because of the city wide handgun ban, him and three other chicago residents sued the city for limiting their rights to keep and bear ames under the second amendment

• the suit was heard by the supreme court on 2010. and the court ruled in a 5-4 decision that states could not impede their citizens right to keep and bear arms.

• this decision was ruled under the 14th amendment which argues that states do not have the right to deprive citizens within their borders rights or privileges that are accorded to them under the constitution

• the precedent set states that an individuals right to keep and bear arms under the second amendment is protected. They declared bans on handguns unconstitutional.

Citizens United v Federal Election Commission

• in 2008 a conservative non profit organization called citizens united made a movie called “Hillary”

• the film portrayed hillary clinton in a negative light and was clearly trying to influence and sway voters

• a lower court ruled that citizens united violated the 2003 bipartisan campaign reform act’s prohibition on “electioneering communication” by a corporation or labor union immediate before and election.

• in a 5-4 opinion the court rules that the first amendment protects political spending by advocacy groups and political action committees and that the BRCA’S restrictions on spending were unconstitutional

• this case illuminated a central tension in american politics. people are generally uncomfortable with the idea of elections being controlled bu the wealthy