POSC cases

McCulloch v Maryland

Necessary and Proper Clause can be used to give nat gov leeway in using limited powers

Dred Scott v Sanford

Supreme Court declared Missouri Compromise unconstitutional; said Black ppl can't be US citizens and can't go to court

Arizona v US

Arizona tried to aggressively pursue undocu immigrants; 3rd law of requiring law enforcement to check immigration status if they were stopped was kept bc it supports pre-existing law

Clinton v City of NY

Bill Clinton made Line Item Veto Act to give pres line-item power but was ruled unconstitutional; violated Presentment Clause

Brown v Board of Education

convinced court that "separate" is not "equal" in education under Equal Protection Clause; supposedly the end of segregation

Lawrence v Texas

2003, legal gay sex

Obergefell v Hodges

legal same-sex marriages

NFIB v Sebelius

Affordable Care Act tried to expand Medicare but court saw spending as coercive and unconstitutional; individ mandate forcing people to buy insurance is unconstitutional; not part of pres' power to regulate

Wickard v Filburn

farmer violated quotas for growing wheat set by gov during great depression (wheat was for personal use); gov won bc growing wheat means not buying from the market and causing a market crash

US v Lopez

Congress tried to bun guns in schools but didn't have enough evidence to show that guns disrupt education and therefore commerce (limits under Commerce Clause); Since then, more open to state challenges to federal law

US v Nixon

Nixon withheld tape recordings of Watergate but court ruled exec privilege didn't work in a request for specific info and in criminal investigation

US v Curtiss-Wright Export Corp

FDR forbade selling to Bolivia, Corp continued to sell bc "embargo is illegal bc it involved lawmaking by pres and only Congress can make laws"; court said no, pres has sole power in foreign relations

Youngstown Sheet and Tube Co. v Sawyer

Truman seized steel mills to stop closing down to support war effort (Korean) but court says he must be able to justify actions by referring to powers granted explicitly in exec branch

Marbury v Madison

court invalidated part of congressional legislation to say that it had power of judicial review

Brandenburg v Ohio (KKK rally)

police arrested inciter but Court ruled he's protected bc possibility of successfully overthrowing gov is unlikely

District of Columbia v Heller

Court ruling for individ liberty; weapons regulations need to reach high burden to be constitutional

Miranda v Arizona

Court said police must remind citizens of right to remain silent; inform defendants about their rights

Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health

Court overturned Roe; right to abortion given to legislative process in states and Congress; justices argued that Roe was made wrongly in the first place bc abortion used to be banned OG

Buckley v Valeo

Court ruled campaign contributions and expenditures protected under 1st amendment; rich ppl having too much power isn't enough justification but court agreed to limit (appearance of) corruption

Cedar point nursery v Hassid

conflict in protections against taking of property in Constitution; Court overturned CA law that requires employers to allow union organizers access to employer’s property to speak with workers

Clinton v Jones

no presidential immunity from lawsuits

Hammer v Dagenhart

initial attempts to regulate child labor struck down by Court

Brnovich v Democratic National Committee

voting restrictions in Arizona caused dissents from liberal justices bc the restrictions were racist

NCAA v Alston

the national collegiate athletic association cannot restrict pay and benefits of student athletes

Ex Parte v McCardle

Congress took away jurisdiction to stop Court from reaching a decision that was against Congress' interests

Plessy v Ferguson

treating minorities and women differently by law is constitutional bc it's "separate but equal"

Parents Involved in Seattle Schools v Seattle School District No. 1

no affirmative action; system must be race-blind to be fair and equal

Masterpiece Cake Shop v Colorado Civil Rights Commission

christian wedding designer doesn’t want to make gay cake = illegal? Didn’t resolve broader issue

Batson v Kentucky

rules that prohibit striking jurors from trials based on race only

Mahanoy Area School v BL

1st Amendment prohibits school from punishing student for posts made off-campus that don’t jeopardize school mission

Barron v Baltimore

ruled that city policy didn’t violate 5th Amendment bc it doesn’t apply to the state

Palko v Connecticut

only parts of Bill of Rights apply to states (selective incorporation)

McDonald v Chicago

incorporated 2nd Amendment for right to bear arms; fundamental liberty

Timbs v Indiana

8th amendment, "excessive fines"

NY State Rifle and Pistol Association v Bruen

right to gun goes beyond special locations, can carry outside of home as fundamental right

Roe v Wade

women can abort early on, states can regulate later on

Citizens United / SpeechNow.org v Fed Election Commission

no limit on independent expenditures

Chiafalo v Washington

states can pass laws that force electors to vote for pop vote winner in state

NYTimes v Sullivan

city official failed to sue NYT for ad with minor inaccuracies (unable to prove ad was written falsely intentionally)

CA, et al. v Texas

no penalty for individ mandate means that NFIB v Sebelius ruling doesn't apply anymore --> Court ruled that plaintiffs lacked standing to sue bc didn’t suffer injury from individ mandate