scotus

Marbury v Madison

• established judicial review

• judge was refused his right to a commission

McCulloch v Maryland

• second bank of america

• baltimore attempted to heavily tax the branch of the bank

• necessary and proper clause

• confirmed federal supremacy over state law

US v Lopez

• student brought a gun to school

• violated federal law under the commerce clause, but not texas law

• ruled that the commerce clause was not a valid justification for federal regulation of guns in schools

• limited federal power

Engel v Vitale

• public school held a voluntary prayer every morning

• parents sued the school arguing that it violated the establishment clause (1st amendment)

• court ruled in favor of the parents, agreeing the school-sponsored prayer is unconstitutional

Wisconsin v Yoder

• state had a compulsory education law that students had to be in school until they were 16

• amish families challenged this law as it is traditional for them to take their children out of school after 8th grade

• violated the free exercise clause

• ruled in favor of the amish

Tinker v Des Moines

• students wore black armbands to school to protest the Vietnam War and were suspended

• parents argued this was a violation of free speech (symbolic speech)

• court ruled in favor of the parents, arguing that wearing the armbands did not disrupt their education

• created the substantial disruption test

New York Times v United States

• company published papers revealing the government lies regarding the Vietnam War

• Nixon administration attempted to prevent the publication of the Pentagon Papers

• court ruled that prior restraint in this situation is unconstitutional as this matter does not threaten national security, Nixon just wanted to hide his corruption

• freedom of press (1st amendment)

Schenck v United States

• published pamphlets urging young men to avoid the WWI draft

• got arrested

• argued it was his right under the 1st amendment (freedom of speech)

• court ruled against him, arguing that urging men to avoid the draft was not simply a protest as it presented a “clear and present danger”

• “clear and present danger” test (allows speech to be limited)

Gideon v Wainwright

• Florida refused to grant him a lawyer during his case

• appealed and brought to Supreme Court

• court ruled that the 6th amendment required states to provide defendants with a lawyer due to selective incorporation

• 14th amendment due process

Roe v Wade

• challenged texas bans on abortion

• argued for a right to privacy, which is implicitly stated through multiple amendments (1st, 4th, 5th, 9th, 14th)

• specifically the 14th amendment’s due process clause implied a right to privacy

• abortion was legalized for the first trimester of pregnancy

McDonald v Chicago

• challenged Chicago’s handgun bans under the 2nd amendment

• Heler v District of Columbia set a precedent as right to bear arms was upheld in a federal area

• applied this to the states through selective incorporation (14th amendment’s due process)

• protected individual gun rights nationwide

Brown v Board of Education

• black students were denied entry to a white school

• overturned the decision in Plessy v Ferguson (separate but equal)

• ruled unconstitutional as it violated the 14th amendment’s Equal Protections Clause

• desegregated schools

Baker v Carr

• Tennessee hadn’t redistricted in over 60 years

• Rural voters had smaller population but same votes as urban voters

• ruled to violate the 14th amendment’s Equal Protections Clause as every citizen was not represented equally

• established “one person, one vote”

• set a precedent that the Supreme Court could handle issues of reapportionment

Shaw v Reno

• North Carolina redrew their district lines to provide minority voters (blacks) with a majority district

• racial gerrymandering

• court ruled that this violated the 14th amendment’s Equal Protection’s Clause

• even though it is giving minorities a voice, it would set a bad precedent

Citizens United v Federal Elections Commission

• BCRA/Bipartisan Campaign Finance Act prevented electrical advertisements from being shown 60 days before an election and 30 days before a primary

• corporation wanted to post a video criticizing Hilary Clinton, but it was past the date

• challenged under the 1st amendment’s freedom of speech

• court ruled in favor of the corporation, stating that preventing ads violated free speech

• led to creation of Super PACs; corporations could now spend unlimited money independently in elections