AP Government required cases

Roe v. Wade (1973)

👩‍⚖ A woman from Texas wanted an abortion, but state law banned it except to save her life.
📜 Clause: 14th Amendment Due Process (right to privacy)
🏆 Ruling: Roe won — a woman’s right to privacy includes the right to an abortion, protected by the 14th Amendment.
💡 Significance: Extended the right of privacy (first seen in Griswold v. Connecticut) to abortion decisions.

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

🏦 Maryland tried to tax the National Bank, but McCulloch refused to pay.
📜 Clause: Necessary and Proper Clause
🏆 Ruling: McCulloch won — states can’t tax the national government.
💡 Significance: Established implied powers and reinforced federal supremacy over states.

U.S. v. Lopez (1995)

🎒 A student brought a gun to school and was charged under federal law.
📜 Clause: Commerce Clause
🏆 Ruling: Lopez won — Congress went too far; carrying a gun to school isn’t “interstate commerce.”
💡 Significance: Limited Congress’s power under the Commerce Clause for the first time in decades.

Baker v. Carr (1961)

🗳 Tennessee hadn’t redrawn districts for years, causing unequal voting power.
📜 Clause: Equal Protection Clause (14th Amendment)
🏆 Ruling: Baker won — courts can rule on redistricting issues.
💡 Significance: Created “one person, one vote” — districts must have roughly equal populations.

Shaw v. Reno (1993)

📏 North Carolina drew a weirdly shaped, race-based voting district.
📜 Clause: Equal Protection Clause (14th Amendment)
🏆 Ruling: Shaw won — race cannot be the main factor in drawing districts.
💡 Significance: Declared racial gerrymandering unconstitutional.

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

🧾 Marbury was denied his judicial appointment by Jefferson’s administration.
📜 Clause: Article III of the Constitution
🏆 Ruling: Madison won — Marbury’s claim was unconstitutional.
💡 Significance: Established judicial review, allowing the Supreme Court to strike down unconstitutional laws.

Engel v. Vitale (1962)

🙏 NY public schools allowed a daily voluntary prayer.
📜 Clause: Establishment Clause (1st Amendment)
🏆 Ruling: Engel won — schools can’t sponsor prayer.
💡 Significance: Strengthened separation of church and state in public schools.

Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)

👨‍🌾 Amish parents didn’t want to send kids to high school for religious reasons.
📜 Clause: Free Exercise Clause (1st Amendment)
🏆 Ruling: Yoder won — religious beliefs outweigh state education laws.
💡 Significance: Expanded protection for religious freedom.

Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)

🕊 Students wore black armbands to protest the Vietnam War and were suspended.
📜 Clause: Free Speech Clause (1st Amendment)
🏆 Ruling: Tinker won — students keep free speech rights in school.
💡 Significance: Symbolic speech is protected if it doesn’t disrupt learning.

New York Times v. U.S. (1971)

📰 The government tried to stop the NYT from publishing the Pentagon Papers.
📜 Clause: Free Press Clause (1st Amendment)
🏆 Ruling: NYT won — prior restraint is unconstitutional unless publication causes direct danger.
💡 Significance: Reinforced freedom of the press and limited government censorship.

Schenck v. U.S. (1919)

📣 Schenck urged people to resist the WWI draft and was arrested.
📜 Clause: Free Speech Clause (1st Amendment)
🏆 Ruling: U.S. won — speech creating “clear and present danger” is not protected.
💡 Significance: Limited speech during wartime for national security.

Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)

⚖ Gideon was charged with a felony but couldn’t afford a lawyer.
📜 Clause: 6th Amendment (applied through 14th Amendment)
🏆 Ruling: Gideon won — states must provide attorneys for poor defendants.
💡 Significance: Guaranteed right to counsel in state courts.

McDonald v. Chicago (2010)

🔫 Chicago banned handguns; citizens challenged the law.
📜 Clause: 2nd Amendment (applied through 14th Amendment)
🏆 Ruling: McDonald won — states cannot completely ban handguns.
💡 Significance: Incorporated the 2nd Amendment to the states.

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

🏫 Black students were denied access to white public schools.
📜 Clause: Equal Protection Clause (14th Amendment)
🏆 Ruling: Brown won — “separate but equal” is inherently unequal.
💡 Significance: Ended school segregation and inspired the civil rights movement.

Citizens United v. FEC (2010)

💰 A group wanted to air a political film despite campaign finance restrictions.
📜 Clause: Free Speech Clause (1st Amendment)
🏆 Ruling: Citizens United won — corporations/unions can spend unlimited money on political speech.
💡 Significance: Led to the rise of Super PACs and expanded corporate speech rights.