AP Government Court Cases

Engel v Vitale

First Amendment/Establishment Clause - Government-directed prayer in public schools violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, even if the prayer is denominationally neutral and students may remain silent or be excused from the classroom during its recitation.

Baker v. Carr

1962 in Tennessee, federal government has the ability to intervene in a state's redistricting to ensure fairness because redistricting is not just a political question

NY Times v. U.S.

First Amendment/Freedom of the Press - New York Times and Washington Post could print the Pentagon Papers without risk of government censorship or punishment

Schenck v. U.S.

First Amendment/Freedom of Speech/non-protected - The circulars urged "Do not submit to intimidation" but advised only peaceful action such as petitioning to repeal the Conscription Act. Schenck was charged with conspiracy to violate the Espionage Act by attempting to cause insubordination in the military and to obstruct recruitment. During wartime, utterances tolerable in peacetime can be punished. Clear and present danger test.

Gitlow v. New York

First Amendment/Freedom of Speech/non-protected - the government may suppress or punish speech that directly advocates the unlawful overthrow of the government and it upheld the constitutionality of the state statute at issue, which made it a crime to advocate the duty, need, or appropriateness of overthrowing government by force or violence, selective incorporation of 14th amendment.

Tinker v. Des Moines

First Amendment/Freedom of Speech/symbolic speech - students' wearing of armbands in support of Vietnam truce did not interrupt school activities, pure speech

U.S. v. Lopez

Second Amendment - gun laws about schools not related to interstate commerce and not under federal authority

Mapp v. Ohio

Fourth Amendment/Exclusionary Rule - evidence taken in unreasonable searches and seizures may not be used in court.

Miranda v. Arizona

Fifth and Sixth Amendment - unless the accused is notified of the reason for their arrest, the ability to consult with an attorney, the ability to not self-incriminate their testimony is not permissible in court.

Korematsu v. U.S.

Fifth and Sixth Amendment - internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII was Constitutional, justified during times of emergency and peril

Griswold v. Connecticut

Ninth Amendment - state ban on use of contraceptives violates the right of marital privacy

Roe v. Wade

Ninth & Fourteenth Amendments/privacy

Abortion is a private matter

Plessy v. Ferguson

Fourteenth Amendment/Separate is Equal - ruled that railway cars provided were essentially equal so no violation of equal protection.

Brown v. Board of Education

Fourteenth Amendment/Separate not Equal - Integration of Schools - racial segregation violates the equal protection clause

Regents of California v. Bakke

Fourteenth Amendment/Upheld Affirmative Action - race may be one of several factors in college admission policies.

Marbury v. Madison

Establishes the Supreme Court as having the power of Judicial Review/interpret the Constitution

McCulloch v. Maryland

Implied powers under the Necessary and Proper Clause - Creation of the bank was implied based upon the enumerated power of Congress to tax. State of Maryland could not tax federal bank due to Supremacy Clause

Gibbons v. Ogden

Supreme Court of the United States held that the power to regulate interstate commerce, granted to Congress by the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution, encompassed the power to regulate navigation

Shaw v. Reno

1993 case in NC with majority-minority districts, court ruled it was an example of racial gerrymandering and thus these districts were unconstitutional. The case was a problem of reverse discrimination. (Redistricting cannot be based on race!)

Texas v. Johnson

A 1989 case in which the Supreme Court struck down a law banning the burning of the American flag on the grounds that such action was symbolic speech protected by the First Amendment.

Barron v. Baltimore

Ruled that the Bill of Rights cannot be applied to the states. (Before selective incorporation and the 14th amendment)

Gideon v. Wainwright

State courts are required under the Sixth Amendment of the Constitution to provide counsel in criminal cases for defendants unable to afford their own attorneys.

Obergefell v. Hodges

Upholds same sex marriage via 14th amendment equal protection clause

Wisconsin v. Yoder

Compelling Amish students to attend school past the 8th grade violates the free exercise clause of Amendment I

McDonald v. Chicago

Held that the 14th Amendment allows for the 2nd Amendment to be applied to the states and citizens have the right to bear arms.

Citizens United v. FEC

Political spending by corporations and unions is a form of Constitutionally-protected free speech

Reynolds v. US

The 1st Amendment’s Free Exercise Clause does not protect religious actions which violate social duties/criminal laws such as polygamy.

Roth v. US

Obscene materials are not within the protective scope of the 1st Amendment - redefined the constitutional test for determining what constitutes obscene material unprotected by 1st Amendment.

New Jersey v. TLO

Public school officials do not need a warrant or probable cause to search students; “reasonable suspicion” standard applies.

Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier

School administrators may censor school-sponsored student publications without violating the First Amendment.

Barnes v. Felix

Courts must consider the “totality of the circumstances” in excessive force cases, rejecting the 5th Circuit’s “moment of threat” rule.

Morse v. Frederick

Ruled that public schools can restrict student speech that reasonably promotes illegal drug use, even at school-sanctioned events.

Students Fair Admissions v. Harvard

Race-based affirmative action programs in most college admissions violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.

Oregon v. Smith

Religious beliefs cannot excuse an individual from complying with otherwise valid, neutral laws, such as drug laws or vaccination requirements.