Required Supreme Court Cases

Marbury v. Madison, 1803

* Marbury sued Madison in the Court to get his commission via writ of mandamus.
* The Judiciary Act of 1789 was unconstitutional because it extended beyond the Court’s original jurisdiction.
* **Established judicial review**

McCulloch v. Maryland, 1819

* Maryland tried to impose taxes on a national bank. State court ruled the federal government did not have the authority to charter a bank.


* Through Congress’ implied powers, they had the ability to create a bank.


* **Necessary and proper clause - congress has implied powers from the constitution. Established supremacy of national law over state laws.**

Brown v. Board of Education, 1954

* A black girl in Topeka, where schools were segregated, was refused admission to a white elementary school.
* Separate but unequal is inherently unequal, thereby violating the Fourteenth Amendment.
* **The Court required states to desegregate - catalyst towards the civil rights movement**

Gideon v. Wainwright, 1963

* Gideon appeared in court without a lawyer and requested one, but in Florida attorneys are given in capital cases only.


* State courts must appoint attorneys for defendants who cannot afford one, under the Sixth Amendment.


* **Solidifed the Sixth Amendment and incorporated it into the states.**

Tinker v. Des Moines, 1969

* A group of students in Des Moines decided to wear black armbands to protest the Vietnam War.
* Children in public schools were protected by the First Amendment if their speech does not cause a “substantial disruption”
* **Public schools cannot censor students’ freedom of expression unless they can reasonably predict that the expression will disrupt school activities**

Roe v. Wade, 1973

* Jane Roe filed a lawsuit against Henry Wade, challenging a Texas law that made abortion illegal.
* A woman’s right to choose to have an abortion falls within the right to privacy under the Fourteenth Amendment.
* **The state cannot regulate abortion decisions in the first trimester of pregnancy.**

United States v. Lopez, 1995

* Lopez was arrested for carrying a concealed weapon at his high school. He was charged under the Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990. Congress made this act under the Commerce Clause.
* Possessing a gun on school property is not an economic activity.
* **Marked the first time in fifty years that the Court held Congress overstepped its powers under the Commerce Clause**

Baker v. Carr, 1961

* Tennessee citizens and Baker noticed that their state hadn’t been redistricted since 1901, and there were many shifts in population and demographics
* The Court does have jurisdiction over state reapportionment. Issues surrounding the Fourteenth Amendment merit judicial evaluation.
* **Established the right of federal courts to review redistricting issues**

Engel v. Vitale, 1962

* The New York State Board of Regents authorized a voluntary prayer for recitation at the start of each school day.
* The state cannot hold prayers in public schools, even if participation is not required and the prayer is not tied to a particular religion.
* **It is unconstitutional for state officials to organize an official school prayer and encourage its recitation in public schools**

New York Times Co. v. United States, 1995

* The Nixon Administration attempted to prevent the New York Times and Washington Post from publishing the Pentagon Papers
* The government did not overcome the "heavy presumption against" prior restraint of the press in this case
* **In any situation in which the government wishes to resort to censorship, it faces a difficult task in convincing the courts to issue the necessary legal orders**

Schenck v. United States, 1919

* During WW1, Schenck distributed leaflets encouraging the public to disobey the draft. Charged with conspiracy.
* This did not violate his freedom of speech because the First Amendment does not protect speech which aims at creating danger.
* **Use of the clear and present danger test to determine if a certain speech is an exception to the First Amendment, as the First Amendment does not protect speech that approaches creating a clear and present danger.**

McDonald v. Chicago, 2010

* McDonald wanted to buy a gun for self-defense but couldn’t because of city restrictions on handgun registrations
* The Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Clause makes the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms applicable to the states
* **The Second Amendment applies to state and local governments as well as to the federal government.**

Shaw v. Reno, 1993

* North Carolina residents challenged the constitutionality of their redistricting because they said the only purpose of a district was to get another black representative.
* The claim did challenge the Fourteenth Amendment. The North Carolina District Court has to decide whether a “compelling government interest” justified North Carolina’s plan.
* **Using racial reasons for redistricting is unconstitutional**

Yoder v. Wisconsin, 1972

* Yoder refused to send their child to such schools after the eighth grade, arguing that high school attendance was contrary to their Amish religious beliefs.
* The values in secondary school were in sharp contrast with the Amish religion, so yes the Wisconsin law did violate the parents’ First Amendment rights.
* **Established the precedent that an individual's right to exercise their religious beliefs under the First Amendment takes priority over the state's interests in compulsory education**

Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission, 2010

* Nonprofit group called Citizens United challenged campaign finance rules after the FEC stopped it from airing a film criticizing Hillary Clinton too close to the presidential primaries
* BCRA violates free speech under the First Amendment.
* **Corporations and wealthy individuals can spend unlimited amounts of money on political campaigns, as their money is seen as free speech and is therefore protected under the First Amendment**