Required Supreme Court Cases

Marbury v. Madison

• Date: 1803

• What happened: William Marbury sued after not receiving his judicial commission. Wanted Court to give Writ of Mandamus from Judiciary Act of 1789

• Clauses involved: Article III (Judicial power) jurisdiction

• Decision: The Court ruled Marbury deserved the commission, but the law granting the Court power was unconstitutional.

• Impact: Established judicial review—the Supreme Court can declare laws unconstitutional.

McCulloch v. Maryland

• Date: 1819

• What happened: Maryland taxed the national bank; McCulloch refused to pay.

• Clauses involved: Necessary and Proper Clause (Article 1 Section 8), Supremacy Clause

  • as long as power is not prohibited by constitution and law upholds spirit of constitution, stands.

• Decision: Congress can create a bank; states cannot tax federal institutions.

• Impact: Strengthened federal power over state power.

United States v. Lopez

• Date: 1995

• What happened: Lopez brought a gun to school; charged under federal law.

• Clauses involved: Commerce Clause

• Decision: Gun-Free School Zones Act was unconstitutional.

• Impact: Limited Congress’s Commerce Clause power.

Shaw v. Reno

• Date: 1993

• What happened: North Carolina created oddly shaped districts based on race.

• Clauses involved: Equal Protection Clause (14th Amendment)

• Decision: Racial gerrymandering can violate equal protection.

• Impact: Limited race-based redistricting.

Baker v. Carr

• Date: 1962

• What happened: Tennessee failed to redraw voting districts despite population changes.

• Clauses involved: Equal Protection Clause (14th Amendment)

• Decision: Courts can hear redistricting cases.

• Impact: Established “one person, one vote.”

Engel v. Vitale

• Date: 1962

• What happened: (New York)State-sponsored prayer was required in public schools.

• Clauses involved: Establishment Clause (1st Amendment)

• Decision: School-sponsored prayer is unconstitutional.

• Impact: Strengthened separation of church and state.

Wisconsin v. Yoder

• Date: 1972

• What happened: Amish parents refused to send children to high school.

• Clauses involved: Free Exercise Clause (1st Amendment)

• Decision: Amish families were exempt from compulsory education laws.

• Impact: Protected religious freedom over state interests.

Tinker v. Des Moines

• Date: 1969

• What happened: Students wore black armbands to protest the Vietnam War.

• Clauses involved: Free Speech Clause (1st Amendment)

• Decision: Students do not lose free speech rights at school.

  • “substantial disruption test”

• Impact: Protected student symbolic speech.

Schenck v. United States

• Date: 1919

• What happened: Schenck distributed anti-draft pamphlets during WWI.

• Clauses involved: Free Speech Clause (1st Amendment)

• Decision: Speech that poses a “clear and present danger” is not protected.

• Impact: Limited free speech during wartime.

New York Times v. United States

• Date: 1971

• What happened: Government tried to stop publication of Pentagon Papers.

• Clauses involved: Free Press Clause (1st Amendment)

• Decision: Prior restraint was unconstitutional.

• Impact: Strengthened freedom of the press.

McDonald v. Chicago

• Date: 2010

• What happened: Chicago banned handguns; residents challenged the law.

• Clauses involved: 2nd Amendment, Equal Protection Clause (14th Amendment)

• Decision: 2nd Amendment applies to states.

• Impact: Expanded gun rights nationwide.

Gideon v. Wainwright

• Date: 1963

• What happened: Gideon was denied a lawyer because he couldn’t afford one.

• Clauses involved: 6th Amendment - Assistance of Counsel Clause, Due Process Clause (14th Amendment)

• Decision: States must provide attorneys in criminal cases.

• Impact: Guaranteed right to legal counsel.

Brown v. Board of Education

• Date: 1954

• What happened: Challenged racial segregation in public schools.

• Clauses involved: Equal Protection Clause (14th Amendment)

• Decision: “Separate but equal” is unconstitutional. Inherently unequal

• Impact: Ended legal segregation and advanced civil rights.