Supreme Court Cases

Government Quiz 11/19

Marbury v Madison (1803, Marshall)

The court established its role as the arbiter of constitutionality of federal laws, the principle is known as judicial review

McCulloch v Maryland (1819, Marshall).

The court ruled that states cannot tax the federal government, I.e. the Bank of the United States;the phrase “the power to tax is the power to destroy”; confirmed the constitutionality of the Bank of the United States.

Gibbons v Ogden (1824, Marshall)

Clarified the commerce clause and affirmed Congressional power over interstate commerce

Cherokee Nation v Georgia

“The conditions of the Indians in in relation to the United States is perhaps unlike that of any two people in existence,” Chief Justice John Marshall wrote, “their relation to the United States resembles that of a ward to his guardian (they were a) domestic dependent nation” Established  a “trust relationship” with the tribes directly under federal authority 

Worcester v Georgia

Established tribal autonomy within their boundaries, i.e, the tribes were “distinct political communities, having territorial boundaries within which their authority is exclusive.”

Charles River Bridge v Warren Bridge

The interests of the community are more important than the interests of business; the supremacy pf society's interests over private interest

Commonwealth v Hunt

Declared that labor unions were lawful organizations and that the strike was a lawful weapon

Scott v Sanford

Speaking for a widely divided court, Chief Justice Taney ruled that Dred Scott was not citizen and had no standing in court; Scott’s residence in a free state and territory had not made him free since he returned to Missouri; Congress had no power to prohibit slavery in a territory (based on the 5th Amendment right of a person to be secure from seizure of property), thus voiding the Missouri Compromise of 1820. 

Ex parte Milligan

Ruled that a civilian cannot be tried in military courts while civil courts are available

Pollock v The Farmers’ Loan and Trust Co.

Declared the income tax under the Wilson-Gorman Tariff to be unconstitutional

Plessy v Ferguson

Legalized segregation in publicly owned facilities on the basis of “separate” but equal.

Insular Cases/ Downs v Bidwell

Confirmed the rights of the federal government to place tariffs on good entering the U.S From U.S Territories on the grounds that “the Constitution does not follow the flag”

Lochner v New York

Declared unconstitutional a New York act limiting the work hours of barkers due to a denial of the 14th Amendment rights 

Schenck v U.S

Unanimously upheld the Espionage Act of 1917 which declared that people who interfered with the war effort were subject to imprisonment; declared that the 1st Amendment right to freedom of speech was not absolute; free speech could be limited if its exercise presented a “clear and present danger.”

Adkins v Children’s Hospital

Declared unconstitutional a minimum wage law for women on the grounds that it denied women freedom of contract 

Korematsu v U.S 

The court upheld the constitutionality of detention camps for Japanese-Americans during World War 2

Ex parte Endo

The court forbade the internment of Japanese-Americans born in the U.S (Nisei)

Gideon v Wainwright

Extends to the defendant the right of counsel in all state and federal criminal trials regardless of their ability to pay

Miranda v Arizona

The court ruled that those subjected to in-custody interrogation be advised of their constitutional right to an attorney and their rights to remain silent 

Roe v Wade

The court legalized abortion by ruling that state laws could not restrict it during the first three months of pregnancy. Based on 4th Amendment rights of a person to secure in their persons

Bakke v Regents of the University of California

Ambiguous ruling by a badly divided court that dealt with affirmative action programs that used race as a basis of selecting participants. The court general upheld affirmative action, but with a 4/4/1 split, it was a very weak decision 

Clinton v Jones

Rejecting an appeal by Pres. Clinton in a sexual harassment suit, the Court ruled that a sitting president did not have a temporary immunity from a lawsuit for actions outside the realm of officials duties 

Bush v Gore 

The court ruled that manual recounts of presidential ballots in the Nov. 2000 election could not proceed because inconsistent evaluation standards in different countries violated the equal protection clause. In effect, the ruling meant Bush would win the election