Required SCOTUS cases

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

• Clause/Amendment: Article III – Judicial Review

• Context: After losing the 1800 election, President John Adams appointed several "midnight judges," but some commissions (including Marbury’s) weren't delivered before Thomas Jefferson took office. Jefferson’s Secretary of State, James Madison, refused to deliver them. Marbury sued to get his commission

• Decision: The Court established judicial review, ruling that part of the Judiciary Act of 1789 was unconstitutional. The Supreme Court can declare laws unconstitutional

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

• Clause/Amendment: Necessary and Proper Clause & Supremacy Clause

• Context: Maryland tired to tax the federal Bank of the United States; McCulloch (bank cashier) refused to pay.

• Decision: Congress had the implied power to create a bank; states can't tax federal institutions. Federal power is supreme over state power.

Schenck v. United States (1919)

• Clause/Amendment: First Amendment – Free Speech

• Context: Schenck distributed leaflets urging resistance to the WWI draft; he was convicted under the Espionage Act (illegal for individuals to obstruct the military draft and/or to spur disloyalty during the war).

• Decision: Free speech can be restricted if it creates a "clear and present danger" (like yelling fire in a crowded theater) and limited during wartime (if it poses a serious national threat)

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

• Clause/Amendment: 14th Amendment – Equal Protection Clause

• Context: African American students were denied entry into all-white public schools based on race. The NAACP challenged the doctrine of "separate but equal" from Plessy v. Ferguson.

• Decision: Racial segregation in public schools is inherently unequal and unconstitutional

• impact: overturned Plessy v Ferguson

Baker v. Carr (1962)

• Clause/Amendment: 14th Amendment – Equal Protection Clause

• Context: Tennessee hadn’t redrawn its legislative districts in decades, leading to severe underrepresentation in urban areas. Charles Baker sued, arguing his vote was diluted compared to rural voters.

• Decision: The Court ruled that federal courts can hear redistricting cases ("one person, one vote" principle

Engel v. Vitale (1962)

• Clause/Amendment: First Amendment – Establishment Clause

• Context: A New York school district encouraged schools to have students recite a voluntary, non-denominational prayer at the start of each day.

• Decision: School-sponsored prayer in public schools is unconstitutional.

• Impact: strengthened the separation of church and state in education

Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)

• Clause/Amendment: 6th Amendment – Right to Counsel (and 14th Amendment Incorporation)

• Context: Clarence Gideon was charged with a felony in Florida but denied a court-appointed lawyer because Florida only provided attorneys for capital cases. He represented himself and was convicted.

• Decision: States must provide attorneys to defendants who can't afford one in criminal cases

• impact: expanded the rights of the accused

Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)

• Clause/Amendment: First Amendment – Free Speech

• Context: Students wore black armbands to protest the Vietnam War and were suspended.

• Decision: Students do not lose First Amendment rights at school unless the speech substantially disrupts the learning environment.

• Impact: Protects student free speech rights in schools

New York Times Co. v. United States (1971)

• Clause/Amendment: First Amendment – Freedom of the Press

• Context: The Nixon administration tried to prevent the New York Times and Washington Post from publishing the Pentagon Papers, classified documents about the Vietnam War/US relations w/Vietnam.

• Decision: Government cannot exercise prior restraint (censorship before publication) unless national security is directly and immediately threatened.

• impact: strengthened freedom of the press

Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)

• Clause/Amendment: First Amendment – Free Exercise Clause

• Context: Amish families refused to send their children to school past eighth grade for religious reasons, violating Wisconsin law.

• Decision: Compelling Amish students to attend school beyond eighth grade violated their free exercise of religion.

• impact: religious beliefs can outweigh state interest in education required by law

Shaw v. Reno (1993)

• Clause/Amendment: 14th Amendment – Equal Protection Clause

• Context: North Carolina created a majority-minority congressional district that was oddly shaped to ensure Black representation. White voters sued, arguing racial gerrymandering.

• Decision: Racial gerrymandering is unconstitutional; race cannot be the predominant factor in redistricting—- redistricting based on race must be held to a standard of strict scrutiny

United States v. Lopez (1995)

• Clause/Amendment: Commerce Clause

• Context: Lopez, a high school student, carried a concealed weapon into school. He was charged under the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act, which relied on the Commerce Clause.

• Decision: The Act exceeded Congress’s commerce power; posession of a gun in a school zone is not an economic activity and doesn’t substantially affect interstate commerce

• Impact: limited the scope of the Commerce Clause/Congress’ power under it

McDonald v. Chicago (2010)

• Clause/Amendment: 2nd Amendment (incorporated via the 14th Amendment)

• Context: Chicago’s handgun ban was challenged after the D.C. v. Heller decision (Heller, special officer, applied for handgun license for self-defense and was denied. Sued arguing that his 2nd amendment rts were violated against— Heller’s arguments were constitutional [firearms for lawful purposes such as self-defense —> 2nd amendment guarantees an individual the rt to possess a firearm for personal use])

• Decision: The Second Amendment applies to states; individuals have the right to possess firearms for self-defense (strengthened individual gun rts)

Citizens United v. FEC (2010)

• Context/Facts: Citizens United, a conservative nonprofit group, created a film critical of Hillary Clinton during the 2008 Democratic primaries. The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA, also known as McCain-Feingold Act) prohibited corporations and unions from making "electioneering communications" (like this film) close to an election. Citizens United challenged this law, arguing it violated their First Amendment rights.

• Clause/Amendment: First Amendment – Free Speech Clause

• Decision: Corporations, unions, and groups can spend unlimited money on independent political communications.

• Impact: Led to the rise of Super PACs (political action committees that can raise and spend unlimited money independently of campaigns).