FCLE Review: Landmark Supreme Court Cases and Constitutional Concepts

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering constitutional terminology and the 26 landmark Supreme Court cases detailed in the Florida Civic Literacy Examination (FCLE) review guide.

Judicial review

The power of courts to decide whether laws or government actions violate the Constitution, established in Marbury v. Madison.

Federalism

The constitutional principle where government power is divided between the national government and state governments.

Separation of powers

The division of government power among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches.

Checks and balances

The constitutional framework where each branch of government has ways to limit the power of the other branches.

Supremacy Clause (Article VI)

A constitutional provision establishing that the Constitution and valid federal laws are supreme over conflicting state laws.

Commerce Clause (Article I, Section 8)

A provision granting Congress the power to regulate commerce among the states; its reach was limited in United States v. Lopez.

Necessary and Proper Clause (Article I, Section 8)

A constitutional provision authorizing Congress to use appropriate means to carry out its enumerated powers; serves as the basis for implied powers in McCulloch v. Maryland.

Establishment Clause (1st Amendment)

A 1st Amendment clause prohibiting the government from establishing or sponsoring religion, prominently applied in Engel v. Vitale.

Free Exercise Clause (1st Amendment)

A 1st Amendment clause protecting religious belief and practice subject to constitutional limits, applied in Wisconsin v. Yoder.

Prior restraint

Government censorship or action that stops publication before it occurs, which was strongly limited in New York Times Co. v. United States.

Incorporation

The legal process of applying protections in the Bill of Rights to state and local governments through the 14th Amendment.

Implied powers

Powers not explicitly written word-for-word in the Constitution but reasonably inferred from enumerated powers.

Enumerated powers

Powers specifically listed and stated in the Constitution for Congress.

Exclusionary rule

A legal rule providing that evidence obtained in violation of constitutional search-and-seizure protections generally cannot be used in a criminal trial.

Symbolic speech

An action intended to communicate a message, such as wearing an armband or burning a flag in protest.

Executive privilege

A president's claimed ability to keep certain communications confidential, which the Supreme Court ruled is not absolute in United States v. Nixon.

Gerrymandering

Drawing electoral district boundaries to advantage a specific group or political party, addressed regarding race in Shaw v. Reno.

One person, one vote

The constitutional principle that legislative districts should have roughly equal populations so each person's vote carries equal weight.

Independent expenditure

Political spending made independently of a candidate's campaign, which is largely protected under Citizens United v. FEC.

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

Landmark Supreme Court case that established the principle of judicial review: the power of courts to strike down unconstitutional laws.

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

Established that Congress had implied powers under the Necessary and Proper Clause to create a national bank and that states could not tax a valid federal institution under the Supremacy Clause.

Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)

Ruled that Black people descended from enslaved people were not U.S. citizens for federal-court purposes and that Congress could not prohibit slavery in the territories; later repudiated by the 13th and 14th Amendments.

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

Upheld racial segregation in public facilities under the 'separate but equal' doctrine pursuant to the 14th Amendment Equal Protection Clause.

Schenck v. United States (1919)

Upheld an Espionage Act conviction for distributing anti-draft leaflets during WWI and established the historical 'clear and present danger' approach to speech restrictions.

Korematsu v. United States (1944)

Upheld the wartime exclusion and internment order directed at people of Japanese ancestry on the West Coast as a military measure.

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

Unanimously ruled that racial segregation in public schools violates the Equal Protection Clause because separate educational facilities are inherently unequal, rejecting Plessy.

Mapp v. Ohio (1961)

Applied the 4th Amendment exclusionary rule to state criminal proceedings via 14th Amendment incorporation, barring illegally seized evidence from trial.

Baker v. Carr (1962)

Decided that federal courts could adjudicate challenges to legislative apportionment under the Equal Protection Clause, paving the way for 'one person, one vote.'

Engel v. Vitale (1962)

Ruled that government-sponsored prayer in public schools violates the 1st Amendment Establishment Clause, even if participation is voluntary.

Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)

Held that the 6th Amendment right to counsel, incorporated via the 14th Amendment Due Process Clause, requires states to appoint an attorney for indigent defendants in serious criminal cases.

Miranda v. Arizona (1966)

Established that police must inform suspects of rights including the right to silence and an attorney prior to custodial interrogation to protect against compelled self-incrimination.

Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)

Affirmed students' 1st Amendment symbolic speech rights at school (wearing black armbands protesting the Vietnam War), provided it does not materially and substantially disrupt school operations.

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

Rejected the federal government's attempt to exercise prior restraint to stop the publication of the Pentagon Papers under the 1st Amendment freedom of the press.

Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)

Ruled that applying compulsory high school attendance laws beyond eighth grade to Amish parents violated their 1st Amendment Free Exercise rights.

Roe v. Wade (1973)

Historically recognized a constitutional privacy right that included abortion under 14th Amendment Due Process; later overruled by Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization (2022).

United States v. Nixon (1974)

Ruled that presidential executive privilege is not absolute and ordered President Nixon to comply with a subpoena to surrender White House tape recordings for a criminal trial.

Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978)

Struck down rigid racial admissions quotas under the Equal Protection Clause while permitting race to be considered as one factor among others in individualized admissions.

Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier (1988)

Held that public schools may regulate school-sponsored student speech, such as a school newspaper, when the action is reasonably related to legitimate educational concerns.

Texas v. Johnson (1989)

Held that burning an American flag during a political protest is expressive conduct and symbolic speech protected by the 1st Amendment.

Shaw v. Reno (1993)

Ruled that race-based congressional redistricting (racial gerrymandering) where race is the predominant factor must satisfy strict scrutiny under the Equal Protection Clause.

United States v. Lopez (1995)

Held that Congress exceeded its power under the Commerce Clause by passing a federal law prohibiting guns in school zones because the conduct was not sufficiently connected to interstate commerce.

Bush v. Gore (2000)

Halted manual recounts in Florida during the 2000 presidential election because standardless procedures violated the 14th Amendment Equal Protection Clause.

District of Columbia v. Heller (2008)

Affirmed that the 2nd Amendment protects an individual's right to possess a firearm, including a handgun in the home for lawful self-defense.

McDonald v. Chicago (2010)

Incorporated the 2nd Amendment individual right to keep and bear arms against state and local governments through the 14th Amendment.

Citizens United v. FEC (2010)

Held under the 1st Amendment that the government cannot restrict independent political expenditures by corporations and labor unions.