Case Briefs

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

The founding case for the Supreme Court's own power. William Marbury was appointed a justice of the peace at the very end of President Adams's term, but the new administration, under Secretary of State James Madison, refused to deliver his commission. Marbury sued to force them to hand it over. Chief Justice John Marshall ruled that while Marbury deserved his job, the Court could not order it, because the law giving the Court that power was itself unconstitutional. In doing so, he established judicial review, the power of the courts to strike down laws that violate the Constitution. That single move made the Supreme Court the final interpreter of the Constitution. This is the case that gives the Court most of its authority.

Dred Scott v. Sandford (1856)

Dred Scott was an enslaved man who had lived in free territory and sued for his freedom. The Court ruled against him on every point: he was not a U.S. citizen and had no right to sue, and even free Black people could not be citizens. The Court also said Congress could not ban slavery in the territories. This decision inflamed the nation and helped push it toward the Civil War. It was later effectively overturned by the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments, which abolished slavery and granted citizenship to all people born or naturalized in the United States.

Trump v. United States (2024)

This case asked whether a former president is immune from criminal prosecution for official acts taken while in office. The Supreme Court held that a president has absolute immunity for core official acts within the outer perimeter of the office, and that such conduct cannot be used as evidence in a prosecution. It drew a line between official duties, which are shielded, and unofficial, private conduct, which is not. The ruling was a major statement about the scope of presidential power and what a former president can be prosecuted for.

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

Homer Plessy, who was seven-eighths White, refused to leave a Whites-only train car and was arrested. The Court upheld the law, ruling that "separate but equal" facilities were constitutional and that legislation could not erase racial instincts. This decision legitimized segregation for over half a century and gave rise to the Jim Crow laws. It stood until Brown v. Board of Education.

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954)

Black children were denied admission to all-White public schools. The Court overturned Plessy, holding that separate educational facilities are inherently unequal and violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. This is the decision that ended legal school segregation and became the foundation of the civil rights movement.

Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization (2022

This case challenged a Mississippi law banning most abortions after 15 weeks. The Court overruled Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, holding that the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion. It returned the question of abortion regulation to the states and legislatures. The decision removed the constitutional right to abortion that had existed since 1973.

Texas v. Johnson (1989)

Gregory Johnson burned an American flag at the 1984 Republican National Convention to protest. He was convicted under a Texas law banning flag desecration. The Court held that flag burning is protected symbolic speech under the First Amendment, and that the government cannot ban the expression of an idea simply because society finds it offensive. This remains one of the clearest statements that the First Amendment protects unpopular expression.

Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969)

Students wore black armbands to school to protest the Vietnam War and were suspended for it. The Court ruled in their favor, holding that students do not shed their constitutional rights at the schoolhouse gate. Schools can only restrict student speech if it materially and substantially disrupts school operations or invades the rights of others. This is the foundational case for student free speech rights.

New York Times v. Sullivan (1964)

An Alabama official sued the New York Times for libel over an ad describing civil rights abuses. The Court ruled in favor of the newspaper, holding that public officials cannot win a defamation suit unless they prove the statement was made with actual malice, meaning knowledge of falsity or reckless disregard for the truth. This decision gave the press strong protection when reporting on public figures, and it is a cornerstone of free press law.

Kennedy v. Bremerton School District (2022)

A high school football coach was fired for praying on the field after games, sometimes with students present. The Court ruled for the coach, holding that his prayers were private religious speech protected by the Free Exercise and Free Speech Clauses, and that the school violated his rights by forcing him to stop. The decision also rejected the old Lemon test for Establishment Clause cases. This was a major case on religion in public schools.

Mahmoud v. Taylor (2025)

Parents in Montgomery County, Maryland, from Muslim, Jewish, and Christian backgrounds, sued after the school board introduced LGBTQ+-inclusive storybooks into the curriculum and then removed the opt-out option they had earlier been promised. The Court ruled 6-3 for the parents, holding that the books were not neutral exposure but "unmistakably normative," and that withholding notice and forbidding opt-outs substantially burdened the parents' religious exercise in violation of the Free Exercise Clause. It reinforced that parents have a constitutional right to direct their children's religious upbringing, building on Wisconsin v. Yoder.