SCOTUS Cases CRAM SHEET

Required SCOTUS Cases

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

Establishes legitimacy of Necessary & Proper and Supremacy Clauses.

US v. Lopez (1995)

Limitations on federal government usage of Commerce Clause – must be related to commerce.

Baker v. Carr (1961)

Establishes one man one vote principle… SC has the right to determine legality of drawing congressional districts.

Shaw v. Reno (1993)

Race can be a factor in redistricting but not the ONLY FACTOR.

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

Establishes the principle of Judicial Review.

Engel v. Vitale (1962)

School sponsorship of religious activities violates the establishment clause.

Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)

Compelling Amish students to attend school past the eighth grade violates the free exercise clause.

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

Public school students have the right to wear black armbands in school to protest the Vietnam War.

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

Bolstered the freedom of the press, establishing a “heavy presumption against prior restraint” even in cases involving national security.

Schenck v. United States (1919)

Speech creating a “clear and present danger” is not protected by the First Amendment.

Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)

Guaranteed the right to an attorney for the poor in criminal cases.

Roe v. Wade (1973)

Extended the right of privacy to a woman’s decision to have an abortion.

McDonald v. Chicago (2010)

The Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms for self-defense is applicable to the states.

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

Race-based school segregation violates the equal protection clause.