landmark supreme court cases

Marbury v. Madison

• Established the principle of judicial review, in other words, the power to declare a law written by the legislative branch as unconstitutional. 

McCulloch v. Maryland

Established that while states retain the power of taxation, the Constitution and the laws made according to the Constitution are supreme and cannot be controlled by the states and confirmed the implied powers of Congress to create a national bank.

• established a precedent for the Constitution’s “necessary and proper” clause. This case reinforced federal supremacy over state laws.

Dred Scott V. Sandford

Established portions of the Missouri Compromise of 1820 as unconstitutional, ruling that the plaintiff, Mr. Scott, was property and not a person; ruled African Americans were not citizens and had no right to sue in federal court; 5th amendment protected the property rights of slaveholders #ew #setusback

Plessy v. Ferguson

• Established that racial segregation in accommodations on a train did not violate the 14th Amendment to the constitution. 

• established “separate but equal” doctrine and ruled that segregation in public facilities was constitutional

Schenck v. U.S.

• Established that the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment does not protect speech deemed as a "clear and present danger" which Congress has the power to prevent. 

Korematsu v. United States

• Established that the exclusion order of Americans of Japanese descent during WWII was lawful and did not show racial prejudice. Korematsu argued that the order violated his 5th amendment right to due process but they ruled that the government’s actions were justified by “military necessity” to protect against espionage and sabotage, placing national security above natural rights

Brown v. Board of Education

• Established the principle that "separate but equal" educational facilities for racial minorities is inherently unequal and thus violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. 

Mapp v. Ohio

• Established that all evidence in a criminal case obtained by searches and seizures in violation of the Fourth Amendment will be rendered inadmissible in state court. 

Baker v. Carr

• Established that state reapportionment claims are justiciable in federal court. 

Engel v. Vitale

Established that the state cannot hold prayers in public schools, even if participation is not required and the prayer is not tied to a particular religion; due to violation of 1st amendment

Gideon v. Wainwright

Established that the Sixth Amendment's guarantee of a right to assistance of counsel applies to criminal defendants in state court by way of the Fourteenth Amendment

Miranda v. Arizona

• The Fifth Amendment requires that law enforcement officials advise suspects of their right to remain silent and to obtain an attorney during interrogations while in police custody. 

Tinker v. Des Moines

Established that the students did not lose their First Amendment rights to freedom of speech when they stepped onto school property. In order to justify the suppression of speech, the school officials must be able to prove that the conduct in question would "materially and substantially interfere" with the operation of the school.

Roe v. Wade

Established that inherent in the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment is a fundamental “right to privacy” that protects a pregnant woman’s choice whether to have an abortion. However, this right is balanced against the government’s interests in protecting women's health and protecting “the potentiality of human life.; took rights away from states

United States v. Nixon

By unanimous decision the Court held that neither the doctrine of separation of powers, nor the generalized need for confidentiality of high-level communications, without more, can sustain an absolute, unqualified, presidential privilege

Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier

• The Court held that the First Amendment did not require schools to affirmatively promote particular types of student speech. Educators did not offend the First Amendment by exercising editorial control over the content of student speech so long as their actions were "reasonably related to legitimate pedagogical concerns." 

Bush v. Gore

• Noting that the Equal Protection clause guarantees individuals that their ballots cannot be devalued by "later arbitrary and disparate treatment," the per curium opinion held 7-2 that the Florida Supreme Court's scheme for recounting ballots was unconstitutional. Even if the recount was fair in theory, it was unfair in practice. The record suggested that different standards were applied from ballot to ballot, precinct to precinct, and county to county. 

District of Columbia v. Heller

• The court held that a ban on registering handguns and the requirement to keep guns in the home disassembled or nonfunctional with a trigger lock mechanism violate the Second Amendment. 

Citizens United v. FEC

• The First Amendment protects the right to free speech, despite the speaker’s corporate identity.