Supreme Court Cases

Marbury v. Madison

Established judicial review — Supreme Court has the power to declare laws unconstitutional.

Fletcher v. Peck

First time Supreme Court struck down a state law as unconstitutional; protected contracts.

Dartmouth College v. Woodward

Reaffirmed sanctity of contracts; limited states' power over corporations.

McCulloch v. Maryland

Confirmed federal supremacy; states cannot tax federal institutions.

Gibbons v. Ogden

Congress regulates interstate commerce; strengthened federal power.

Worcester v. Georgia

States cannot regulate Native American lands; ignored by Andrew Jackson.

Commonwealth v. Hunt

Labor unions declared legal; workers could strike.

Dred Scott v. Sandford

African Americans not citizens; Congress cannot ban slavery in territories.

Ex parte Merryman

Challenged Lincoln's suspension of habeas corpus during Civil War.

Munn v. Illinois

States can regulate businesses affecting public interest.

Wabash v. Illinois

States cannot regulate interstate railroads; led to Interstate Commerce Commission.

Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust

Struck down income tax; led to 16th Amendment.

US v. E.C. Knight

Limited Sherman Antitrust Act; manufacturing not commerce.

Plessy v. Ferguson

Upheld segregation — "separate but equal."

Downes v. Bidwell

Constitution does not fully apply to territories ("Insular Cases").

Northern Securities v. US

Trust-busting case; dissolved railroad monopoly.

Lochner v. New York

Struck down limits on bakers' working hours; freedom of contract.

Muller v. Oregon

Upheld women's labor protections due to "special condition of women."

Hammer v. Dagenhart

Struck down child labor law; states regulate production.

Schenck v. US

Free speech limited if "clear and present danger."

Schechter v. US

Invalidated parts of New Deal; limited executive power.

US v. Butler

Struck down Agricultural Adjustment Act; federal overreach.

Korematsu v. US

Upheld Japanese internment during WWII.

Morgan v. Virginia

Struck down segregation on interstate buses.

Brown v. Board of Education

Overturned Plessy; segregation in schools unconstitutional.

Yates v. US

Distinguished abstract teaching of communism vs. advocating violent overthrow.

Engel v. Vitale

School prayer unconstitutional; separation of church & state.

Baker v. Carr

Established "one person, one vote" — courts can decide redistricting.

Gideon v. Wainwright

Right to an attorney for criminal defendants.

Escobedo v. Illinois

Right to counsel during police interrogation.

Griswold v. Connecticut

Right to privacy — struck down ban on contraceptives.

Miranda v. Arizona

Established Miranda rights: right to remain silent, attorney.

Roe v. Wade

Legalized abortion under right to privacy.

Bakke v. Regents of UC

Race can be factor in admissions, but no racial quotas.

Boy Scouts of America v. Dale

Private groups can exclude based on beliefs; free association.

Obergefell v. Hodges

Legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.