Supreme Court Cases to Know for APUSH

**the impact of the cases, not the context

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

SCOTUS has the power to overrule the legislative/executive branches, based off of constitutionality (this is judicial review)

The ruling also opposed the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions where states could nullify “unconstitutional” federal laws

photo cred

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

Constitution didn’t mention a National Bank, but it gave the federal government the power to establish one (this was a loose interpretation of the Constitution: implied powers); increased authority of federal government

This ruling reaffirmed that federal laws > state laws

Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)

Federal government has control over interstate commerce

Another instance that reaffirmed how federal power > state power

Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857)

1. Black people/descendants not U.S. citizens → cannot sue in federal courts

2. Temporary time lived in free territory did not make one free

3. Missouri Compromise declared unconstitutional (deprived people of their property with due process of law)

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

Segregation constitutional as long as it was “separate, but equal” (legally sanctioned segregation in the South)

Separate facilities were never actually equal

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

Racially integrated public schools (overturned Plessy v. Ferguson for public schools only)

Schneck v. United States (1919)

Federal government can restrict speech if danger is believed to ensue from it

Involved the Espionage Act of 1917 (it’s illegal to interfere with military operations in times of war)

Korematsu v. United States (1942)

Upheld the constitutionality of the internment of Japanese-Americans, justified by the fear from the attack on Pearl Harbor as a means of preserving national security

Backed by FDR’s Executive Order 9066 that mandated the internment of Japanese-Americans from west coast military zones

Gideon v. Wainright (1963)

Sixth amendment right to counsel applies to state criminal trials

Get legal representation whether you pay or not

Mapp v. Ohio (1961)

Exclusionary rule (prohibits use of evidence obtained in violation of the 14th amendment in federal court) now applies to state courts

Miranda v. Arizona (1966)

Law enforcement must tell suspects they have a right to remain silent, they have the right to an attorney, and that anything they say can be used against them in court (Miranda War

Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)

Students have freedom of speech in schools—clothing is a form of freedom of speech (in the context of the Vietnam War)

Worcester v. Georgia (1832)

Only the federal government (note states) can regulate relations with Native American tribes

Wabash v. Illinois (1886)

Federal government can regulate interstate railroad rates by creating the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC)

Roe v. Wade (1973)

Choice for abortion protected as a right to privacy; banned extreme limits that place unnecessary difficult to get abortion

NY Times v. United States (1971)

Limited government’s ability/reasons to keep the press from printing information

**Pentagon Papers

**Daniel Ellsberg

University of California Regents v. Bakke (1978)

No affirmative action plans based on quotas (race allowed to be considered with admissions)

United States v. Nixon (1974)

Executive privilege doesnt apply in a criminal case

Watergate Scandal where Nixon needed to have sent in unedited tapes; he obstructed justice, according to SCOTUS’

Griswold v. Connecticut (1965)

Right to privacy present in the first/fourteenth amendments (due process clause)

Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1819)

Decision upheld sanctity of contracts and of private property

Assured economic development; encouraged investment in new corporations

Set a SCOTUS precedent to overturn acts of state legislatures