AP Gov Required Court Cases

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

Established supremacy of the U.S. Constitution and federal laws over state laws

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

Established the principle of judicial review empowering the Supreme Court to nullify an act of the legislative or executive branch that violates the Constitution

Schenck v. United States (1919)

Speech creating a "clear and present danger" is not protected by the First Amendment

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

Race-based school segregation violates the equal protection clause

Mapp v. Ohio (1961)

Established exclusionary rule; illegally obtained evidence cannot be used in court; Warren Court's judicial activism

Baker v. Carr (1962)

Opened the door to equal protection challenges to redistricting and the development of the "one person, one vote" doctrine by ruling that challenges to redistricting did not raise "political questions" that would keep federal courts from reviewing such challenges

Engel v. Vitale (1962)

School sponsorship of religious activities violates the establishment clause

Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)

Guaranteed the right to an attorney for the poor or indigent

Miranda v. Arizona (1966)

that upon arrest, a suspect has the right to remain silent and the right to consult with a lawyer

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

Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)

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

Roe v. Wade (1973)

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

Buckley v. Valeo (1976)

Limits on election spending in the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 are unconstitutional (struck down donation/spending limits)

Shaw v. Reno (1993)

Legislative redistricting must be conscious of race and ensure compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965

United States v. Lopez (1995)

Congress may not use the commerce clause to make possession of a gun in a school zone a federal crime

McDonald v. Chicago (2010)

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

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010)

Political spending by corporations, associations, and labor unions is a form of protected speech under the First Amendment