Court Cases (American Politics Exam 2)

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

Established judicial review; Chief Justice Marshall

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

Chief Justice Marshall denied the state right to tax a national bank; a significant Court affirmation of National Power

Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)

The Supreme Court concluded that the U.S. Congress lacked the constitutional authority to bar slavery in the territories. This decision narrowed the scope of national power, while it enhanced that of the states.

A landmark Supreme Court decision holding that Black men could not be citizens under the Constitution of the United States. It created a national uproar.

Santa Clara Co. v. Southern Pacific Railroad (1886)

Court ruled that California had acted improperly because corporations should be treated as persons and afforded the Fourteenth Amendment Right of equal protection. Vastly expanded the power of corporations

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

Permitted racial segregation by upholding separate but equal and condoning Jim Crow laws, which were going into place in the 1890s. Plessy's lawyers argued that segregation violated his 14th Amendment right.

Lochner v. New York (1905)

Struck down New York's Bakeshop Act that prohibited anyone from working more than ten hours a day or sixty hours a week in a bakery. Ushered in the 30-year-long Lochner Era, where the courts repeatedly struck down state economic and labor regulations in the name of individual economic liberty.

Government could not interfere with the private right to contract.

Muller v. Oregon (1908)

Oregon had limited the number of hours a woman could work and the Court chose that that was different and the "difference between the sexes does justify a different rule respecting a restriction of the hours of labor." "Brandeis brief" established in this case--a legal argument that has a lot of statistical data.

Schenck v. US (1919)

Allows limits to speech based on the "clear and present danger" principle; convicted Schenck under the Espionage Act of aiding the enemy in wartime, even though he was just handing out pamphlets that opposed the draft.

National Labor Relations Board v. Johns and Laughlin Steel Corporation (1937)

Steel Corporation fired unionizing workers, which violated the Wagner Act (1935). The Court held that Congress had the power, under interstate commerce, to regulate the company's treatment of its workers. Broadly expanded congressional power to regulate economic matters, and the Court would accept the New Deal. Three decades later, Congress used this power to outlaw segregation in hotels and restaurants.

Korematsu v. US (1944)

Upheld as constitutional the internment of Americans of Japanese descent during WWII as a need to defend against espionage during wartime. The case was one of the first to use strict scrutiny of government actions and ruled that the government's actions met the standards of strict scrutiny.

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

Declared that segregating schools violated the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Overturned Plessy v. Ferguson.

Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)

The Gideon legacy: Anyone charged with a serious criminal offense has the right to an attorney. Moreover, the state must provide a lawyer to any defendant unable to afford legal counsel. First in a series of landmark judicial decisions upholding the rights of defendants in criminal proceedings, including Miranda rights.

United States v. Nixon (1974)

Ruled that there is no constitutional guarantee of unqualified executive privilege. Upheld executive privledge but concluded that presidents could not invoke it in a criminal case to withhold evidence.

Trump v. US (2024)

President's have absolute immunity for core Constitutional acts, presumptive immunity for official acts under implied powers, and no immunity for unofficial acts.

Bush v. Gore (2000)

Use of 14th Amendment's equal protection clause to stop the Florida recount in the election of 2000. Bush lost the popular vote but won the Supreme Court vote

Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission (2010)

Court ruled that independent political spending by groups or corporations was a form of free speech--Citizens United had distributed a film criticizing Hillary Clinton, but it violated campaign finance rules as it was too close to the primary.

National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius (2012)

Ruled that Congress does have the power to tax and that requiring individuals to carry health insurance is a form of tax. Upheld Obama's reform. In a separate part of the case, the Court ruled that Congress could not change the rules and require states to expand their Medicaid program to cover everyone under the poverty line--it could only encourage states to participate.

Looper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo (2024)

Overturned Chevron precedent by saying that executive agencies and departments should follow the "clear intent of Congress" and if there is no apparent intent, the federal courts will provide guidance.

Chiles v. Salazar (2025)

Argument against banning conversion therapy is that it prevents freedom of speech when in therapy sessions with children. Medical consensus is that conversion therapy doesn't work and is harmful to children.

Allen v. Milligan (2023)

Required that redistricting take into account the voting power of racial minorities. Alabama's redistricting violates the Voting Rights Act without a second Black majority district. The Court used the shadow docket for this case seemingly unnecessarily.

Griggs v. Duke Power Company (1971)

This landmark U.S. Supreme Court case established the disproportionate impact theory under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Court ruled that an employer's requirements of a high school diploma and passing an aptitude test for certain jobs, which disproportionately excluded Black applicants and were not related to job performance, violated Title VII. The decision asserted that the law "proscribes not only overt discrimination but also practices that are fair in form, but discriminatory in operation".