Landmark Supreme Court Cases

Flashcards based on lecture notes about landmark Supreme Court cases, designed to help students review key concepts and prepare for exams.

What was the Louisiana Separate Car Act of 1890?

A law that required Black train passengers to sit apart from White passengers.

What is civil disobedience?

Breaking the law on purpose to try to get it changed.

What was the central issue in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)?

Whether it is constitutional to separate people based on race.

What was the Supreme Court's decision in Plessy v. Ferguson?

Racial segregation was constitutional as long as public facilities provided equal services or opportunities.

What legal doctrine arose from Plessy v. Ferguson?

"Separate but equal."

Which Supreme Court case overturned Plessy v. Ferguson?

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954)

What did the Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlaw?

Racial segregation and discrimination in public accommodations.

What crime was Clarence Earl Gideon charged with in 1961?

Breaking into a Florida pool hall and stealing some beverages and about $5 in cash

What was the central issue in Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)?

Whether it is constitutional for states to deny a lawyer to criminal defendants who can't afford one.

What did the Supreme Court decide in Gideon v. Wainwright?

A fair criminal trial requires that the defendant be given a lawyer.

What amendment guarantees the right to a lawyer?

6th Amendment

What are public defenders?

Lawyers employed by the state to represent criminal defendants who cannot afford one.

What was Gerald Gault accused of in 1964?

Making an indecent phone call.

What was the central issue in In re Gault (1967)?

Whether it is constitutional to take away a child's liberty without due process.

What was the Supreme Court's decision in In re Gault?

Both children and adults have a right to due process under the 14th Amendment.

According to the Supreme Court, what due process procedures must states give to juveniles?

Notice of Charges, Right to Counsel, Right to Remain Silent, Right to Confrontation.

What was the central issue in Brown v. Board of Education (1954)?

Whether it is constitutional to make children of color attend different schools from white children, even if the school facilities are equal.

What Constitutional Amendment was at issue in Brown v. Board of Education (1954)?

14th Amendment, which guarantees equal protection under the law.

What was the Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education?

Segregation sends a message that children of color are inferior, and therefore violates the 14th Amendment.

What legal doctrine was rejected in Brown v. Board of Education?

Separate but equal.

In what year was Dred Scott purchased by Dr. John Emerson?

1833

What was the Missouri Compromise of 1820?

It made Missouri a slave state, but it also outlawed slavery in any territory north of it.

What was the central issue in Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)?

Having lived in free territory, was Dred Scott now a free man?

What was the Supreme Court's decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford?

Scott was enslaved. Enslaved and free Black people are not citizens and do not have a right to sue.

What did Chief Justice Roger Taney state about people of African descent in the Dred Scott decision?

All people of African descent, free or enslaved, were not U.S. citizens.

What Amendment did the Court cite to protect the rights of enslavers?

Fifth Amendment