Supreme Court Cases (Simple)

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

established the principle of judicial review, giving the Supreme Court the power to declare acts of Congress or the executive branch unconstitutional.

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

affirmed supremacy of federal gov over the states and validated Congress's use of the Elastic “necessary and proper” Clause to create an implied national bank: states cannot fax the federal government.

United States v. Lopez (1995)

ruled that Congress overextended its authority under the Commerce Clause by trying to create gun-free zones near public schools, setting limits on federal power over the states.

Engel v. Vitale (1962)

prohibited state-sponsored, mandatory prayer in public schools, reinforcing the Establishment Clause.

Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)

ruled that forcing Amish children to attend public school past the eighth grade violated the Free Exercise Clause.

Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)

protected symbolic speech for students, establishing that public school students retain First Amendment rights as long as their actions do not cause a substantial disruption.

Schenck v. United States (1919)

ruled that free speech can be limited if it creates a "clear and present danger" to national security, especially during wartime.

New York Times Co. v. United States (1971)

strengthened freedom of the press and heavy restrictions against government prior restraint of classified information.

Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)

incorporated the Sixth Amendment right to an attorney, requiring states to provide free legal counsel to defendants who cannot afford one.

McDonald v. Chicago (2010)

incorporated the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms, applying it to state and local governments.

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

overturned the "separate but equal" doctrine, ruling that racial segregation in public schools violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Baker v. Carr (1962)

established that federal courts can jurisdictionally hear cases regarding redistricting, launching the "one person, one vote" democratic standard.

Shaw v. Reno (1993)

ruled that oddly drawn majority-minority redistricting lines designed predominantly on the basis of race violate the Equal Protection Clause.

Citizens United v. FEC (2010)

ruled that corporate and union independent political spending is protected free speech under the First Amendment, striking down soft-money spending limits, empowering super PACs.

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

ruled that racial segregation did not violate the Fourteenth Amendment as long as the facilities provided for both races were equal, “separate but equal” doctrine.

Mapp v. Ohio (1961)

ruled that the exclusionary rule—which bans the use of illegally obtained evidence in criminal trials—applies to state courts just as it does to federal courts under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments.

Loving v. Virginia (1967)

ruled that laws banning marriage between people of different races (anti-miscegenation laws) are unconstitutional.

Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)

ruled that the Congress has the exclusive right to regulate interstate commerce between two states, strengthening federal power over the states.

Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)

ruled that African Americans could not be American citizens: slaves are property w/o rights: Congress had no authority to regulate slavery in the territories: eventually overturned by 13th and 14th amendments.

Griswold v. Connecticut (1965)

ruled that the Constitution protects the right to marital privacy, striking down laws banning contraception: established right to privacy.

Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971)

ruled that government funding to private schools could not be used to promote religion and established the "Lemon Test" to determine if laws violate the separation of church and state.

Roe v. Wade (1973)

ruled that a woman has the right to choose to have an abortion under the right to privacy, drew on Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) precedent.

Gitlow v. New York (1925)

ruled that the 1st Amendment's freedom of speech applies to state governments through the Fourteenth Amendment: began selective incorporation/incorporation doctrine: bill of rights applies to states as well as federal government.

United States v. Windsor (2013)

ruled that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was unconstitutional, affirming federal recognition of same-sex marriages.

Bowers v. Hardwick (1986)

ruled that states could criminalize homosexual sodomy, which was later overruled by Lawrence v. Texas (2003).

Lochner v. New York

ruled that limiting bakery worker’s hours violated the liberty of contract: ruled this freedom was protected by the fourteenth amendment’s due process clause.

McCleskey v. Kemp (1987)

ruled that racial disparities in sentencing (such as in the death penalty) did not violate the 8th or 14th amendments.

Atkins v. Virginia (2003)

ruled that executing individuals with intellectual disabilities constitutes cruel and unusual punishment under the 8th amendment.

Reynolds v. Sims (1964)

ruled that state legislature districts must have representation based on how many people live there: principle of "one person, one vote" in electoral districts: draw district boundaries so that legislative districts contain roughly equal populations.

Korematsu v. United States (1944)

ruled that the U.S. government's decision to intern Japanese Americans during World War II was constitutional during wartime, despite later being widely criticized for its justification: reparations in 1988.