AP Gov SCOTUS Cases You NEED to Know

Facts Marbury v. Madison 1803

• Adams appointed midnight judges to frustrate Jefferson

• Following the judiciary Act of 1801, appointments weren’t valid until their commissions were delivered and delivered by Secretary of State James Madison

• Marbury was one of the judges and sued for not receiving his commission

Ruling of Marbury v. Madison 1803

• The Judiciary Act conflicted with the the Constitution as Congress doesn’t have the authority to modify the actual Constitution with regular legistation bc the supremacy clause places the Constitution above all laws

• Establishes judicial review to determine constitutionality of laws

Facts of McCulloch v. Maryland 1819

• Congress establishes the 2nd Bank of the US and Maryland taxes the bank

• McCulloch, who was the cashier in Baltimore, refused to pay the tax

Ruling of McCulloch v. Maryland 1819

• Necessary and Proper Clause (Elastic) allows the fed govn’t powers not explictly granted in the Constitution, affirming federal supremacy over state laws.

• Because the fed govn’t is supreme they cannot be controlled by state taxes

Facts of Schenck v. US 1919

• Schenck distributed leaflets against the draft during WW1

• Advocating peaceful ways

• Said that the draft violated the 13th Amendment

• He was charged with violating the Espionage Act

Ruling of Schenck v. US 1919

• Espionage Act does not violate the 1st Amendment because it doesn’t protect speech that approaches creating a clear and present danger

• Judge argues the leaflets could have disrupted the war effort and was like shouting “fire” in a crowded theather

Facts of Brown v. Board v. Education of Topeka 1954

• Schools were segregated based on race on the south

• Such segregation the NAACP argued violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment

Ruling of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka 1954

• Plessy is overturned

• Separate but equal is inherently unequal as schools create a sense of inferiority that has a detrimental affect on education of Black children

• Ruling was based on social science, not on precedent

• Schools were to integrate with all deliberate speed

• SCOTUS has no enforcement committee therefore POTUS steps in with national guard

Facts of Baker v. Carr 1961

• Tennessee had unequal Congressional districts which diluted the voting power of Black in the state (last redistricting 1901)

• The Black county had 10x more than white areas

• The case almost broke the court

Ruling of Baker v. Carr 1961

• The court can indeed intervene in political questions

• The court established the idea of “one man, one vote” which means states must have equal congressional districted based on population

• Opens doors for future redistricting cases

Facts of Engel v. Vitale 1962

• NY State’s Board of Regents authorized a short, voluntary prayer for recitation every morning

• It was non-demominational

• Students could leave the room if they wanted

Ruling of Engel v. Vitale 1962

• States can’t hold prayers in public schools even if its voluntary and non-denominational

• These prayer violate the Establishment Clause because they breach the wall of separation between church and state

• Execption: Students can pray on their own during non-instruction and religious schools can get tax dollars

Facts of Gideon v. Wainwright 1963

• Gideon robbed a cash vending machine

• Upon trial he asks for a lawyer and was denied one because Florida only have lawyers to the poor for capital offenses

• He represented himself from jail

• Wrote a letter stating his 6th Amendment rights were violated because he was denied counsel

Ruling of Gideon v. Wainwright 1963

• Unanimous decision in favor of Gideon

• Anyone accused of a crime is entitled to a lawyer according to the 6th Amendment right to counsel

Facts of Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District 1968

• Mary Beth and John Tinker wore black armbands to protest the Vietnam War

• When the school found out, they passed a board regulation stating that anyone wearing an armband would be suspended

Ruling of Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District 1969

• An armband is symbolic speech, therefore pure speech and protected

• Students can’t be censored unless they disrupt the educational environment

• Students and teachers don’t shed their constitutional rights at the schoolhouse gate

• Later cases have stated that schools can censor pro-drugs, school publications

Facts of New York Times v. US 1971

• Nixon tried to prevent NY Times and the Washington Post from publishing the Pentagon Papers, which detailed classified details about the US involvement in Viety

• POTUS attempted to use prior restraint

Ruling of New York Times v. US 1971

• SCOTUS sided with NY Times

• “Any system of prior restraint of expression comes to this court with a heavy presumption against its constitutional validity”

• Established scrutiny even in ‘national security” cases

Facts of Wisconsin v. Yoder 1972

• Parents (Yoder) were Amish and were prosecuted under Wisconsin law that required all students to go to school until 16 yrs old

• 3 parents refused to send kids to school after 8th grade because it was against their religion

Ruling of Wisconsin v. Yoder 1972

• 1st Amendment Free Exercise Claude outweighs the state’s interest in forcing school attendance

• The law was a conflict with the Amish Religion

Facts of Roe v. Wade 1973

• Roe was a Texas resident and wanted to terminate her pregnancy

• Abortion was banned

Ruling of Roe v. Wade 1973

• A women’s right to abortion falls under privacy and protected by the 14th amendment (Due Process)

• States can’t ban abortions in the 1st trimester, can regulate in 2nd, and can ban in the 3rd

Facts of Shaw v. Reno 1993

• Attorney General regret a North Carolina Congress redistricting plan because it only created one black majority district

• A 2nd plan was created with 2 blank majority districts

• NC residents felt districts were drawn to ensure less black Congress members

Ruling of Shaw v. Reno 1993

• Racial gerrymandering does violate the 14th Amendment because the bizarre shapes suggest voters were separated by race

• Redistributing must be race conscious

Facts of US v. Lopez

• Lopez carried a weapon to school and was arrested

• The feds took over the case because he violated the Gun Free School Zone Act of 1990

Ruling of US v. Lopez 1995

• The act exceeded the congressional commerce power

• Possession of a gun in a school zone is not an economic activity and therefore Congress overstepped

Facts of McDonald v. Chicago 2010

• Serval lawsuits were filed against Chicago challenging a gun ban bc SCOTUS ruled that a gun ban in DC violated the 2nd Amendment

• Those who filed felt 2nd Amendment applied to the states via due process clause

Ruling of McDonald v. Chicago 2010

• Right to bear arms and keep arms applies to the states

• In case incorporates the 2nd Amendment because people have the right to self defense

Fact of Citizen United v. Federal Election Commission 2010

• Interest group (C.U.) wanted to show a film about Hilliary for the 2008 election but couldn’t bc of the McCain Feingold Act

Ruling of Citizen United v. Federal Election Commission 2010

• SCOTUS stated that limited on spending were limits on political speech

• 1st Amendment protects corporate funding of independent expenditures as long as they aren’t connected to a campaign therefore can’t be limited

• $=speech therefore lead to boom in independent expenditures = supper pacs