Landmark U.S. Supreme Court Cases

A collection of flashcards detailing landmark U.S. Supreme Court cases, their dates ($$1803$$-$$2000$$), and their historical legal significance.

Marbury v. Madison ($1803$, Marshall)

The court established its role as the arbiter of the constitutionality of federal laws, the principle is known as judicial review.

Fletcher v. Peck ($1810$, Marshall)

The decision stems from the Yazoo land cases, $1803$, and upholds the sanctity of contracts.

McCulloch v. Maryland ($1819$, Marshall)

The Court ruled that states cannot tax the federal government, i.e. the Bank of the United States; the phrase 'the power to tax is the power to destroy'; confirmed the constitutionality of the Bank of the United States.

Dartmouth College v. Woodward ($1819$, Marshall)

New Hampshire had attempted to take over Dartmouth College by revising its colonial charter. The Court ruled that the charter was protected under the contract clause of the U. S. Constitution; upholds the sanctity of contracts.

Gibbons v. Ogden ($1824$, Marshall)

Clarified the commerce clause and affirmed Congressional power over interstate commerce.

Johnson v. McIntosh ($1823$, Marshall)

Established that Indian tribes had rights to tribal lands that preceded all other American law; only the federal government could take land from the tribes.

Cherokee Nation v. Georgia ($1831$, Marshall)

Established a 'trust relationship' with the tribes directly under federal authority; Chief Justice John Marshall described the tribes as a 'domestic dependent nation' whose relation to the U.S. resembles that of a 'ward to his guardian.'

Worcester v. Georgia ($1832$, Marshall)

Established tribal autonomy within their boundaries, i.e. the tribes were 'distinct political communities, having territorial boundaries within which their authority is exclusive.'

Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge ($1837$, Taney)

The interests of the community are more important than the interests of business; the supremacy of society's interest over private interest.

Commonwealth v. Hunt ($1842$)

Declared that labor unions were lawful organizations and that the strike was a lawful weapon.

Scott v. Sanford ($1857$, Taney)

Ruled that Dred Scott was not a citizen and had no standing in court; Scott's residence in a free state did not make him free; Congress had no power to prohibit slavery in a territory (based on the $5th$ Amendment right of a person to be secure from seizure of property), thus voiding the Missouri Compromise of $1820$.

Ex parte Milligan ($1866$)

Ruled that a civilian cannot be tried in military courts while civil courts are available.

Civil Rights Cases of $1883$

Legalized segregation with regard to private property.

Wabash, St. Louis, and Pacific Railway Co. v. Illinois ($1886$)

Declared state-passed Granger laws that regulated interstate commerce unconstitutional.

Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad Co. v. Minnesota ($1890$)

Found that Granger law regulations were violations of the $5th$ Amendment right to property.

Pollock v. The Farmers' Loan and Trust Co. ($1895$)

Declared the income tax under the Wilson-Gorman Tariff to be unconstitutional.

U. S. v. E. C. Knight Co. ($1895$)

Due to a narrow interpretation of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, the Court undermined the authority of the federal government to act against monopolies.

Plessy v. Ferguson ($1896$)

Legalized segregation in publicly owned facilities on the basis of 'separate but equal.'

'Insular Cases' / Downes v. Bidwell ($1901$)

Confirmed the right of the federal government to place tariffs on goods entering the U. S. from U. S. Territories on the grounds that 'the Constitution does not follow the flag.'

Northern Securities Co. v. U. S. ($1904$)

Re-established the authority of the federal government to fight monopolies under the Sherman Anti-Trust Act.

Lochner v. New York ($1905$)

Declared unconstitutional a New York act limiting the working hours of bakers due to a denial of the $14th$ Amendment rights.

Muller v. Oregon ($1908$)

First case to use the 'Brandeis brief'; recognized a $10$-hour work day for women laundry workers on the grounds of health and community concerns.

Hammer v. Dagenhart ($1918$)

Declared the Keating-Owen Act (a child labor act) unconstitutional on the grounds that it was an invasion of state authority.

Schenck v. U. S. ($1919$)

Unanimously upheld the Espionage Act of $1917$; declared that the $1st$ Amendment right to freedom of speech was not absolute and could be limited if speech presented a 'clear and present danger.'

Adkins v. Children's Hospital ($1923$)

Declared unconstitutional a minimum wage law for women on the grounds that it denied women freedom of contract.

Schechter v. U. S. ($1936$)

Sometimes called 'the sick chicken case.' Unanimously declared the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) unconstitutional for delegating legislative power to the executive, lacking constitutional authority, and attempting to regulate intrastate business.

Korematsu v. U. S. ($1941$)

The court upheld the constitutionality of detention camps for Japanese-Americans during World War $2$.

Ex parte Endo ($1944$)

The court forbade the internment of Japanese-Americans born in the U. S. (Nisei).

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas ($1954$, Warren)

Unanimous decision declaring 'separate but equal' unconstitutional.

Gideon v. Wainwright ($1963$)

Extends to the defendant the right of counsel in all state and federal criminal trials regardless of their ability to pay.

Escobedo v. Illinois ($1964$)

Ruled that a defendant must be allowed access to a lawyer before questioning by police.

Miranda v. Arizona ($1966$)

The court ruled that those subjected to in-custody interrogation be advised of their constitutional right to an attorney and their right to remain silent.

Roe v. Wade ($1973$)

The court legalized abortion by ruling that state laws could not restrict it during the first $3$ months of pregnancy; based on $4th$ Amendment rights of a person to be secure in their persons.

U. S. v. Richard Nixon ($1974$)

The court rejected Richard Nixon's claim to an absolutely unqualified privilege against any judicial process.

Bakke v. Regents of the University of California ($1978$)

Ambiguous ruling by a badly divided court ($4/4/1$ split) that generally upheld affirmative action, but dealt with programs using race as a basis for selection.

Clinton v. Jones ($1997$)

Rejecting an appeal by Pres. Clinton, the Court ruled that a sitting president did not have temporary immunity from a lawsuit for actions outside the realm of official duties.

Boy Scouts of America v. Dale ($2000$)

The Court ruled that the right to freedom of association outweighed a New Jersey anti-discrimination statute, allowing the dismissal of a gay troop leader.

Bush v. Gore ($2000$)

The court ruled that manual recounts of presidential ballots in the Nov. $2000$ election could not proceed because inconsistent evaluation standards violated the equal protection clause.