AP Gov. Required Court Cases

Marbury v Madison

Constitutional Issue: Judicial power

SC Dec: Established judicial review

Sig: SC can declare laws unconstitutional

McCulloch v Maryland

Constitutional Issue: Federal vs Sate power

SC Dec: States cannot tax federal institutions

Sig: Strengthened federal supremacy and implied powers

(In 1816, Congress chartered the Second Bank of the United States to manage currency issues. In 1818, the state of Maryland passed legislation taxing all banks not chartered by the state, specifically targeting the Baltimore branch of the national bank. James W. McCulloch, cashier of the Baltimore branch, refused to pay the tax. The state of Maryland sued McCulloch and won in the Maryland state courts, which held that the federal bank was unconstitutional.)

United States v Lopez

Constitutional Issue: Commerce Clause

SC Dec: Congress exceeded commerce power

Sig: Limited federal power under Commerce Clause

(On March 10, 1992, 12th-grade student Alfonzo Lopez brought a concealed .38 caliber revolver and five cartridges to Edison High School in San Antonio, Texas. Lopez was initially charged with firearm possession on school premises under Texas law. The next day, state charges were dismissed, and he was charged with violating the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990. Lopez argued that the Gun-Free School Zones Act exceeded Congress's authority to regulate interstate commerce. A federal district court denied the motion to dismiss, and Lopez was found guilty, receiving six months' imprisonment and two years' supervised release.)

Engel v Vitale

Constitutional Issue: Establishment Clause

SC Dec: School-sponsored prayer is unconstitutional

Sig: Reinforced separation of church and state

(New York State schools were encouraged to use a short, voluntary prayer composed by the state Board of Regents at the start of the school day. The prayer stated: "Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers and our Country". Parents, led by Steven Engel, argued that this practice violated the Establishment Clause. The Supreme Court found that a government body (the state) cannot write, authorize, or encourage the recitation of a prayer in public schools.)

Wisconsin v Yoder

Constitutional Issue: Free Exercise Clause

SC Dec: Amish families exempt from compulsory schooling

Sig: Protected religious freedom

Tinker v Des Moines

Constitutional Issue: Student free speech

SC Dec: Students retain First Amendment right in school

Sig: Symbolic Speech protected

New York Times Co. v United States

Constitutional Issue: Freedom of the press

SC Dec: Government could not stop the Pentagon Papers publication

Sig: Limited prior restraint

(Daniel Ellsberg, a former RAND Corporation employee, leaked thousands of pages of a classified 1967 study (the "Pentagon Papers") on U.S. policy in Vietnam to the New York Times. In June 1971, The New York Times began publishing a series of articles detailing the study, which revealed that the government had misled the public and Congress about the scope and progress of the Vietnam War. The Nixon administration, citing national security concerns and immediate, irreparable harm, sought injunctions (prior restraint) in federal court to stop further publication. The case was fast-tracked to the Supreme Court, which ruled that the government did not meet the high burden of proof required for prior restraint, effectively allowing the papers to resume publication.)

Schenck v United State

Constitutional Issue: Limits on Free Speech

SC Dec: Speech creating “clear and present danger” not protected

Sig: Defined limits of First Amendment right

Gideon v Wainwright

Constitutional Issue: Right to counsel

SC Dec: States must provide attorneys to poor defendants

Sig: Expanded due process/miranda rights

McDonald v Chicago

Constitutional Issue: Second Amendment

SC Dec: States cannot restrict individual gun rights excessively

Sig: Incorporated Second Amendment to states

Brown v Board of Education

Constitutional Issue: Equal Protection Clause

SC Dec: School segregation is unconstitutional

Sig: Overturned the “separate but equal” doctrine in education

Citizens United v FEC

Constitutional Issue: Campaign finance and free speech

SC Dec: Political spending by corporations is protected protected speech

Sig: Increased the role of money in politics aka created pac and super pacs