AP US GOV

Marbury v. Madison

Established judicial review, allowing the Supreme Court to strike down laws violating the Constitution.

McCulloch v. Maryland

Ruled that Congress has implied powers through the Necessary and Proper Clause and that states cannot tax the federal government.

Schenck v. United States

Ruled that speech can be restricted if it creates a "clear and present danger," especially during wartime.

Brown v. Board of Education

Ruled that racial segregation in public schools violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Baker v. Carr

Established that federal courts can hear cases about redistricting and reapportionment, helping to assert the principle of "one person, one vote."

Engel v. Vitale

Ruled that school-sponsored prayer in public schools violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.

Gideon v. Wainwright

Ruled that states must provide attorneys to defendants who cannot afford one in serious criminal cases.

Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District

Ruled that students have free speech rights in public schools unless their expression substantially disrupts the school environment.

New York Times Co. v. United States

Ruled that the government cannot use prior restraint to stop the publication of the Pentagon Papers.

Wisconsin v. Yoder

Ruled that Amish parents could remove their children from school after eighth grade based on their religious beliefs.

Roe v. Wade

Ruled that the Constitution protected a right to abortion under the right to privacy.

Shaw v. Reno

Ruled that oddly shaped majority-minority districts may violate the Equal Protection Clause if they are primarily based on race.

United States v. Lopez

Ruled that Congress exceeded its Commerce Clause power by banning guns near schools.

McDonald v. Chicago

Ruled that the Second Amendment right to bear arms applies to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment.

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission

Ruled that corporations have First Amendment political speech rights and independent political spending cannot be limited.

Judicial review

The power of the Supreme Court to declare laws or government actions unconstitutional.

Selective incorporation

The process by which the Supreme Court applies parts of the Bill of Rights to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment.

Equal Protection Clause

Requires states to treat people equally under the law; central to several Supreme Court cases.

Due Process Clause

Protects people from being deprived of life, liberty, or property without fair legal procedures.

Establishment Clause

Government cannot establish or promote an official religion, central to Engel v. Vitale.

Free Exercise Clause

Government cannot unfairly restrict religious practice, central to Wisconsin v. Yoder.

Commerce Clause

The constitutional power of Congress to regulate interstate commerce.

Necessary and Proper Clause

Allows Congress to make laws needed to carry out its enumerated powers.

Supremacy Clause

States that the Constitution and federal laws are the supreme law of the land.

Prior restraint

Government censorship of material before it is published.

Clear and present danger

A standard allowing the government to restrict speech that creates a serious threat.

One person, one vote

The principle that voting districts should have roughly equal populations.

Racial gerrymandering

Drawing district lines mainly based on race; limited by Shaw v. Reno.

Federalism

The division of power between national and state governments.

Checks and balances

A system where each branch can limit the power of the others.

Separation of powers

The division of government power among legislative, executive, and judicial branches.

Natural rights

Rights that individuals are born with, such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Popular sovereignty

The idea that government power comes from the consent of the governed.

Civil disobedience

The intentional breaking of an unjust law to bring attention to injustice.

Factions

Groups of people united by a shared interest or goal, as discussed in Federalist No. 10.