AP Gov Court Cases

Gitlow v. New York

14th Amendment prohibits states from infringing free speech (selective incorporation); BOR applies to states

Engel v. Vitale

Religion- establishment clause; banned organized prayer in public schools as a violation of the 1st amendment and a breach in the separation between church and state

Barron v. Baltimore

Bill of Rights restrained only the national government, not the states and cities; enhanced state power

Lemon v. Kurtzman

Established that aid to church-related schools must pass the Lemon test to determine if the establishment clause is violated: nonsecular purpose, advances/inhibits religion, excessive entanglement with government

Reynolds v. US

One cannot use religion as a defense to the crime of polygamy; religious practices that impair the public interest do not fall under the First Amendment

Schenck v. US

Upheld the Espionage Act of 1917 and concluded that a defendant did not have a First Amendment right to express freedom of speech against the draft during World War I; established the "clear and present danger" test

New York Times v. US

Pentagon Papers; barring of the publication of information is in violation of the 1st Amendment if it does not produce direct peril to the public

Tinker v. Des Moines

High school students wore armbands to school to protest the Vietnam War and were suspended after refusing to remove them; symbolic speech is protected under the 1st amendment unless proven to be a disturbance

Texas v. Johnson

Johnson burned an American flag in protest and convicted under a Texas statute prohibiting the burning of flags; burning a flag was considered freedom of expression

Stromberg v. California

Supreme Court found a states "Red Flag Law" unconstitutional because it violated the liberties protected by the 1st Amendment (symbolic speech)

Brandenburg v. Ohio

Threats of a KKK leader were deemed protected (hate speech); direct incitement test protects speech that does not directly incite violence

R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul

A group of teens burned a cross in a black family's lawn upheld; city ordinance preventing fighting words that were racially motivated is unconstitutional; hate speech cannot apply unevenly based on a single factor such as race

Roth v. US

Roth convicted of mailing obscene circulars and an obscene book; "obscenity is not within the area of constitutionally protected speech or press."

Miller v. California

Miller conducted a mass mailing campaign to advertise the sale of obscene material and convicted of violating a California statute; obscenity is related to works that lack literary, artistic, political, or scientific value (Miller test)
Must have a clear sexually explicit message or theme
Lacks any artistic, scientific, or societal value
Violates local standards

New York Times v. Sullivan

Sullivan demands an ad that was published and had several minor factual inaccuracies be retracted; actual malice (reckless disregard for the truth) must be proven

Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire

First amendment did not protect "fighting words"

DeJonge v. Oregon

State governments cannot prohibit peaceful marches due to content of message

Buckley v. Valeo

Upheld federal limits on campaign contributions; spending money to influence elections is a form of constitutionally protected free speech; candidates can give unlimited amounts of money to their own campaigns; limits placed on campaign contributions did not violate the 1st Amendment and free expression

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission

Individuals, corporations, and unions could donate unlimited amounts of money to groups that make independent political expenditures; determined that campaign contributions were a form of speech

McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission

Limits on the total amounts of money that individuals can donate to multiple political campaigns violate the First Amendment

Wisconsin v. Yoder

Yoder refused to send children to school after 8th grade due to religious beliefs; individual's interests in the free exercise of religion under the First Amendment outweighed the State's interests

Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier

School newspapers can be censored by teachers and administrators; students do shed some speech and press rights at school

Near v. Minnesota

First amendment protects newspapers from prior restraint and restricts government suppression of free press in most cases

Cox v. New Hampshire

Marchers arrested for violating a state statute that required a license to parade on public grounds; government cannot place regulations on content of speech but on the time, place, and manner of speech for public safety

Elonis v. US

Rap is a form of artistic expression; Prosecution needed to show that Elonis intended the posts to be threats, and therefore that there was a subjective intent to threaten

Morse v. Frederick

Banner advertises the use of marijuana; School officials can prohibit students from promoting the use of drugs and does not violate the student's 1st Amendment rights

Snyder v. Phelps

Picketing at marine funeral; speech on a public sidewalk, about a public issue, cannot be liable for a tort of emotional distress, even if the speech is found to be "outrageous"

US v. Alvarez

Stolen Valor Act of 2005 makes it a crime to falsely claim receipt of military decorations or medals; Stolen Valor Act is too broad, attempting to limit speech that could cause no harm

Washington DC v. Heller

Washington D.C. (federal district) gun restrictions are unconstitutional; supported 2nd amendment right to own a weapon for self-defense

McDonald v. Chicago

Fourteenth Amendment makes the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms for the purpose of self-defense applicable to the states; protections applicable to state law

Miller v. US

The Second Amendment does not guarantee an individual the right to keep and bear a sawed-off double-barrel shotgun. Possessing a sawed-off double-barrel shotgun does not have a reasonable relationship to the preservation or efficiency of a well-regulated militia.

Mapp v. Ohio

Established the exclusionary rule was applicable to the states (evidence seized illegally cannot be used in court)

Miranda v. Arizona

Criminal suspects must be informed of their right to consult with an attorney and of their right against self-incrimination prior to questioning by police (Miranda Rights).

Escobedo v. Illinois

Defendant must be allowed access to a lawyer before questioning by police - any statement elicited without such circumstances could not be used against him at a criminal trial

Gideon v. Wainwright

A person who cannot afford an attorney may have one appointed by the government

Kelo v. New London, Connecticut

Use of eminent domain to transfer land from one private owner to another private owner to further economic development. The general benefits a community enjoyed from economic growth qualified private redevelopment plans as a permissible "public use" under the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment.

Furman v. Georgia

Struck down all state laws allowing the death penalty for the lack of consistent administration of the penalty. Forced states/national legislature to rethink statutes for capital offenses to assure that the death penalty would not be administered in an unequal or discriminatory manner.

Gregg v. Georgia

Upheld the constitutionality of the death penalty; death sentence does not constitute cruel and unusual punishment. In extreme criminal cases, careful and judicious use of the death penalty may be appropriate if carefully employed.

Baze v. Rees

Kentucky's lethal injection scheme and carrying out of the death penalty did not violate the Eighth Amendment.

Atkins v. Virginia

Capital punishment is not a suitable penalty for mentally retarded defendants; executions of mentally retarded criminals are "cruel and unusual punishments" prohibited by the Eighth Amendment

Coker v. Georgia

Death penalty was a "grossly disproportionate" punishment for the crime of rape as it does not involve the taking of another human life

Roper v. Simmons

Execution of offenders for crimes committed while under the age of 18 is unconstitutional; standards of decency have evolved so that executing minors is "cruel and unusual punishment"

Miller v. Alabama

Extends the ban on sentences of life without parole for juveniles guilty of homicide offenses. Children are constitutionally different from adults for sentencing purposes.

Roe v. Wade

State ban on all abortions was unconstitutional (right to privacy). Forbade state control over abortions during the first trimester of pregnancy, permitted states to limit abortions to protect the mother's health in the second trimester, and permitted states to protect the fetus during the third trimester

Webster v. Reproductive Health Services

Allowed states to pass further restrictive legislation on the practice of abortion; ban from public hospitals and permitted doctors to test to see if fetuses were viable. None of the challenged provisions of the Missouri legislation were unconstitutional; states were not required to include abortions on state-managed healthcare plans

Planned Parenthood v. Casey

Loosened standard for evaluating restrictions on abortion from one of "strict scrutiny" to one of "undue burden" that permits considerably more regulation by states. Abortion becomes so difficult, that it is practically impossible

Griswold v. Connecticut

Struck down a Connecticut law prohibiting the sale of contraceptives; Constitution protects right of marital privacy against state restrictions on contraception (right to privacy)

Pottawatomie v. Earls

Drug Testing Policy reasonably serves the School District's important interest in detecting and preventing drug use among its students.

Owasso v. Falvo

Peer-graded items did not constitute education records protected by FERPA until teacher collected the grades on the students' papers or other items and recorded the grades in the teacher's grade book. Peer grading does not violate the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974.

Gonzales v. Oregon

Controlled Substance Act cannot prohibit physicians from this practice; the act was designed to punish illicit drug use.

Lawrence v. Texas

Struck down Texas law classifying consensual, adult homosexual intercourse as illegal sodomy; violated the privacy and liberty of adults to engage in private intimate conduct.

Slaughterhouse Cases

Limited the protection of privileges and immunities clause as protected by the Constitution's Fourteenth Amendment against the states, were limited to those spelled out in the Constitution and did not include many rights given by the individual states; 14th Amendment did not guarantee all citizens should receive equal economic privileges by state

Baker v. Carr

Established "one man, one vote"; created guidelines for drawing up congressional districts and guaranteed a more equitable system of representation to the citizens of each state; Fourteenth Amendment equal protection issues merited judicial evaluation

Plessy v. Ferguson

Legalized state ordered segregation so long as the facilities for blacks and whites were equal; 14th Amendment intended to establish absolute equality for the races before the law, but held that separate treatment did not imply the inferiority of African Americans

Brown v. Topeka Board of Education

Education must be available to all children on equal terms. Separate is not Equal.

Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education

Approved busing and redrawing district lines as ways of integrating public schools

US v. Windsor

Defense of Marriage Act definition of "marriage" and "spouse" as referring to legal unions between one man and one woman ruled unconstitutional under equal protection of the Fifth Amendment; prevents same-sex couple discrimination by federal government

Obergefell v. Hodges

States obligated to recognize a same-sex marriage licenses from other states; exclusion of same-sex couples from the right to marry violates Due Process Clause of Fourteenth Amendment; Equal Protection Clause of Fourteenth Amendment guarantees right of same-sex couples to marry; struck down ban on gay marriage that was enacted by numerous states

Loving v. Virginia

Declared all laws against interracial marriage unconstitutional; Virginia law violated Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment - freedom to marry, or not marry, a person of another race resides with the individual, and cannot be infringed by the State

Regents of University of California v. Bakke

University could not admit less qualified individuals solely because of their race; no quotas

Fisher v. University of Texas

Affirmative Action - race can be an admissions factor in colleges; educational diversity is a compelling interest as long as it is expressed as a concrete and precise goal that is neither a quota of minority students nor an amorphous idea of diversity

Dred Scott v. Sandford

Slaves were property, not citizens; living in a free state or territory, even for many years, did not free slaves; declared the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional; Congress has exclusive power over citizenship

Richmond v. Croson

Minority set-aside program of Richmond, Virginia, which gave preference to minority business enterprises in the awarding of municipal contracts, was unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause.

Gratz v. Bollinger

Struck down use of "bonus points" for race in undergrad admissions at University of Michigan; policy did not provide individual consideration, but rather resulted in the admission of nearly every applicant of "underrepresented minority" status

Grutter v. Bollinger

Allowed the use of race as a general factor in law school admissions at University of Michigan; highly individualized review of each applicant conducted, no acceptance or rejection is based automatically on a variable such as race and that this process ensures that all factors that may contribute to diversity are meaningfully considered alongside race

Rostker v. Goldberg

Congress's decision to exempt women from registration did not violate the Due Process Clause - men and women, because of combat restrictions on women, were not "similarly situated" for the purposes of draft registration

Lau v. Nichols

San Francisco schools failed to provide English-language instruction to students of Chinese ancestry who do not speak English or to provide them with other adequate instructional procedures; denial of meaningful opportunity to participate in the public education program violates the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the 14th Amendment

McCulloch v. Maryland

National gov could establish national bank (Necessary and Proper Clause); Maryland could not tax national bank - federal law was stronger than the state law (Supremacy Clause)

Gibbons v. Ogden

NY cannot grant a monopoly on waterborne trade between NY and NJ; Congress alone has the exclusive power to regulate interstate commerce

Fletcher v. Peck

The state violated a constitutional clause, preventing breaching of contracts through legislation (Contract Clause); first-time state law struck down

Lopez v. US

Gun Free School Zones Act exceeded Congress' authority to regulate interstate commerce

Nevada v. Hibbs

Limited state immunity in federal court under Family and Medical Leave Act; state laws must comply and cannot create policies that discriminate based on gender

Printz v. US

Federal government cannot compel the states to enact/enforce a federal regulatory program; Brady Bill violated state authority under Tenth Amendment

Garcia v. San Antonio Metro

Congress has power under Commerce Clause to extend the Fair Labor Standards Act (min-wage, overtime pay) to state and local governments

Wabash, St. Louis and Pacific Railroads v. Illinois

Emphasized limitation of state power in commerce to only within state; only the federal government could regulate interstate commerce (Interstate Commerce Commission)

US v. Morrison

Congress does not have the power to pass the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 under the Commerce Clause or the 14th Amendment; cannot regulate criminal conduct based solely on the effect on interstate commerce

South Dakota v. Dole

Congress could place conditions on federal funding if states do not abide by legislation; emphasized federal power and control over offering grants some state affairs in pursuit of "general welfare"

Gitlow v. New York

14th Amendment prohibits states from infringing free speech (selective incorporation); BOR applies to states

Engel v. Vitale

Religion- establishment clause; banned organized prayer in public schools as a violation of the 1st amendment and a breach in the separation between church and state

Barron v. Baltimore

Bill of Rights restrained only the national government, not the states and cities; enhanced state power

Lemon v. Kurtzman

Established that aid to church-related schools must pass the Lemon test to determine if the establishment clause is violated: nonsecular purpose, advances/inhibits religion, excessive entanglement with government

Reynolds v. US

One cannot use religion as a defense to the crime of polygamy; religious practices that impair the public interest do not fall under the First Amendment

Schenck v. US

Upheld the Espionage Act of 1917 and concluded that a defendant did not have a First Amendment right to express freedom of speech against the draft during World War I; established the "clear and present danger" test

New York Times v. US

Pentagon Papers; barring of the publication of information is in violation of the 1st Amendment if it does not produce direct peril to the public

Tinker v. Des Moines

High school students wore armbands to school to protest the Vietnam War and were suspended after refusing to remove them; symbolic speech is protected under the 1st amendment unless proven to be a disturbance

Texas v. Johnson

Johnson burned an American flag in protest and convicted under a Texas statute prohibiting the burning of flags; burning a flag was considered freedom of expression

Stromberg v. California

Supreme Court found a states "Red Flag Law" unconstitutional because it violated the liberties protected by the 1st Amendment (symbolic speech)

Brandenburg v. Ohio

Threats of a KKK leader were deemed protected (hate speech); direct incitement test protects speech that does not directly incite violence

R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul

A group of teens burned a cross in a black family's lawn upheld; city ordinance preventing fighting words that were racially motivated is unconstitutional; hate speech cannot apply unevenly based on a single factor such as race

Roth v. US

Roth convicted of mailing obscene circulars and an obscene book; "obscenity is not within the area of constitutionally protected speech or press."

Miller v. California

Miller conducted a mass mailing campaign to advertise the sale of obscene material and convicted of violating a California statute; obscenity is related to works that lack literary, artistic, political, or scientific value (Miller test)
Must have a clear sexually explicit message or theme
Lacks any artistic, scientific, or societal value
Violates local standards

New York Times v. Sullivan

Sullivan demands an ad that was published and had several minor factual inaccuracies be retracted; actual malice (reckless disregard for the truth) must be proven

Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire

First amendment did not protect "fighting words"

DeJonge v. Oregon

State governments cannot prohibit peaceful marches due to content of message

Buckley v. Valeo

Upheld federal limits on campaign contributions; spending money to influence elections is a form of constitutionally protected free speech; candidates can give unlimited amounts of money to their own campaigns; limits placed on campaign contributions did not violate the 1st Amendment and free expression

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission

Individuals, corporations, and unions could donate unlimited amounts of money to groups that make independent political expenditures; determined that campaign contributions were a form of speech

McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission

Limits on the total amounts of money that individuals can donate to multiple political campaigns violate the First Amendment

Wisconsin v. Yoder

Yoder refused to send children to school after 8th grade due to religious beliefs; individual's interests in the free exercise of religion under the First Amendment outweighed the State's interests

Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier

School newspapers can be censored by teachers and administrators; students do shed some speech and press rights at school

Near v. Minnesota

First amendment protects newspapers from prior restraint and restricts government suppression of free press in most cases