Key Supreme Court Cases and Constitutional Principles

A set of flashcards covering key Supreme Court cases and constitutional principles relevant to U.S. Government and Politics.

Selective Incorporation

The process by which protections of the Bill of Rights are applied to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment's due process clause.

Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)

Case that guaranteed the right to an attorney for the poor or indigent in state felony cases.

Roe v. Wade (1973)

Case that extended the right of privacy to a woman's decision to have an abortion.

McDonald v. Chicago (2010)

Case that held the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms for self-defense is applicable to the states.

Equal Protection Clause

Part of the 14th Amendment that has been used to promote and protect equality.

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

Case that ruled race-based school segregation violates the equal protection clause.

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010)

Case that determined political spending by corporations, associations, and labor unions is a form of protected speech under the First Amendment.

Baker v. Carr (1961)

Case that allowed equal protection challenges to redistricting, leading to the 'one person, one vote' doctrine.

Shaw v. Reno (1993)

Case that allowed voters to constitutionally challenge majority-minority districts if race is the sole factor in their creation.

Judicial Review

The principle established by Marbury v. Madison (1803) that empowers the Supreme Court to nullify laws that violate the Constitution.